# Un-warping (balsa) wood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514 "2003-04-13T22:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/1 "2003-04-13T22:37:01Z")
I am working on a model airplane and some of the parts are warped. To be more accurate they are slightly curved. Thae can be bent bach to the correct position easily but will not stay there. I have a feeling this plane will never fly with a twisted fuselage so… What is the best way to correct this. Should I soak the wood and then clamp it in the correct position say, overnight? I paid about $150 for the kit so I really would like to solve this. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/2 "2003-04-13T22:38:22Z")
Sorry about the spelling! ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/3 "2003-04-13T22:47:12Z")
In the past I’ve had luck with unwarping wings by building a fixture that would twist the part slightly past the desired shape. Wet the part and SLOWLY remove the twist so it can be clamped in the fixture. Allow the part to dry completely and your problem may be gone. Or not! Sometimes it’s just luck. I’m asuming that the parts were joined with a non water soluble glue such as Zap or HotStuff. If you used a alephatic resin wood glue such as TiteBond that would be OK too. I some cases you might need to actually break parts to get a warp out. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/4 "2003-04-13T23:13:03Z")
GaryM Tha parts haven’t been glued yet. The individual pieces are warped. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/5 "2003-04-14T00:55:57Z")
Well, if they are flat parts, like fuselage sides, you could wet, or steam, them and put them under weight to flatten them. Same principle. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/6 "2003-04-14T01:48:45Z")
I’ll give it a shot thanks! But is it better to wet or steam them and how doy you steam balsa? Is there a particular method? ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-warping-balsa-wood/168514/7 "2003-04-15T04:31:55Z")
Doing a search of this site - [http://www.flightlines.com/](http://www.flightlines.com/) should give you all the information you need.