Comments on: You can observe a lot just by watching

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 02 May 2021 16:14:42 +0000

Yea, John, I wonder if it is lack of knowledge, a crass get-‘er-done approach, or just an attitude that says make it look good at delivery then run, hoping that the client will just assume that’s what normally happens to wooden things.
Rob

By: John Jenkins

John Jenkins — Sat, 01 May 2021 14:55:49 +0000

My wife catches me all the time – checking out the tables and chairs or even exposed ceiling trusses.

One of our regular restaurants replaced the tables and chairs. The tables were really nice looking with tight breadboards. I predicted future issues to my wife and they did start showing up pretty quickly.

It’s nothing new, you’d think it wouldn’t be encountered so often.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 22:49:36 +0000

Thanks again, Gav, for these perspectives on Aussie woods. I love Tasmanian blackwood.
Yes, interesting how plantation grown woods differ from the same species in the wild. Big-leaf mahogany is like that.
Rob

By: Gav

Gav — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 04:58:21 +0000

Upside down, back to front yes we have it all. Actually a lot of the stuff relating to native timbers here are not just hearsay. They often are heavy, dense and devious in the ability to blunt tools. The movement side of things can be instructive. Much of the plantation softwood grown here moves a tremendous amount, even the furniture grade, so giving it time can work wonders or getting it from New Zealand! I only located the bread board ends on the coffee table in the middle but owing to the width cheated a bit and used a small amount of very flexible flooring glue towards the ends. The top shrank by nearly 6mm across 600mm even though all the jarrah was stored for many years and the same moisture content. No cracks or bowing however so I seem to have allowed enough for it. Funnily enough some of the movement regarding cupping does seem to be contrary with some of the jarrah I have seen externally. Rough sawn can be hard to read. I read a really interesting article about native timber recovered from lakes in Australia and how some of the traditional methods of processing can be altered because the water had driven out all the sap and it is more stable . Wood tricks never stop.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 15:49:05 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Gav. So all that talk about wood warping the opposite way in the Land Down Under is just myth, right? Ha, seriously, yes, it is instructive to observe our work in the wild years later.
Rob

By: Gav

Gav — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:28:15 +0000

The inclination of concavity of some boards has been demonstrated to be even more pronounced in decking boards with different surface finishes with some of the repair work I do. If the board can not move because it is sealed on top with a polyurethane or surface sealer and not a permeable breathable oil which can allow moisture to move through the problem appears to be exacerbated as the bottom of the board is unrestricted in the take up of moisture. In extreme cases I have seen decking screws break unlike nails which bend quite a bit. Wood movement really does impress itself upon you when a chance to study your own work over many years is possible. Fingers crossed the execution of the bread board ends on my mother in laws coffee table have held up well and the top has remained flat . Time will tell although the shrinkage seems to have minimised as the piece acclimatised to her house.