Balsa shortage

Hi guys/gals, just been looking all over for decent wood sheet. balsa cabin state theres a shortage and looking for new supplier. apperently the chinese are buying it all to make wind turbine blades. also slec are only supplying hard sheets. b/cabin reckons prices will be up 150%!!!!!. will that mean A/ all kit mfctr will increase their prices by 150% orB/ produce kits with hard balsa as in the old days? as far as i have seen all wind turbine blades are polyester laminates/kevlar and mainly metal. what is going on? next delivery to slec(after speaking to them ) wont be until february. your thoughts people

keith

Maybe there might be another thread on this already started months ago?

**LINK**

sorry all didnt look my apologies, but the main point was about what wind turbine blades are made of. balsa core?

Yes, balsa core... currently.

Point to note, Ecuador shut down due to Covid, which would seem to be a temporary state of affairs, or like other countries may well be in and out of restrictions for the near future.

Edited By Nigel R on 18/11/2020 17:01:19

off topic....slightly. We have been waiting since march for a Hotpoint freezer to become available to order..nothing, they are made in Poland and Spain....down to CV also.

ken anderson...ne..1...freezer dept.

ken, why Hotpoint?

hello Nigel, we want the same as what we have now...same model, we've had it for 20 years and it is suffering from old age....didn't realise that Hotpoint is now owned by Whirlpool(American)...we had a look a few different brands/models...we took a shine to a Bosch one...then found out that they are now owned and made by Beko(nothing wrong with Beko mind)...our washer is made by them and is a goodin…...Sorry everyone for going way off topic.

ken anderson...ne..1..off topic dept.

Hi ken. I believe bosch are still owned by bosch group. Not beko.

We have some bosch kit, washer, tumbler and dishwasher. Would buy again.

also have several beko units, oven and fridge freezer, not sure i would buy those again!

Do a YouTube search for wind turbine blades and you'll find that they're made from a hollow composite structure - the ones I've seen are huge and have nothing to do with balsa. One example here.

Something not ringing true about the balsa shortage?

Edited By Cuban8 on 19/11/2020 09:16:34

Even the Yanks use Balsa to make Turbine Blades

see @40 seconds, a big carpet of balsa flies into the composite shell.

Edited By Nigel R on 19/11/2020 10:34:25

Nigel, thanks for that video.

I think that the definition of "core" was not quite what I was thinking.

The Vintagemodelcompany

**LINK**

Get this 10 sheet bundle of 1/16" balsa for just £4 - you never know when it might come in useful!