balsa wood is a
lightweight, almost foam-like wood often sold in thin sheets meant to be used
for miniature woodworking and small structures. This soft wood is commonly
joined together using glue, but this process adds weight and creates joints that
are permanent. If you're looking to build a balsa wood project with no added
weight and that can be disassembled, join the pieces of wood by creating a
mechanical joint.
Create a mock-up of the structure you want using masking tape. Tape the wood
lightly, just enough to hold the pieces in place while you plan the
structure.
Mark the structure's wood joints with colored pencil. On each taped joint,
mark the wood on either side with colored pencil. Use a different color for each
joint; this will help you identify which edges of the disassembled pieces are
meant to go with which.
Disassemble the structure. Remove all masking tape and discard.
Create an interlocking tooth pattern on one side of each joint. Draw a line
of small squares on the edge of each piece of wood that will need to be
connected, alternating jutting and inverted squares (see the link in “resources”
below to get an idea of what this will look like). Cut out the recessed squares
using a fine grinding bit on the rotary cutter.
Sketch an inversion of the pattern you just did on the opposite side of each
joint. Coordinate colors from step to lay the freshly cut piece over the piece
it's going to join with, lining them up edge-to-edge. Trace the empty spaces;
these will become the teeth on the second piece and the traced shapes of the
teeth from the first piece will become empty spaces.
Use the rotary cutter to cut out the inverted traced spaces you just
drew.
Repeat steps - with all other joints in the project.
Test each individual joint to make sure it locks up correctly. If it does
not, carefully adjust the size of the teeth and hollows on the joints, using the
rotary cutter.
Re-assemble the structure.
The more related information comes from http://www.balsafactory.com/.
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