Thank you freely sharing your knowledge. I had a build related question. After I finish the build using the jib, there is always on leg that is not touching firmly on the floor surface at the bottom, or not even with the other legs on the top. This is even after using extra length legs and sanding the top. Any tips on how to avoid this? Thanks.
My best suggestion for that would be to make sure you are building the tower on a perfectly flat surface like the ceramic tile I show in my videos. It really helps compared to something like a conventional table. Take the time to tape the legs in place and touching the surface while the jig is vertical and you shouldn't have those types of issues. It does take some practice to get that technique down, so don't get discouraged if you don't get it the first time.
Hey Mr. Balsa Wood Engineering, me and my partner just got 5th place at invitationals thanks for your design! I was wondering because what type of scale do you use to measure crossbeams? Ours don't seem to pick up the exact amount of grams if we cut them too small
Hi! Congrats on your results! This is the exact scale I am using: www.amazon.com/Ohaus-SPX123-Portable-Balance-0-001g/dp/B01AJ089PS I realize that it is quite expensive and not for everyone. For measuring the cross members, I would recommend you weigh them in groups, so like all 8 pieces for a given layer at a time. Less expensive scales should be able to be pretty accurate for that. Try to use other methods to see if there are any outliers in the group, either visually or by holding them. If one of the 8 seem out of place, either too heavy or too light (or not cut perfectly), just replace it. It's pretty important to have these as consistent as possible. Good luck!!
Hi! I'm not sure where you can buy one, I definitely don't sell them. I give away the STL files though, so you could have them printed via a service, although that tends to be pretty expensive for large prints. It might be cheaper to just buy an inexpensive printer and print them yourself if you can't find someone who will print it for material costs.
At 3:20 you show the measurements and weights of all the pieces. However I'm a little confused about the thickness of the squares at the top and bottom of the base. Is it 3/32 by 3/32? Also the height of the legs it was 26-5cm, I'm not sure I get what that means. How tall is the base and how tall in the column? If you could please clarify the dimensions that would be great. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry for the confusion. The top horizontal pieces are indeed 3/32 x 3/32 square. The bottom horizontal pieces are the same as the cross members and were 1/32 x 1.25mm. The 26.5cm dimension for the legs are just my pre-cut normalized length for the leg pieces. Once they are put on the jig and everything is finished, they get sanded down a bit so they don't wind up that long. I don't know that exact dimension off the top of my head... I always cut them a little long and sand them to the finished length. The base vertical height is 24.5cm and the column height is 26cm for a total tower vertical height of 50.5cm which gives a 5mm buffer to be compliant with the rules.
I’m using a light balsa stick for my current tower and the wood feels half wood and half foam I don’t know how to explain the feeling but it just feel very soft is this normal?
Really light balsa is very squishy to the touch. That is usually a sign it’s too light, but it depends on the application. If the mass is close to what I showed, it will probably be fine
@@Fire_World428 That would make it around 0.26g for my normalized length of 26.5cm which I use for both the columns and bases. So, that would be heavier than the wood I used for the columns (around 0.224g each) and lighter than the wood I used for the base legs (around 0.35g each). I would say that wood is probably fine for the column legs, but might be too light for the base.
Thank you for all of the great advice! If you don't mind me asking, how light should the balsa wood be? Light enough for you to make a dent in the wood?
Thanks! The answer is "light enough" :) Most of these pieces are in the light density range, especially the legs of the column. The best way to judge if you are in the right ballpark for density is to just check my notebook pages and compare to the masses I show for every component. You can compute the exact density if you want, but it's easier to just use the mass. Good luck!
What are your thoughts on using baking soda to strengthen super glue joints? We were wondering if this is a viable strategy or if it adds too much weight.
Actually, I don't think that is allowed according to the rules. That being said, it's not necessary. A proper CA glue joint is way stronger than the wood, so it would only add weight.
Currently I have no plans for that. I really don't think it's the right approach given the rules this year, but definitely reach out to me if you try it and find something that works well!
No, I don't sell anything. You can download my STL files for free linked in the description and print them yourself (or pay a service to print them for you if you want)
Thank you so much for your effort and guidance!
Thank you freely sharing your knowledge. I had a build related question. After I finish the build using the jib, there is always on leg that is not touching firmly on the floor surface at the bottom, or not even with the other legs on the top. This is even after using extra length legs and sanding the top. Any tips on how to avoid this? Thanks.
My best suggestion for that would be to make sure you are building the tower on a perfectly flat surface like the ceramic tile I show in my videos. It really helps compared to something like a conventional table. Take the time to tape the legs in place and touching the surface while the jig is vertical and you shouldn't have those types of issues. It does take some practice to get that technique down, so don't get discouraged if you don't get it the first time.
Hey Mr. Balsa Wood Engineering, me and my partner just got 5th place at invitationals thanks for your design! I was wondering because what type of scale do you use to measure crossbeams? Ours don't seem to pick up the exact amount of grams if we cut them too small
Hi! Congrats on your results! This is the exact scale I am using: www.amazon.com/Ohaus-SPX123-Portable-Balance-0-001g/dp/B01AJ089PS I realize that it is quite expensive and not for everyone. For measuring the cross members, I would recommend you weigh them in groups, so like all 8 pieces for a given layer at a time. Less expensive scales should be able to be pretty accurate for that. Try to use other methods to see if there are any outliers in the group, either visually or by holding them. If one of the 8 seem out of place, either too heavy or too light (or not cut perfectly), just replace it. It's pretty important to have these as consistent as possible. Good luck!!
Hi Balsa Engineering, where can I buy a jig like yours?
Hi! I'm not sure where you can buy one, I definitely don't sell them. I give away the STL files though, so you could have them printed via a service, although that tends to be pretty expensive for large prints. It might be cheaper to just buy an inexpensive printer and print them yourself if you can't find someone who will print it for material costs.
At 3:20 you show the measurements and weights of all the pieces. However I'm a little confused about the thickness of the squares at the top and bottom of the base. Is it 3/32 by 3/32? Also the height of the legs it was 26-5cm, I'm not sure I get what that means. How tall is the base and how tall in the column? If you could please clarify the dimensions that would be great. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry for the confusion. The top horizontal pieces are indeed 3/32 x 3/32 square. The bottom horizontal pieces are the same as the cross members and were 1/32 x 1.25mm. The 26.5cm dimension for the legs are just my pre-cut normalized length for the leg pieces. Once they are put on the jig and everything is finished, they get sanded down a bit so they don't wind up that long. I don't know that exact dimension off the top of my head... I always cut them a little long and sand them to the finished length. The base vertical height is 24.5cm and the column height is 26cm for a total tower vertical height of 50.5cm which gives a 5mm buffer to be compliant with the rules.
I’m using a light balsa stick for my current tower and the wood feels half wood and half foam I don’t know how to explain the feeling but it just feel very soft is this normal?
Really light balsa is very squishy to the touch. That is usually a sign it’s too light, but it depends on the application. If the mass is close to what I showed, it will probably be fine
@ it’s 1/8x1/8 weighs .6g 24 inch is this fine?
@@Fire_World428 That would make it around 0.26g for my normalized length of 26.5cm which I use for both the columns and bases. So, that would be heavier than the wood I used for the columns (around 0.224g each) and lighter than the wood I used for the base legs (around 0.35g each). I would say that wood is probably fine for the column legs, but might be too light for the base.
@ I built a top today using the 1/8 and 1/16 for crosses gave up at 12.8kg
Thank you for all of the great advice! If you don't mind me asking, how light should the balsa wood be? Light enough for you to make a dent in the wood?
Thanks! The answer is "light enough" :) Most of these pieces are in the light density range, especially the legs of the column. The best way to judge if you are in the right ballpark for density is to just check my notebook pages and compare to the masses I show for every component. You can compute the exact density if you want, but it's easier to just use the mass. Good luck!
What are your thoughts on using baking soda to strengthen super glue joints? We were wondering if this is a viable strategy or if it adds too much weight.
Actually, I don't think that is allowed according to the rules. That being said, it's not necessary. A proper CA glue joint is way stronger than the wood, so it would only add weight.
another banger
Hey Balsa Engineering, I was wondering if you are going to make a division c non bonus tower?
Currently I have no plans for that. I really don't think it's the right approach given the rules this year, but definitely reach out to me if you try it and find something that works well!
Ok!
I thought it could only be 3 contact points?
That is a rule for Div C. Div B can be a conventional 4-leg tower.
so you sell 3d printed jigs
No, I don't sell anything. You can download my STL files for free linked in the description and print them yourself (or pay a service to print them for you if you want)
where did you get the balsa wood from?
I like to buy my balsa sheets from Specialized Balsa: specializedbalsa.com/products/balsa_sheets.php