Indoor News and Views

A New Wood Cutter – Krucoun Krucky

Krucoun Krucky of the Czech Republic has started cutting high quality indoor balsa. He provided three sheets for me to review at the 2016 F1D world Championships. I chose three sheets at random out of a stack of more than 100 sheets. Each of the three sheets was a bit over 20 inches long. Thus, they are an ideal length for making two F1D motor stick blanks out of one sheet.

Generally when reviewing wood we consider the packing and grading of the wood, but neither are applicable in this case. Since I took possession of the sheets directly from the stack, I cannot comment on how the sheets would be packed for shipping. Furthermore, the sheets are ungraded, as such, no commentary can be offered on accuracy of the grading.

Sheets 1 – 3 (from top to bottom) laid out on a table

Sheets 1 and 2 are relatively straight along the length of the sheet, however sheet 3 curved with the center rising 0.25 inches above the ends when paced against a straight edge.

Surface finish of sheet 1

The surface of the sheet is smooth and there are no visible saw marks.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Surface view of sheet 2

The surface of the sheet is smooth and there are no visible saw marks.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Surface finish of sheet 3

The surface is relatively smooth, but there are some visible saw marks in the top left of the photo. The marks are more visible when viewing the sheet in person.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Krucoun Krucky is offering sheets for $5 plus postage. I would like to thank him for the opportunity to review the sample sheets.

Nick Ray  ~ 7.16