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The table top is still sipping out sap. Is this even possible from something that is 160 years old?
Sure, it's definitely possible. Sap doesn't just disappear from a piece of wood because it's old.
One might think that over that long of a time, the sap should have dried up a little. If it was kept in a cooler place and brought into somewhere warmer, the ...
17
A burl is an outgrowth on a tree:
source wikipedia
They are cause by infestations or injuries.
Inside the burl the grain is twisted and interlocked, this makes it interesting for carvings and for its strength as it's less likely to split. This grain pattern also makes it difficult to work with.
17
In such a wildly changing environment, how is it actually possible to let wood reach its EMC, or is the advice misguided, and does it not actually matter?
It does matter, and the moisture content bit is a bit easier than you're making it out to be. Let me explain.
Humidity fluctuates throughout the day, as we all know. However, on average, an area's ...
16
If nothing else The Wood Database exists solely for this purpose and has a great deal of information about all its woods in its database. The database contains picutres of all its known woods and details where known.
For aiding in identification, most woods will have published at least the following characteristics.
Common Name: e.g Marblewood. Yes in many ...
15
Hardwood is usually from a deciduous tree and softwood is usually from a coniferous one. Hardwoods typically have a higher density (hence hardwood).
Seriously?
For the most part that is the general accepted (although broad) definition and yes there are several exceptions.
Little more than that please
Much like identifying wood species; determining if a ...
14
This is called a butcher block. It comes in two types - edge grain (like in the Norden tables), where the surface shows the edge (long) grain of the pieces of wood:
And end grain, where the surface shows the end grain of the pieces of wood:
Butcher block is made from small pieces, which are glued together. Since wood glue is stronger than the wood it binds,...
13
White wood is the cheap, crappy wood available at home centers, and will vary by region. Here in Arizona, it's white pine.
13
The boards did have 4 smooth surfaces, all perpendicular to each other, and were straight. That was when they came off the mill, though. Since then, they've been exposed to the elements, shipped to the store, handled, etc and nature has taken its course. Each board is different, which is why they all "acclimate" differently.
There are three main solutions
...
12
At least in North America I would consider these to be the more common encountered engineered wood products. Note: While some of the pictures are large this is be design so everyone ( Some people are better at seeing than others ) will be able to see the detail. There might be different regional names for these which I can add later assuming they are correct....
12
The smell comes from the oils in the wood. If you want it to last longer it should remain closed as with your chest.
Direct sunlight, moisture and large temperature changes will dry the wood out faster and avoiding those things will keep it smelling like cedar longer.
Sealing the external surfaces of whatever you make will help the wood keep its smell ...
12
I do not know what wood is common in Portland. Common woods will differ between locales.
If you have lung issues then I would imagine you should't be working unknown woods.
If you are fortunate enough to know the wood you are working then I would refer to the Wood-Database as it has an extensive database with details about "Allergies and Toxicities" for ...
12
Wood stabilization typically refers to reinforcing wood against inherent defects or weaknesses.
In turning, stabilization may mean anything from filling cracks with epoxy, to impregnating the wood with resin.
More generally, you can stabilize a crack with a butterfly inlay or you can again use epoxy or some other filler.
In the case of turning, the ...
11
I assume you're probably more thinking of what is commonly labeled "SPF," which stands for "Spruce/Pine/Fir." Cheap wood used for dimensional lumber; however, pine is a pretty broad category. This Wood Database article handles it well, dividing into "soft pine," and "hard pine."
Soft Pine
Is very soft with regular grain; it might be good for a beginning ...
11
Lee Valley has begun using what they call "torrefied wood" in their plane totes and knobs, which seems like the same thing as what you're explaining above. To quote:
All totes are made using domestic torrefied maple – wood treated with a heating process that changes the structure of the wood at the cellular level, stabilizing it against the swelling and ...
11
I've never worked with it before, and was wondering if it would be a wood that could be worked by hand?
Yes, absolutely. Black walnut isn't really all that hard of a wood, comparatively. Looking at Janka hardness testing, black walnut is about 1010 pound-force. By comparison, basswood is about 410 and purpleheart is 1860.
I would consider purpleheart ...
10
I suspect it is any cheap tree that is fairly white. 'White wood' is not a species. It is likely pine, but in theory could be balsam or aspen or a bunch of others.
I did a little looking and it mostly confirmed that. It can be any of a number of species that all are fairly 'white' with little strong grain showing.
10
In the past removal of old finish from floors was done manually, by scraping, and it does a superb job and doesn't generate large volumes of dust. But it's backbreaking labour and can't be recommended to anyone not used to this sort of exertion, and especially if working on anything other than a small area.
These days the standard way to refinish solid-wood ...
9
The confusion comes from nominal vs. actual dimensions of dimensional lumber.
Typically a solid wood board sold in customary/imperial units is slightly smaller along its thickness and width, the thickness being the smallest dimension. For example, a "2x4" is actually 1.5in x3.5in and a "1x3" is actually 0.75in x 3.5in.
To convert from customary units to ...
9
Now, the wood is thermally modified. Which basically means it went into a kiln at a somewhat higher temperature and underwent a heat-induced chemical reaction.
The thermal modification of wood into what is variously called roasted, toasted, caramelized or more technically torrefied wood takes place at significantly higher temperatures than are used in ...
9
By to look of the "keyhole" shaped holes in the back of the knobs, you're probably supposed to slide them onto the head of a screw that's attached to the wall.
Here's the keyhole in glorious ASCIIart, with labels, to make this easier to explain:
+--+
| | <------ thin end
| |
_-' '-_
/ \
| | <---- ...
9
You could try Lincoln Log™ style
A nice DIY write up at Lumberjocks
At least they are still made of wood.
You could use round magnets like those found here.
You'd want to make the hole with a Forstner bit, and hold them in with epoxy. I'd suggest keeping the magnets away from each other until the epoxy has completely set to ensure they don't pull each ...
9
Wood is made of fibers. Think of wood as a bunch of soda straws or flexible rubber tubes bundled together. When you add water, the fibers expand to hold the extra water. When it dries, they contract. So you will see expansion across the width of the grain, and very little along its length.
There are two types of wood, heartwood and sap wood. Sap wood ...
9
This looks like a beading scratch-stock.
Beading is a decorative detail added to the edges of boards to make them less prone to damage and to hide gaps in joinery or around doors. This tool creates them by scraping the workpiece with the metal blade. This is not a "cutting" operation because the blade is held perpendicular with the workpiece. In this ...
9
This isn't very answerable, as suggested by the comments you are getting. But we can make some general statements about this project.
First of all, whatever you are doing right now: stop. Put the tools down and take a step back. Again, the comments are telling you that at least some of your assumptions are wrong. It is very rare that "refinishing" would ...
8
Does SPF, in general, have any redeeming qualities besides just being cheap
Weight. Fast-growing woods like soft pine, fir, and spruce have densities between about 20 and 30 lbs/ft3. Hard woods like hard maple and oak are upward of 40 lbs/ft3.
The combination of strength and light weight makes spruce the standard choice for certain applications. Sitka ...
8
That's a deliberate misuse of the poor tulip tree's name. White wood is Liriodendron tulipifera, a rather valuable hardwood (which funnily is not white at all).
Insofar, calling the inexepensive soft wood "white wood" is somewhat misleading.
Nevertheless, in practice, home improvement centers will sell anything from spruce, fir, or pine to "coniferous ...
8
It could be the 'reclaimed bit. By reclaiming the wood, one possibility is that they had to resaw the timbers to boards. It might have started out as 8" x 8" timber or some other large dimension. This is actually quite likely, and the 'new' cuts are now exposing new wood.
Even a significant planning to straighten and clean the boards could cause a ...
8
Yes it could
Please read on though
It is important to know that correlation does not equal causation. That is to say that what your husband is doing might be a coincidence as to your symptoms. However both of those woods listed are known irritants that could cause allergy like assumptions. Wood dust and dust in general are known irritants that can trigger ...
8
There are many techniques for designing a piece of furniture that will not tear itself apart with environmental fluctuations, but the key point you're missing is that you ideally want to work the wood while it is at the EMC of the environment in which it will ultimately reside.
All the climate data you have crunched is presumably for a piece that sits ...
8
Almost every glue commonly in use won't take stain, and one or two that are said to stain don't stain as well as you'd like (similar story with 'stainable filler' incidentally) so it's good practice generally when glueing to take steps to prevent squeeze-out being left on the surface of the wood.
The main ways people do this include wiping up the glue ...
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