2025 Science Olympiad Tower Div C: Intro and Rules

[@aikothedog]

I’m just popping in to say thank you for these videos, im from a school that has never done great in build events in general and that doesn’t have great supplies such as balsa wood. I used all of your videos to help me last year and while I had some issues with getting wood I ended up getting a 2nd place medal at our regionals.

[@balsaengineering6686]

Thanks for your kind feedback! Stories like yours are exactly why I make these videos in the first place! I am really happy they've been able to help you out. Good luck this season if you are competing again!

[@aikothedog]

@@balsaengineering6686 I am! Now I’m division C so different school. Hopefully they let me have the event.

[@mirrorfinishautodetailing]

I have been the state level winner of tower/bridge for the past 2 years here in ND, all thanks to your help. I'm hoping to capture one last win before heading off to college next year

[@balsaengineering6686]

Good luck this season!

[@avikateotia8734]

Hi! Where do you buy your balsa wood and what are the dimensions of the balsa wood sticks. Can you link the exact brand you used? Thank you

[@balsaengineering6686]

I like to buy my balsa sheets from Specialized Balsa. Future videos (within the next 2 weeks) will provide more details on exactly what I used this year to achieve my benchmark build.

[@brian604]

@@balsaengineering6686do you recommend them for buying sticks aswell

[@AabirKhan-n8h]

Hey, thanks for the great video. I get my wood from Hobby Lobby, and sometimes Balsa is hard to find and not the best quality. However, I have seen Basswood. Me and my partner want to test the differences out. Do you think it is worth considering basswood?

[@balsaengineering6686]

Definitely give basswood a try if you want, but you'll probably find that it's way too heavy to be competitive. It is generally only the best option for pure tension conditions. FWIW, I like to buy my balsa in sheets from Specialized Balsa and cut my own sticks and that has worked well. Good luck this season!

[@Renyiming754]

What type of glue and what shaped sticks for the cross section and the legs did u use?

[@balsaengineering6686]

I like to use 50cps CA glue for all my builds. I had success with both 1/16 and 1/20 square members for the cross-bracing. For the legs, you'll need to engineering them. You'll definitely want to watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4Wrqpquirhmj7c

[@Renyiming754]

@@balsaengineering6686 thx a lot!

[@steamedfrog8386]

Hey I was just wondering what balsa wood company would be the best to build the tower, because last year I used the standard balsaUSA wood

[@balsaengineering6686]

You can get good wood from a lot of different places but I like to use Specialized Balsa because it is one of the only ways to get exactly the density range you want.

[@steamedfrog8386]

@@balsaengineering6686 Thanks! Will you provide the density when you do the benchmark build?

[@balsaengineering6686]

@@steamedfrog8386 I will include all the details of my benchmark build, but not in that specific video. I will show all the details in some of the videos after that one where I talk about how I went about optimizing the tower. I hope to have them all out by 9/21, so you shouldn't have to wait too long. Thanks!

[@steamedfrog8386]

@@balsaengineering6686 thanks you’re amazing!

[@AmeyMishra22]

Hello! I was just wondering, will you release the jigs CAD files like you did for previous years? Thanks in advance!

[@balsaengineering6686]

Hi! Yes, I plan on releasing all the STL files I used for making the benchmark tower. There are quite a few new challenges involved this year, so I'm going to wait to release them until I have the videos out where I show them in use. I plan to have everything published by 9/21, so stay tuned! Thanks!!

[@AmeyMishra22]

@@balsaengineering6686 That sounds great, thank you so much!