I normally try to save my money where I can. If I can build my own of something for cheaper than I can buy a commercial one for, I most often will. In this case it is a balsa stripper. I needed one of these tools the other evening but
I didn’t want to spend the $5-$7 on it and more importantly, I didn’t want to have to wait for it. This tool is very simple, it is just a blade held a specific distance away from a flat edge. I knew I could make one within 10 minutes. . .
My homemade balsa stripper isn’t as precise as the commercially available ones, nor is it as easy to adjust. The only thing important to me though is that it gets the job done.
This balsa stripper is very easy to build. I took a Jenga block and drilled a hole perpendicular to the block in the center of the wider side. I then took a washer and put it on a wood screw and then slid a straight razor blade onto the screw. Then I put a washer, or two depending on how thick of a slice I wanted to make, on the screw and then screwed it into the hole in the Jenga block. So the order in which the stuff goes on the screw is: washer, razor blade, washer/s (these washers determine how thick of a slice you want to make), then the Jenga block.
That’s it. Very simple and quick thing to build.
Pictures . . .
