Balsa: The Strongest Wood

Recently on Highways & Byways…

From the BETCHA DON’T KNOW section: Balsa: The Strongest Wood

When I first learned this I thought: balsa, the strongest wood on the planet? But, it’s so light! (Oak was my first guess…).

Strangely, balsa is a hardwood tree, as opposed to a softwood tree. Most hardwoods are deciduous trees that flower, while softwoods -or as botanists like to call them “coniferous gymnosperms”- are non-flowering trees such as pine.

Thinking about balsa wood takes me back to my childhood for two reasons:

Fishing lures and soap box derby cars.

First, the lures. I’ve fished all my life, so I’m quite familiar with lures. We used rubber worms for catching largemouth bass in the Missouri Ozarks, and Rapala lures for catching walleye in northern Wisconsin.

Rapala lure

Rapala lures are made in Finland and they’re practically works of art. They’re also the original balsa wood lure. Balsa wood is ideal for making lures because it’s low in density and high in strength.

Second, soap box derby cars. I made one as a kid, when I was a Cub Scout. The car comes as a kit.

Soap box car kit

The kit usually includes a block of balsa wood, some designs, a weight, two axles and 4 wheels. The process involves carving the car out of the balsa wood, first with a saw, and then perfecting it with an X-Acto knife.

X-Acto knife

Once you’ve finished carving it, you sand it with sandpaper, drill a hole in the bottom and insert the weight. Next, install the axles and wheels - and then paint it. Once the paint has dried, you stick some cool decals on it and…you’re ready to race!

Soap box cars

Vocabulary:

Oak. Roble

To flower. Florecer

Lure. Señuelo

To carve. Tallar

Sandpaper. Papel de lija

To drill. Taladrar

Decal. calcomanía

Published by: Drew Crosby