Just as a point of interest (not to detract from the cartoon), green balsa wood is heavy. One source on the internet says that green balsa wood is five sixths water—hence the weight.
Four to twenty pounds per cubic foot, dry. It could do considerable damage. The WW-II Mosquito was two inches of twelve pound balsa between 5/16th inch mahogany plywood. Extremely sturdy.
imnotreal2: Generally yes. They leave them for a year before floating them to the sawmills. Also, they can’t be “domesticated”, but exist only alone in mixed-species groves. This adds to the cost. In lumberman terms, a softwood is a conifer while a hardwood is deciduous. Therefore balsa is a hardwood, while the hardest, lignum vita, is a softwood. He’s a lumberjack, so that’s all right.
kwanza_30303 almost 10 years ago
Just as a point of interest (not to detract from the cartoon), green balsa wood is heavy. One source on the internet says that green balsa wood is five sixths water—hence the weight.
Zen-of-Zinfandel almost 10 years ago
As wood luck would have it
n4hhe almost 10 years ago
Even dried balsa of that size would hurt.
hippogriff almost 10 years ago
Four to twenty pounds per cubic foot, dry. It could do considerable damage. The WW-II Mosquito was two inches of twelve pound balsa between 5/16th inch mahogany plywood. Extremely sturdy.
AlanM almost 10 years ago
I once read that a freshly cut balsa log won’t float.
Stephen Gilberg almost 10 years ago
He used to be a foot taller, tho.
hippogriff almost 10 years ago
imnotreal2: Generally yes. They leave them for a year before floating them to the sawmills. Also, they can’t be “domesticated”, but exist only alone in mixed-species groves. This adds to the cost. In lumberman terms, a softwood is a conifer while a hardwood is deciduous. Therefore balsa is a hardwood, while the hardest, lignum vita, is a softwood. He’s a lumberjack, so that’s all right.
DevilDog2001 Premium Member over 6 years ago
The joke is that Balsa wood is a SOFTwood, and has very little density.