# Balsa vs Bass Wood



## dfischer (Nov 14, 2012)

Searched but did not find this, so here goes...

Do you prefer balsa or bass and why. I need to make some ties, build a couple of freight platforms with ramps, and several short ( length and height) trestle and wood flat bridges.

Thanks

Dan


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Bass wood has a finer grain that finishes cleaner and is stronger however, balsa is a reasonable second choice that was the champ long before bass wood.


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## JamesBC (Jan 15, 2014)

I much prefer Bass Wood, it just seems easier to work with than Balsa for doing small structures.

I mostly use scale size from Kappler in HO scale.

Jim


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Basswood has tighter, more durable grain than balsa. Very nice for modeling.

Try some boxwood, too, if you can get your hands on some.


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## DaveInTheHat (Nov 13, 2011)

I like basswood better than balsa.
It's very seldom that I buy any wood. I usually look for free stuff that I can cut up and use for my models. I got about 20 5 gallon paint sticks for free and cut them up into various sizes. Should keep me supplied for about a year.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You'll find basswood a bit stronger than balsa, less likely
to break as you work it.

However, to me, they are basically interchangeable. I buy
which ever has the sizes I need in stock.

Don


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## midlifekrisiz (Jan 29, 2013)

i use bass wood for the top of my bents as well as the bent poles but i use balsa for the horizontal and and sway bracing......reason i use balsa here is due to the fact that when you stain blasa it seems to have more grain than the bass without doing anything to it.



the poles are bass and had to be scraped with a rasp in order to get something that looks like grain


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Basswood is a tighter wood than balsa. This makes it stronger, but the more porous balsa will stain darker.

We have an old house with lots of old wood. We stripped the paint off of the bannister and tried to stain it. Stain would not penetrate that old, hard wood. We bought the darkest stain and left it on for an hour. Wiped it off and it looked the same as before.


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

I prefer Basswood. Stronger and nicer to work with. Balsa is a bit too delicate and splits easily.


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## dfischer (Nov 14, 2012)

Thanks for all the great responses.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

I'm amazed people consider Balsa and Basswood are interchangeable. They are really different propositions. Basswood is harder, although Balsa can come in soft and hard grades. You can bend Basswood if you steam it for a while and generally only comes in sectional lengths. I would say it's horses for courses.


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## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Thanks Cycleops. I was going to ask when Balsa would be a better modeling choice over basswood.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

spoil9 said:


> Thanks Cycleops. I was going to ask when Balsa would be a better modeling choice over basswood.


I don't really know when you would need to use Balsa when rail modeling. Years ago you might use it in sheet form for buildings but now with the advent of foam cored board, plasticard and embossed sheet it's more or less redundant, unless someone can suggest a use for it over other materials. Basswood can used for trestles and other bridgework as well as scale lumber. The main advantage of Balsa is its light weight and ease of use, that's why its used mainly in aero modeling.


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## burnside63 (Dec 29, 2013)

From my wooden ship building days, I began using limewood. It is strong, flexible and has good, tight grain. Check ship building websites for it. It is all I use now.


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