Printable View
I was just given a small stash of 50 year old Redwood. Not a lot, maybe 40 BF, but it's really nice stuff. Flat-sawn, but dense straight grained & 100% heartwood. I have no idea what to make with it, if anything.
Sadly, it's already 3/4" (X 8" and 10") but very straight so I won't have to mill off much at all.
Not thick enough for Adirondak chairs, right? And not enough BF for two of them.
Any ideas?
Blanket chest box,or outdoor storage box, for shoes or gardening stuff and thingies. Love that old growth redwood solid and hard nothing like what's at the borg.
Hmmm, yeah maybe an outdoor box for something... maybe a cover for a hose reel or something.
Seems like a waste of really nice lumber, though. Anything outdoors will eventually grey, even Redwood, no?
Yeah if it's in the sun it will turn gray,at least it will be a nice gray.👍
Customer asked for redwood doors, both exterior and interior, so that's what I made. Aside from being somewhat soft, redwood's main issue, IMO, is its tendency to shelling -- delamination along the grain lines.
I would think it would work fine for Adirondak chairs. Just be sure to use stainless fasteners to avoid staining.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
In 1962, I made my mother a cutting board out of heart redwood that was made of two pieces glued together with Elmer's White glue. She used it for over 50 years and now it is going into use by the next generation. I think the glue failed once or twice, but a quick pass across the jointer and more glue put it back together again.
Personally I think they are thick enough at 3/4" providing they are reasonably flat to begin with. Heavier wood would add to the weight. As for not having enough, perhaps you could use another type wood, i.e. cedar, etc., for contrast in "strategic" locations to provide your own uniqued "A" chair.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
I have not use a lot of redwood but I did make a nice Adirondak chairs about 8 years ago and it is still going, never been put inside, has set out all that time.
Attachment 317999
What about a boat? You couldn't make an entire boat out of it, obviously, but a skin on frame boat would benefit from using Redwood. It's a good outdoor wood that is super lightweight and takes steam bending well.
This one uses plywood frames, but you can find others that would use steam bent frames. I have the plans for this, just haven't had time to make it yet.
http://gentrycustomboats.com/Whitehallpage.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Launier
That's not a bad idea! I have a ton of White Oak, which is very weather resistant. It might contrast well with some kind of analine dye, or maybe "ebonized."
Bill, that chair you show is actually unfinished, and been outside for 8 years? I find that surprising, to put it mildly. I love that design, BTW. - And that's some lovely wood. Mine looks just like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffrey Martel
Nice idea. - But I can't swim. :(
(Seriously. Even if I fill my lungs with air, I still sink like a stone.)
Well I guess that picture is kind of like a TV ad....Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
That picture was taken when I first made the chair, it is now nice and gray.
I built these exact reproductions of early 19th Century basement windows out of Redwood because we couldn't find large enough pieces of recycled Heart Pine that were check free. The outsides were painted anyway. I remembered reading that Redwood "takes paint well".....Takes paint so well that it took three coats of primer before we could tell it had anything on it! Bars were made from White Oak. We had one original side piece, one top piece, and we knew the size of the original openings, to know how to make the replacements.
http://historic-house-restoration.co...s/DSCN8447.JPG
Interesting observation, Tom. I haven't had to do much painting of redwood and used solid color stain which worked ok. I did glue up some of the best available redwood 15 years ago for material to be turned. Used yellow glue on a hot day ,left it in clamps for three hours or more. When I started removing clamps the edges of the joints immediately started to open a bit,so I quickly put them back and left them on for a couple of days and they seemed ok. Called glue company tech line and was told that "I can see how that could happen ,but I think it will be ok". Since then I've used only rescorcinal or UF glue.The wood was freshly sanded to asure suitable unoxidized surfaces ,so I don't know what the problem was. Strange material.
I used clear all-heart redwood for the racks and sliding trays in the 25 case wine cooler I built.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Speers
I "had to have" redwood, for some reason. A monumental waste of $$$, but it sure looks great.