The Fatalities Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Is it possible or has a guitar made from balsa wood been made? If there was it would seriously be the lightest guitar in the world. Also the weakest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 The center block in some semis is made of balsa, IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokeros Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top had one made for him by Robin Guitars. Balsa wood is very soft and can dent with a press of the fingernail, so it was covered with spruce to protect the Balsa, also, Balsa, is a very open pore wood so it will be very annoying to finish. Lightwieght to me isn't everything, you would barely feel the guitar leaving an unatural playing style. Using balsa wood IMHO won't bring the feel of playing the guitar to the player. Its simply not right! Btw, have you researched whether Balsa would be a good tonewood? Because there is a big difference between Koa and MDF. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col_Death Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Balsa IIRC is actually classed as a hardwood and yet Pine is a softwood... anyway, I see no problem with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 My pine guitar is still holding up. So by all means try it. Balsa is quite strong for its weight. Who knows? laminated with some fibreglass. May not be that bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 What would you use the balsa for? Neck or body? I see no problem with a “hardwood”-balsa -“hardwood sandwich for body (maybe with a hardwood rim) EXCEPT for one thing; neck pocket (or neck gluing area). I can’t see any practical use of balsa in necks. You will have to “cap” the balsa on three sides and cover it with a fret board. Then you have nowhere to glue the truss rod. I believe that a truss rod inserted into a balsa neck would crush the surrounding balsa. OK, so now we have a standard neck and a hardwood-balsa sandwich body with glued in sections of hardwood (neck pocket, possibly tremolo surroundings, maybe pickup cavities, rims and so on). Looks like a lot of hardwood patching to do to get some balsa into the “wings” of the guitar. It would be interesting to hear the guitar (if someone else would make it) but I would use a solid basswood body instead. Much less work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Balsa IIRC is actually classed as a hardwood and yet Pine is a softwood. The names hardwood and softwood dont relate directy to them being soft or hard. IIRC the difference is deciduous/ evergreen (?) Balsa is softer than pine. I'm certain of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 The names hardwood and softwood dont relate directy to them being soft or hard. IIRC the difference is deciduous/ evergreen (?) Correct. From wikipedia: The term hardwood designates wood from angiosperm trees. Hardwood contrasts with softwood, which comes from conifer trees. Angiosperm= flowering, fruiting plants. Conifer= cone-bearing trees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Balsa is softer than pine. I'm certain of that. Probably on par with the white pine i used for mine (I can crush the fibers very easily with my fingernail).....I still say with the right engineering anything is possible. On a side note the floor on a C6 covette is balsa and carbon fibre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 what about a neck through? buy a maple neck thru from carvin, then balsa wings, routing would be a breeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 So let's side track this thread to talk about your C6 corvette for a minute cause that seems to be MUCH more interesting to me Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 No C6 here....just a beat up 68 camaro. I was just puting that piece of trivia out there to prove a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 (edited) On a side note the floor on a C6 covette is balsa and carbon fibre You're close. The RPO-Z06 is the model with the carbon fiber/balsa sandwich floor. It also features a hydroformed aluminum frame as opposed to the steel frame of the non-Z06 C6 and Cadillac XLR, and a magnesium engine cradle, as well as CF front fenders. A truly amazing machine for only $65 large. Edited May 5, 2006 by crafty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 What would you use the balsa for? Neck or body? I see no problem with a “hardwood”-balsa -“hardwood sandwich for body (maybe with a hardwood rim) EXCEPT for one thing; neck pocket (or neck gluing area). I can’t see any practical use of balsa in necks. You will have to “cap” the balsa on three sides and cover it with a fret board. Then you have nowhere to glue the truss rod. I believe that a truss rod inserted into a balsa neck would crush the surrounding balsa. OK, so now we have a standard neck and a hardwood-balsa sandwich body with glued in sections of hardwood (neck pocket, possibly tremolo surroundings, maybe pickup cavities, rims and so on). Looks like a lot of hardwood patching to do to get some balsa into the “wings” of the guitar. It would be interesting to hear the guitar (if someone else would make it) but I would use a solid basswood body instead. Much less work +1. That would be a VERY neck-heavy guitar. Doesn't sound like much fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fatalities Posted May 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 if the floor of a c6 was made out of balsa wood, just putting one foot in would snap it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 yet they had to have researched it,and even if that was the scenareo then corvette would have changed it in an instant? so it must hold then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 carbon fiber/balsa sandwich floor Not to off-topic this thread to death, but the keywords here are carbon fiber and sandwich. Now get back to guitars while I make myself a sandwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 if the floor of a c6 was made out of balsa wood, just putting one foot in would snap it. Sandwich construction. Ever been on a commercial airplane? Most floor panels are sandwich panels. Typical construction uses fiberglass face sheets and honeycomb core. The honeycomb core is mostly air, with sheets of aluminum foil or aramid "paper" folded and glued to form a honeycomb. The honeycomb does the same thing the balsa would do in a Corvette floor, carry shear loads and keeps the bending loads in the face sheets. All by itself, you could crush the honeycomb between your fingers. You might have noticed, the last time you flew, that very few people (if any) broke the floor and fell into the cargo hold. This includes very large heavy passengers or women in high heels that put their entire weight on an area the size of a pool cue tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwigeo Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Best use for balsa is sandwiched with carbon fibre as bracing under an acoustic soundboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 or making breakaway furniture, break away items a so much fun...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 hmmm..i have a load of balsa wood... maybe a 1 stringed whamola made of balsa? haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Ahhh sod it, I'll throw in that the boot floor on a BMW CSR (I think) is actually cardboard. I love working with Balsa, you could carve the guitar with a knife, should give an interesting effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inward X Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 if i had a balsa wood guitar...i would prolly snap it within a few days lol ill stick with my hardwoods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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