Hello,

I am working on my first rocket to use Basswood fins, I Found that with a good sanding the fins became quite smooth. Is it traditional to use sanding sealer on basswood?

I just do not know.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts.

One light coat of sanding sealer on basswood fins is usually plenty to fill the grain.
Sand after coat. If needed go with a second coat but basswood never needs more than 2, unlike balsa that in the worst case may need 4-6 coats.

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Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

I agree with GH. I have several scratch builds that have basswood fins. 1 coat of sealer is usually enough. I have purchased some basswood that has been smooth enough after a good initial sanding that a good coat of primer filled in the grain nicely.

__________________
Dave
Fire is the leading cause of fire.
Was once SAM#0132

Hmm. I may try basswood too. Is there any reason NOT to use basswood?

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Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

It is a little harder to cut and sand. OTOH, sanding tends to be more precise . . . it is easier to shape nice airfoils w/o getting out of hand.

It is heavier.

Because the grain is tighter, glue doesn't seep in as readily, so bonds aren't quite as strong. (Generally not a problem with TTW mounting.)

It is a bit more expensive.

I use epoxy EXCLUSIVELY when using basswood or ply fins.
Epoxy penetrates the wood much better than any "wood" glue.
With TTW fins, Titebond may be fine, but NOT surface mounted.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

I mostly agree with stefanj and GH.
I agree that it's a bit harder to cut, but I've never had any problems sanding it. I think that since it is a bit harder, it's a bit more forgiving than balsa when rounding or tapering edges.
Epoxy is the only way to go when surface mounting the fins.

My only negative is it seems to be a bit brittle sometimes and fins will crack on a hard landing, but balsa does that too.

__________________
Dave
Fire is the leading cause of fire.
Was once SAM#0132

ditto ,, i've had issues with it cracking real easily before ,,,mabey it was the grade or grain I was using. Or mabey it was just dried out
so I still like the papered balsa best for strength and lightness

Thanks for all of the advice on basswood.

I've carved out my first basswood set. I'm putting them on my LAST #2001 SV. I thought it may be a good idea to use the basswood on the SV because a) the model already weighs a ton, b) the SV's fins are some of the hardest to replace if damaged, c) I'll be able to sand a razor-thin taper into the tighter grain (I'm not quite done sanding them yet.)

They are indeed harder to cut.
Mary was able to stop the bleeding but not the swearing.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Those are beautiful leading edges- mind if I ask for details on your technique? Also, unless you're amazingly precise (it happens to others, not to me!), how thick are those fins? Please tell me they're 3/4"!!!