The Value of Scrap Balsa
The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues.... Have I ever told you that you should save your scrap balsa ? You know, the extra flashing that's left over these days when a laser cut fin or rudder or other part is cut for you? Yeah, sure I have. So much that you're sick of hearing me say it. But today, I'm going to tell you a story of WHY you should do that. Did you know that back in the day, Estes Rockets and other companies used to send you a sheet of balsa on which you laid out your pattern for your rocket fins... struts...stabilizers...rudders...braces... everything! This is back in the day before the internet... before laser cutters... before blown plastic nose cones... before so many of the modern conveniences that we take for granted. You used to have to lay out your traced patterns (nobody had access to scanners and photocopiers) on the sheet of balsa with the grain oriented the right way, so that the piece had an internal strength to it, and wouldn't fracture or