Balsa and Corecell,what is the difference?

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by coolgps, Jun 19, 2012.

  1. coolgps
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    coolgps Junior Member

    I always confused with the use of balsa and core-cell, since they both have the same weight. And those J-boats are built in balsa wood, i wonder why they don't use core cell M80. The price is probably the same.
    Is it because the balsa gains more compress strength? Or something else.
     
  2. TeddyDiver
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    TeddyDiver Gollywobbler

    More shear strength with balsa core..
     
  3. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member


    Price
     
  4. Herman
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    Herman Senior Member

    Price is definately NOT the same. Actually, I guess the Core-Cell is roughly 3 times as expensive per area. (m2, sqft)
     
  5. coolgps
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    coolgps Junior Member

    I have a quote of 15mm Core Cell is about 36USD sqm, 1 sq of 3/4' Balsa wood is about 35 USD sqm.
     
  6. coolgps
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    coolgps Junior Member

    Fair enough. I checked the compress modulus of balsa wood, it is about 60times of M80 Core-Cell. The compress strength is also 10 times larger.
     
  7. Herman
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    Herman Senior Member

    Over here (roughly)

    Core-Cell A500 15mm: 45 euro / m2
    Core-Cell A500 25mm: 70 euro / m2
    Core-Cell M80 15mm: 43 euro / m2
    Core-Cell M80 25mm: 65 euro / m2

    Balsa sheet 16mm: 22,5 euro / m2
    Balsa sheet 25mm: 35 euro / m2

    OK, not 3 times, but definately 2 times as expensive. I would be better off buying Core-Cell at your place, and pay with Balsa...
     
  8. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    Price !! who cares !! just do it !!:D
     
  9. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    so your choice would be ?? :confused:
     
  10. coolgps
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    coolgps Junior Member

    The price is about the same in my place. So the choice is balsa.
     
  11. coolgps
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    coolgps Junior Member

    The core-cell price depends on your order. I get your quote price sometimes when the order amount is low.
     
  12. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    so balsa is chosen simply because of price !! doesnt mater that i may not be the best product for the job . if you want light weight balsa is not the best choice . if you want to save resin Balsa is not the best choice , so at the end of the day what you are saving with one hand you could be spending a lot more with the other . dont just think of one product at a time you need to look at a bigger picture , what is the easyest to work with and what will give the best finish and what will be the most durable over all !!.

    the place i work think just like you !!!:confused:, cheap is best!, already what ever savings there were have gone because of mistakes made and rought workmanship parts that had to be ripping out because of mistakes and having to be redone and twice as long to lay eyc etc . so at the end of the job could cost an extra 20% possibly even more . :eek:
     
  13. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    So true Tunnels - every boat yard in the world should have your advice painted on their shed wall.

    Price should never be the only consideration - or we would all be building boats out of papier-mache.

    Even so, I would be hard pressed to know what to choose between foam and balsa for above waterline construction. You would need to decide in conjunction with the engineer - as the better strength of balsa might save overall materials and glass specs.

    I also suspect that balsa might be easier to assemble and hold in place during construction - but I dont know enough about it to be sure.
     
  14. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    one of the biggest problems managment are people that have never spent time on the factory floor !
    As the manager of the biggest glass shop in nz some years back i made a unwritten law to myself to spend one day a week on the factory floor working along side and with the guys i would do and could do any job that had to be done including rolling drums of resin ,carrying rolls of glass (within reason) grinding ,sanding ,using all and any of the spray equipnemt and any gear we had .as for materials everything was kitseted cores and timbers stiffeners and glass materials were all pre cut and in a special room set up for that purpose . not once in all the time i was there did i ever see or have a visit from my bosses/owners of the place . slowly little by little i changed materials and change the sequance of how work was done ! we worked less and more casual and yet produces more . i took the door off my office and it became a gathering place to socialise and talk about anything but work . over time the staff level dropped from 24 to 17 and we still produced more work in a shorted time . just one word efficentcy and worked glide time . tea breaks and lunch could be any time during a day.i was questioned about it !! how could this be happening with less staff and yet producing much more work . better materials had crept in and easyer to use used less resin so boats were fractionally lighter . we used loard cells and weighed everything the was made . even had a pool going as to who could predict the closest correct weight of a hull or a deck .
    :D:p:p
     

  15. TeddyDiver
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    TeddyDiver Gollywobbler

    He didn't say so. The price was same so the strength made the difference IMHO that is.
     
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