Abstract: A structural laminate in which an end-grain balsa core panel is sandwiched between and adhered to facing skins that cover the edges of the panel as well as its opposing faces. To make it possible for facing skins that cannot be sharply bent to conform to edges of the panel, these edges are bevelled to impart a gentle slope thereto. Bevelling is effected by means of a high-pressure die whose angled face has a staircase formation defined by a series of right-angle microsteps. When the die is forced against a right angle edge of the core panel to be bevelled with a pressure exceeding the compressive strength of the balsa, each microstep then impose pressure in a direction parallel to the axes of the cluster of internal balsa cells engaged by the microstep to more or less collapse this cluster to an extent depending on the staircase position of the microstep, thereby densifying the internal structure of the balsa at the edge of the panel without disintegrating this structure.

Abstract: A structural laminate in which an end-grain balsa core panel is sandwiched between and adhered to facing skins that cover the edges of the panel as well as its opposing faces. To make it possible for facing skins that cannot be sharply bent to conform to edges of the panel, these edges are bevelled to impart a gentle slope thereto. Bevelling is effected by means of a high-pressure die whose angled face has a staircase formation defined by a series of right-angle microsteps. When the die is forced against a right angle edge of the core panel to be bevelled with a pressure exceeding the compressive strength of the balsa, each microstep then imposes pressure in a direction parallel to the axes of the cluster of internal balsa cells engaged by the microstep to more or less collapse this cluster to an extent depending on the staircase position of the microstep, thereby densifying the internal structure of the balsa at the edge of the panel without disintegrating this structure.