I'm working on a Hope Chest for/with my oldest daughter (blogging it here)
I had a red oak timber (8×8x14') left over from the framing of our house (DIY timberframe 16 years ago) and the idea of making the chest from the same lumber that came off our land and framed our house was appealing so I had it resawn and have been prepping the stock (joining and planing) for the project.
My problem is that the lumber has so many knots, checks and splits, that I'm finding it very difficult to get boards wide and long enough (I need 8 at 4-1/2" x 42") for the glued up top and the long rails. And though I've done a fair bit of framing and finish carpentry in my time, this is my first true furniture project…. so I don't know how large of a defect is acceptable.
Aesthetically, small tight knots are not really a show stopper for us….. but something that opens up and ruins the finished chest a month after it's done is.
Here's some specifics…
1. After squaring up and plainin the lumber down to 7/8", I have some residual checks/splits that show on the back side of some of my boards, but only go ~ half way through of less. Are these safe to use?
2. Or how about the swirled or angled grain (from knots that were ripped out of the board). Will they cause problems?
3. I have a few small (~1/4" dia.) crumbly black knots remaining in boards that I really need. Can I fill these with epoxy to stabilize them?
Should I rip down the few 5" wide boards that I have to remove all defects and make the glued up top out of ~3" wide boards instead?
The lumber is very dry (< the 6% min. reading on my old analog moisture meter) and is a mix of straight and face grain.
I'm beginning to wish I had not offered this lumber as an option….. I've got a lot of time into prepping a small stack of boards, that may not even be suitable. More than half of the lumber will wind up in the wood stove.
We're not looking for the posh and perfect look…. Shaker/country is more our style. But I don't want it to warp or split.
The biggest lesson learned from my DIY timber frame was "never again poor tons of labor into sub standard materials"..... I don't want/need perfection…. but I don't want to make the same mistake again either.
Help and advice is much appreciated.
I had a red oak timber (8×8x14') left over from the framing of our house (DIY timberframe 16 years ago) and the idea of making the chest from the same lumber that came off our land and framed our house was appealing so I had it resawn and have been prepping the stock (joining and planing) for the project.
My problem is that the lumber has so many knots, checks and splits, that I'm finding it very difficult to get boards wide and long enough (I need 8 at 4-1/2" x 42") for the glued up top and the long rails. And though I've done a fair bit of framing and finish carpentry in my time, this is my first true furniture project…. so I don't know how large of a defect is acceptable.
Aesthetically, small tight knots are not really a show stopper for us….. but something that opens up and ruins the finished chest a month after it's done is.
Here's some specifics…
1. After squaring up and plainin the lumber down to 7/8", I have some residual checks/splits that show on the back side of some of my boards, but only go ~ half way through of less. Are these safe to use?
2. Or how about the swirled or angled grain (from knots that were ripped out of the board). Will they cause problems?
3. I have a few small (~1/4" dia.) crumbly black knots remaining in boards that I really need. Can I fill these with epoxy to stabilize them?
Should I rip down the few 5" wide boards that I have to remove all defects and make the glued up top out of ~3" wide boards instead?
The lumber is very dry (< the 6% min. reading on my old analog moisture meter) and is a mix of straight and face grain.
I'm beginning to wish I had not offered this lumber as an option….. I've got a lot of time into prepping a small stack of boards, that may not even be suitable. More than half of the lumber will wind up in the wood stove.
We're not looking for the posh and perfect look…. Shaker/country is more our style. But I don't want it to warp or split.
The biggest lesson learned from my DIY timber frame was "never again poor tons of labor into sub standard materials"..... I don't want/need perfection…. but I don't want to make the same mistake again either.
Help and advice is much appreciated.