Buxbaum - Castello (Brazilian origin) - http://www.massiv-holz-werkstatt.de/

[Thunder]

Hi,

 

Two questions, has anyone used the attached site in Germany?

 

Willkommen bei der MassivHolzWerkstatt. - modellbau-holzs Webseite! (massiv-holz-werkstatt.de)

 

Is the Buxbaum Castello wood from Brazil good enough quality for second planking?

 

Oh, a third question. Beech is often described as the scale oak, has anyone planked with this and what are its characteristics? Does it cut and bend easily, is it easy to work with?

 

O.k. 5 questions but whose counting!

 

Adrian

 

 

[druxey]

Buxbaum = boxwood. South American 'boxwood' or Castello is a pale orange-yellow to yellow-brown with extremely fine grain. Some pieces can be brittle, but most can be bent with care using steam or dry heat. This specie is excellent for carving. 

 

Beech (IMHO) is a lovely specie - for cabinetwork. The grain in most pieces is too prominent for model work.

[bruce d]

Adrian, it is not often I would add to a warning from Druxey but ...

Beech varies. Try your piece (if you have one already) with (A) a sanded surface, (B) a planed surface and (C) a sanded surface with a thin coat of WOP or sanding sealer. I tried these tests on a piece salvaged from an Ikea cabinet leg and there is a great difference between (A) and (C). (C) looked mirror smooth and had a scale effect grain that simply did not show up on the test pieces that were sanded but untreated. Other pieces of beech I had from a timber store always had a more prominent grain but I double checked and the Ikea wood was actually beech. You would not know it by comparing the two examples. 

Ignore if you don't have some beech already (or an Ikea donor 😉)

 

HTH

Bruce

[Thunder]

Thank you for the replies, I was looking for something to replace the walnut in my next kit and found the above site after someone placed it on here. The boxwood seems a very good price compared to another provider in the UK which does not sell the sizes the same as the kit. I could actually buy the boxwood and the beech for the same price as the boxwood alone in the UK. Before I purchased i wanted an idea of quality. I have seen a few on site that have purchased box only to find it was what looked like dyed lime.

 

Perhaps i could email for a small sample of each. They do sell pear as well but this is more expensive.

[captain_hook]

I have ordered several times there before (pear stripes and some basswood), but haven't seen Castello on their website. The stripes were precisely cut. You're sure they also sell boxwood?

[druxey]

Pearwood certainly bends nicely.

[vaddoc]

Also check Arkowood. They seem to select the timber they send out quite well.

 

I love beech. It is hard and tough, holds an edge, glues well, sands well, bends fantastically well. Good for frames, planks, keel. Does not split like walnut. I am going to plank two boats at 1:10 scale with it. I like it looks and colour although the pattern is quite prominent.

A couple of things though. The wood pattern depends how it is cut, can be elegant little dots (usually) or wide spots (not very nice). Also, wood seems to vary from tree to tree (I know, big surprise here...) I received some beech recently that seems much harder than wood I bought in the past.

 

If you like the looks go for it.

[Thunder]

7 hours ago, captain_hook said:

I have ordered several times there before (pear stripes and some basswood), but haven't seen Castello on their website. The stripes were precisely cut. You're sure they also sell boxwood?

 

Hi they have labelled it as Buxbaum Castello wood from Brazil which I believe translates as boxwood.

 

Thank you for your comments a great help.

[Thunder]

4 hours ago, vaddoc said:

Also check Arkowood. They seem to select the timber they send out quite well.

 

I love beech. It is hard and tough, holds an edge, glues well, sands well, bends fantastically well. Good for frames, planks, keel. Does not split like walnut. I am going to plank two boats at 1:10 scale with it. I like it looks and colour although the pattern is quite prominent.

A couple of things though. The wood pattern depends how it is cut, can be elegant little dots (usually) or wide spots (not very nice). Also, wood seems to vary from tree to tree (I know, big surprise here...) I received some beech recently that seems much harder than wood I bought in the past.

 

If you like the looks go for it.

 

I did see the Arkowood, there is also Ahorn (maple), Birke (Birch), and Weisbuche (hornbeam or white beech?) which all look to be good woods. 

 

Thank you for your comments. Tempted to try.

 

 

[vaddoc]

Maple is a fantastic wood for planking. Not as hard as beech and pear but holds an edge, superb in bending, easy to work with. Minimal grain, white-ish. If you like the colour, you will not regret.

[Carlos Reira]

I guess Beech is often used for scale oak because of its prominent rays which resemble those of quarter sawn oak in miniature, but if your scale is big enough, slow growth oak branches and twigs are good too, very soft and have lots of oak character.  Castello wood is a nice wood, but it's not box, and can't be worked to the same degree of detail. Real boxwood is all over the UK, and I'll bet more UK boxwood is pruned and discarded every season than could be used by every period ship modeler the world over. But if you need to buy it, there's Chinese boxwood for sale on AliBaba. 

[Thunder]

I have it all over my front garden but after 20 years it is still not substantial enough to get any planks from it. Don't think it will be usable in my life time.

 

I have purchased two sheets of 3mm and 5mm thick . Was wondering what was the best tool to use to one planks off at about 1mm thick. Have run a couple off on my small proxxon circular saw but too many teeth marks where i hesitate. Was thinking of setting into a longer bed to make it better for supporting what is a metre length plank.

[mtaylor]

Thunder, what the tooth count?   Have a look at the first post in this topic and download the file.  There's info in there that very applicable to other types of small saws.   In particular is one for wood thickness vs.  tooth count.

 

 

[Roger Pellett]

Although the forum has devoted much space to theft of intellectual property, I suggest that we broaden the conc pt to ethical purchasing practices in general.

 

On a garden tour of Yorkshire and the English Lake District four years ago, a gardener maintaining a garden featuring a number of ancient Boxwoods  told us that many English Boxwoods were being  lost from an invasive blight that was brought into the country from China.  With that in mind should we really be thinking of buying Chinese Boxwood?

[Thunder]

Hi Mark,

 

That link will be a great help, thank you. I think i will buy some cheap wood to practice on first.

 

Blades and set up are limited with my proxxon so may need to invest in a saw.

 

Adrian