Balsa...the good, the bad, and the.......

[Terrydabassman]

Wondering about Balsa, what's good, what's bad, and what is ugly about it?

Where did you find the best priced and are there "grades" of Balsa wood?....and what would be best for crank baits?

[baitmaker2]

Haven't found anything that I personally don't like about balsa, get mine from a local hobby shop ( they order for me) and is what they call engineering grade, costs approx. $3.50 for a 24"X3"X1/2" . I've tried about every wood available, but for my personal use I like balsa and a imported wood from Yugoslavia that I get through my work, usually just use this imported wood for my topwater baits.

[Terrydabassman]

Thanks for your reply! I have zerro experience with it and wanted to give it a shot one a these days.

I guess nobody else uses it neither.

[jaime]

I've just made my first balsa lure modeled after the wec stumpy. it's realy easy to work with and shape. I saw something that chip posted somewhere where he orders triple A grade balsa. I don't really know if this is better than other balsa wood. I bought mine at a craft store that had some pieces on sale. Seems alright do. I'll post a pic in the photo gallery when it's done.

[Coley]

Terry, It is my opinion that the balsa needs to have a density

of at least 11 lbs/cu.ft.

This would classify it as hard balsa.

You can call Balsa USA and order it by the block, just tell

them you want "hard balsa". The blocks are 3"x3"x6" and the

last I bought cost 94 cents a piece.

They sell other balsa blocks for 75 cents, but its not hard enough.

The hardness of balsa is based on lbs/cu.ft.

Hope this helps.

[Terrydabassman]

Thanks a ton Coley, this is exactly the information I've been looking for...wonder if anybody has tried the "Plasti-Coating" on Bulsa instead of the Devcon to seal the wood.

[boatnik13]

I 'm always good for negative talk and you wanted bolth sides of the coin! I'm Not a fan of balsa because I found it to be too soft. I don't like dents. I'm a solid wood fan because I believe you can do so much more remodeling and stand up to tough treatment with solid wood. I find plastic to be the toughest to refinish / repair followed by balsa but never have a problem with solid wood lures of density.True > I can't pattern from solid wood lures like you can with balsa > so theres a good thing about balsa and it floats without modification. I new we had + and - feelings on this site but its just a opinion based on my experiense.

[Lure--Prof]

For flatside crankbait making, I love balsa, and unlike Coley, prefer the stuff you're most likely to encounter in a hobby shop. It is softer and does require a lighter touch, but is more buoyant than the hard stuff (and consequently weights differently). If I was making topwaters with balsa, I'd say stick with Coley's recommendation. Really, hard and not-so-hard balsa are almost like two different woods.

Terry feel free to pm me

Dean

[cesportsman]

Dean, Im curious do you use a thru wire for your rear hook hanger or a screw eye. Ive just began making crankbaits and I have been using rear stainless hook hangers and using Devcon to epoxy in. I havent had one pull out unless i clamp it in a vise and clamp on the billl with vise grips and pull as hard as i can.Then it comes out. Ive kind of been testing to make sure I have a quality bait. Should I be worried about this? Or is there a better method? i use balsa as well. ive noticed some baits that look like a straight wire that just bends and goes back into the body. Thanks in advance!

[Lure--Prof]

Corey, check your private messsages

Dean