Balsa
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 Painting by Frances W. Horne from the Flora Borinqueña
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| Ochroma pyramidale (Cav. ex Lam.) Urb. |
Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale, synonym O. lagopus) is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to 30 m tall, native to tropical South America north to southern Mexico. It is evergreen, or dry-season deciduous if the dry season is long, with large (30–50 cm) weakly palmately lobed leaves. The name balsa derives from Spanish for a raft.
The timber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. The density of dry balsa wood ranges from 100–200 kg/m³, with a typical density of about 140 kg/m³ (about one third the density of other kinds of hard wood). This makes it a very popular material for model building and buoyancy materials (lifebelts, etc.), and was famously used by Thor Heyerdahl in his raft Kon-Tiki. It is also a very popular material to use when making wooden crankbaits for fishing, as it is low density but high in strength. Balsa wood is used to make very light, stiff structures in model bridge tests and for the construction of light wooden aeroplanes, most famously the World War II de Havilland Mosquito. It also is used in the floorpan of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 sandwiched between two sheets of carbon fibre. In table tennis blades, a balsa layer is typically sandwiched between two pieces of thin plywood.Balsa wood is also used for making high-quality balsa surfboards.[1]
Despite being very soft, balsa is classified as a hardwood, the softest commercial hardwood.
Three different sizes of balsa wood used for hobby purposes
Frame of a model airplane constructed entirely of balsa wood
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Technical Description, History, Facts, Specs Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- Species description Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ochroma pyramidale Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- Photo of foliage and flower Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- Kon-Tiki museum website Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- Balsa rafting in Ecuador Retrieved October 12, 2007.
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