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Finding Figured Wood
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- Created on Wednesday, 02 January 2013 04:00
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Colin
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Woodworkers are always looking for wood that has "figure" or some other anomaly that makes it distinctive. Figured wood is relatively hard to find, as is most wood with some sort of distinction. When it comes to wood that look different there are a few different things to look for and it depends on what you want to do with the wood when you are looking. Wood turners are very often making smaller pieces like bowls, urns, pens and other smaller projects so finding distinctive wood for a turner is very important. Luthiers are probably the highest on the level of looking for distinctive woods because they are always looking for some sort of figured wood for making musical instruments. Wood artists who make smaller projects are also often looking for wood that is different so there is a big call for these kinds of woods.
Very often it is possible to find some of these woods, particularly if you don't need a large volume of it, in something a close as a wood pile. When trees are cut down for firewood, from time to time there are parts of the the tree that are hard to cut with a chain saw, or hard to split with an axe. These pieces or often cast aside, and these are often the pieces that can provide some sort of figure, unique grain structure or even spalting.
Distinctive woods come in a variety of ways, they can be something a simple as "crotch wood", a term used to describe the way wood grows around the joint of a branch and where it joins the main part of a tree, to something more elaborate as a spalting, which happens when wood gets wet for long periods and fungus grows throughout the wood changing the color patterning within the wood.
Breaking Down or "Dressing" Rough Lumber
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- Created on Wednesday, 27 June 2012 23:27
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Colin
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The most economical way to purchase lumber is to buy green, rough cut lumber. Of course the disadvantage is that you have to dry it yourself, which takes time (yes this can take up to 3 or 4 years with some hardwoods), and then in order to make it useable, you need to break it down or "dress" the lumber (at least in most cases) which simply means making it useable for woodworking projects.
The problem with this process is that frequently your wood will warp and bend as it drys, which is normal. Some wood will bend and move slightly while other pieces will bend wildly out of shape. Most lumber as it dries will bend and move in more than one plane creating what is termed a "propeller"shape.
Dressing this lumber down can be a real hazard if you are not careful because of the the way the wood is warped, and especiallt if you are working with 8 or 9 quarter inch thick boards ( 2" - 2 1/2"). thinner lumber such as 4 quarter (one inch thick) is less a bit easier to work with but BOTH can be a hazard, and here'w why ....
Wood Movement and Moisture Content
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- Created on Thursday, 05 May 2011 20:29
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Colin
- Hits: 3221
One of the challenges that novice woodworkers soon discover it that working with wood means you need to understand it's properties, and one of the most rudimentary properties is the moisture content of wood.
Wood has the unique ability to absorb and release moisture. This is due to the cellular makeup of all types of wood, although different species of wood will absorb and release moisture at different rates. It is the coming and going of moisture that accounts for wood movement. If you were to grasp a handful of drinking straws in your hand, this is very similar to the structure wood. It is comprised of long microscopic tubes all bound together. It is these microscopic tubes that exchange nutrients up and down the tree as it is growing, and primarily moisture is gathered from the roots and distributed through the growth rings of the tree and on up into the leaves.
When a living tree is cut down, no matter what time of the year, there is always large moisture content in the tree, and a much higher one in the spring and summer. Depending on how the tree is milled, and how the wood is dried will also affect, to a degree, how that wood absorbs and releases moisture.
Cutting Your Own Boards
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- Created on Friday, 18 March 2011 05:03
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Colin
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Buying Lumber from a local supplier is the norm for most woodworkers. But more and more woodworkers are cutting their own lumber. Where do they get the logs? ... mostly from urban trees that are cut down or blown down by wind storms. Getting logs is often easy. Getting them to a manageable size and in a place that you can cut them can be bit more tricky. Not every neighbor is willing to put up with the sound of someone next door milling hundreds of board feet of lumber ... but, for many, it is still an alternative.
Very often you can find trees that are diseased or that simply get too large for the area they are in and they need to be taken down. Rather than have the wood cut into firewood, it is possible to cut the tree in to manageable size logs and then into borads that you can use ... and if you are a wood turner, you can find some fantastic wood patterns in where limbs and roots attach that can make some stunning turning projects.
You will need some sort of a mill, but for a small investment a good chain saw and with somehting called an Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, you can go about cutting your own lumber. This video shows just how easy it really is ...
Copyright - Colin Knecht
woodworkweb.com
Plywood Grading - Types of plywood
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- Created on Sunday, 17 October 2010 02:04
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Administrator
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When buying plywood from your local Home Depot, Rona, Lowes or other wood supplier, you might have noticed that all the plywood is "graded". The most common plywood grading scheme is from A to D, with A being the highest quality with zero blemishes and great sanding, and D being the worst with the greatest number of blemishes (allowed).
Grading also typically comes in pairs where each grade addresses a different side or “face” of the stock piece, ie one letter will address the quality issues of the front face and the second, the side opposite to the face. So for instance, an A-C plywood sheet would be highly finished on the front face with a relatively poorer finish on the back. Similarly, construction grade C-D (referred to as CDX) plywood, is great for structural use but not for projects requiring a high quality finish.
The Difference in Wood Sizes
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- Created on Saturday, 16 October 2010 09:47
- Last Updated on Saturday, 13 April 2013 07:38
- Written by Administrator
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On a trip to your local home depot or woodworking supplier you might notice the different wood sizes on display, and be scratching your head wondering what it all means. There are a couple important things to remember when purchasing stock.
2x4 vs 1 ½”x3 ½”
The first is that 1 inch doesn’t always mean “1 inch”, so while the label might read 2x4 it actually translates to 1 ½” x 3 ½”, because of dryness and milling methods. Wood tends to shrink when it’s dried and lumber mills make adjustments accordingly. That said, the length of a piece is generally not affected so a piece “measuring” 8’ is usually very close to 96 inches.