Now Know More About Balsa Wood

Starting with the 5th generation Chevrolet Corvette, the floor pan of the Corvette was composed of balsa sandwiched between two sheets of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.Norwegian scientist/adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, convinced that early contact between the peoples of South America and Polynesia was possible, built the raft Kon Tiki from Balsa logs, and upon it he and his crew sailed the Pacific Ocean from Peru to the Polynesian Tuamotu Archipelago in 1947. Balsa wood is also a popular wood type used in the art of whittling.
Balsa wood is grown all around the world – including Australia – but at this stage the best balsa is harvested from Ecuador in South America, and is a high moisture content wood which is kiln dried for a week. This drying process results in a very lightweight wood but very strong for its weight. Though balsa wood is extremely light, it retains a great deal of structural strength, making it the perfect material for products in which overall weight is a critical factor.
Riley has supplied quality balsa since 1996. Riley is now growing and using balsa from Northern Queensland – see the photos of the seeds, seedlings, young trees, old trees – there is even a video of the large tree that was knocked down in Cyclone Yasi on 3rd Feb 2011. Riley bought this from a land owner because it was going to rot away – so we cut it up and supplied the owner with some balsa surfboards.