If I make a small case for computer parts about 5" squared (give or take) out of thin balsa wood and cover it in epoxy resin, will it be tough enough to stand a bit of rough handling?
I want it to look good, so my idea is to paint the resin on in layers with a brush and spray paint it. Good idea?
It will not work. I am an RC enthusiast and have been building planes from balsa and glass fibre for 20+ years. Epoxy alone does hardly add any strength. Use it to laminate glass fibre sheets, and you are heading into the right direction. But it is difficult to get the glass fibres around the edges. I recommend plywood for a wooden case. If you stick with the balsa/glass fibre/epoxy way, be informed that you need at least 2-3 attempts before the result looks about right.
No, why waste time gluing crappy wood with epoxy that's far more expensive. Use sheets of ply or if you're clever joined biscuit/T&G real wood then sand and paint.
>>971074
Ok, cool, exactly what I needed to know, thanks.
another thing you could look into is a wood hardener. you slather it onto whatever wood (it's very thin) and it gets absorbed immediately. keep going until the wood is saturated, and let it dry. it's basically a jar of solvents with some epoxy in it, so it's very thin and gets absorbed readily, and when the solvents evaporate the epoxy is left behind. it's very stinky so you have to do it outside, but it'll make a sheet a paper feel like fiberglass and it'll make balsa wood feel like oak
DON'T use it on any glue or anything though, it'll dissolve that shit
>>971074
Bullshit. If he soaks up the epoxy instead of applying it. Or even stick it in a vacuum it will be stronger then just staight balsa
>>971238
How much stronger exactly?
>>971083
....thats kind of interesting...
just as a concept, are you overstating the hardening abilities or is it legitimately that awesome?
also, if I soak the components of my friends Viol in it will it effect the sound of the instrument?
>>972602
watch some videos brah. it works really well. people use it to harden soft woods before they start boring and routing because it holds it all together. it really is very much like turning a softwood into a hardwood, or even more actually. it's like polyeurathane that's designed to be absorbed deeply into the pores. it's thin like water so the thirstier the wood (pine, balsa, etc) the more it'll suck up. on balsa i reckon you could easily triple its mass/weight. when fully cured it's basically epoxy. but it'll take a bit of work. some people submerge wood into the solution and let it soak for a day or two to get deep penetration.
you would sorely change the sound of a wood instrument with this i think, as the vibrations of the soundboard and bridge are essential to its sound
>>972743
sooooo, less for my friends viol and more for my hobby sex-toy buisiness.
awesome.
does it reduce chipping when you drill through a solid plank? cause that's a problem I have...
>>972747
supposedly it does yet. as far as the viol it could sound fine, but it'll sound different than it would with a natural hardwood. different ≠ bad, but no gurrntees
