Preparing timber

[Peter Sefton]

Thats protecting them from reality, I find that aspect of woodworking the biggest challenge I had moving over from metalwork and everything would be so much easier if the wood I was working with remained the same as I last left it rather than some twisted piece of artwork.

After health and safety induction the very first thing we talk about is timber movement even before we move onto sharpening! If we don't get understand these three fundamental aspects of woodworking we are setting ourselves up for a lifetime of pain.

Maybe protecting from reality or maybe not setting them up to fail, hopefully this thread will share my timber management strategy as I have learnt the hard way how tricky timber movement can be to work with.

Richard Jones is more qualified than I to talk about timber movement in detail but this is my take on dealing with my own timbers which I hope helps others.

Peter Sefton Timber Selection Download

Cheers

Peter

 

[baldkev]

Not used it outside but it is said to be very durable.

The high tannin content can stain the students hands purple but soon remedied with a bit of lemon juice, which also helps find any slight cuts in your hands!

Ahhh. Does that work with the tanin reaction on oak? Ive had success with oxalic acid removing staining on oak.
In the same way, citric acid is fantastic for rust removal

If we don't get understand these three fundamental aspects of woodworking we are setting ourselves up for a lifetime of pain.

Most of my work has been 2nd fix, kitchens and built-ins, with the occasional roof thrown in, so i havent had to contend with much wood movement until starting in the workshop. Ive learnt a lot in the last 18 months thanks to you lot

 

[clive griffiths]

I wanted to share a few images showing some of my timber from buying to drying and working down to size.View attachment 127263View attachment 127264View attachment 127265View attachment 127266View attachment 127267View attachment 127268View attachment 127269View attachment 127270

I have been planing up timber in preparation for the next few months short courses. I usually go out and select my own boards and then after delivery I leave it to settle in the dry storeroom for a couple of weeks.

I have machined this down to around 4mm over it's finished size, I usually leave it in stick or stacked so air can get around it for final acclimatisation to the workshop at 9-11% MC. This process also allows any tension to be released and should help the timber stay stable in the long term.

Commercial workshops may not have the time to go through this procedure but this does help students as working with cupped or twisted timber makes life a whole lot more tricky.

Cheers

Peter

Hi Peter.

How are you getting on with the planer / thicknesser?
Clive.

 

[Peter Sefton]

@baldkev oxalic works wonders on Oak and Chestnut for removing the black staining associated with steel contamination, and the lemon juice will clean hands after tannin and steel reactions.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Peter Sefton]

Hi Peter.

How are you getting on with the planer / thicknesser?
Clive.

Loving the spiral block, very quiet and clean cutting but I have noticed more resistance when surfacing wide boards, using push blocks more (with guards in place).

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/micro-jig-grr-rip-block-smart-pushblock-dual-pack/
Just getting used to the 12M top feed speed, having to move fast around the thicknesser but good to remove material quickly in the early stages of timber prep.

Cheers

Peter

 

[pgrbff]

I have seen yellow staining a couple of times, the other issue that also crops up is ring shake (splits following the annual ring) but only had it in a couple of boards. The first delivery I had for the beginners course twelve years ago bought wood worm into the workshop, this article from the old British Woodworking talks about it.

https://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.com/media/1177/peterseftonitsabugslifearticleaug2010.pdf

Ring shakes are common in lesser quality material.
Historically sweet chestnut is the goto wood where I live. External doors (unpainted), windows, beams, floorboards, roof and heads over doors and windows in stone walls. It is extremely durable but if used outside, heads or balcony construction for example, tanin will run down the wall when it rains, which isn't as often as the UK.
It is also the main source for heating as many, if not most, will have either wood stoves for cooking and heating or as I do, a boiler for CH.
I have around 6 hectares of chestnut woodland. French furniture grade was around 900 euro a m(3).

 

[johnnyb]

understanding timber selection to me is fundamentally about choosing which species to make something from.
many are totally unsuited to certain uses. ie non durable outside. but the joy of making thin moulding from a stable timber is amazing.
selection amongst a single species can yield limited results as the properties are fundamentally similar.
joiners try and sidestep this by only using accoya. but the same rules apply it still has " properties" ( its brittle stains only stainless stuff etc)

 

[pgrbff]

I no longer buy from my local supplier. With chestnut, they take the view that very narrow boards which are mostly waney edge, ring shake and knots are all part of the timber and I have to pay for them.

 

[accipiter]

Hi @Peter Sefton The photos in your opening post remind me of my time spent at a local timber centre & craft outlet. Seeing those wood stacks of waney edged boards in stick, helping the talented pro cabinet makers and talented "hobbyists" to go through to select boards, keeping them informed if a particular figured species arrived went a long way with them. Selecting through for machining stock for planed W/E or PAR stocks as well as turning blanks of English timbers as well as imported and exotics... The annual craft shows... Best job I ever had and sorely missed when made redundant in 1992. However I did get the opportunity to build up some stock - 90% English Yew, a small bit of E. Oak - which I still have 30 years later. Other employment and family commitments interfered with free time to make use of it. Sorry for the "reminisces"

 

[clive griffiths]

Loving the spiral block, very quiet and clean cutting but I have noticed more resistance when surfacing wide boards, using push blocks more (with guards in place).

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/micro-jig-grr-rip-block-smart-pushblock-dual-pack/
Just getting used to the 12M top feed speed, having to move fast around the thicknesser but good to remove material quickly in the early stages of timber prep.

Cheers

Peter

I purchased the Ad 741 last year and has been in the UK for a few weeks due to my new workshop being a couple of months behind with the build for various reasons, looking forward to getting it finished and fitted out, a new router table will be next on the list.
Clive.