Cg syp = pita

[James Carmichael]

This stuff seemed to be the workkbench wood du jour since Chris Schwarz published his book, so I picked up some 2x10s from the BORGs cutoff bin several months ago.

I decided to use a 4' piece as a French cleat on a wall-mounted shop cabinet. I jointed an edge, ripped it in half, then jointed a face on each board (no small task given how much wind they had) and let them sit several days.

This morning I tried to rip the two 4 1/2" boards in half at 45. The second I cut this stuff, it twists like a pretzel. Most of the wood is quartersawn. This ended up being too nerve-wracking on the table saw, so I took it to the bansaw. Due to all the movement, I first had to rejoint, leaving once piece of what had been 6/4 stock barely over 4/4. So I resawed to get them all the same thickness, just over 1". What had been a flat, quartersawn, 4 1/2 x 1 3/8"-thick board came off the bandsaw looking like a stave from an old whiskey keg.

And no, it's not pressure-treated.

Dunno what wood my next bench will be built of, but SYP won't be on the short list.

[Tony Bilello]

plywood can make a great workbench. http://sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=138

This bench is very heavy and stable and serves me well. Anyway, it's just a thought.

[Howard Acheson]

The species of wood is not the issue, the moisture content is. It sounds like you are using construction lumber. Construction lumber is generally only dried to 18-19% EMC. Some, if it is marked "KD" is dried to 12-14%. But either is not dry enough to ensure stability.

[Julian Nicks]

I've had spf lumber that was over 20% mc. That is definitely your problem. You need it to be below 10% if you plan on ripping it in half, and expect it not to move on you.

If you need to rip it in half and are in a hurry to use it, you can rip it then flip the boards over so the ripped edge is sticking out, then clamp the two together for a few days. This will aid in keeping the boards from bowing while giving the wood a chance to equalize moisture content, since both boards will be wanting to move in opposite directions.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

James,

Since you got it a couple months ago, I would have expected the MC to have equalized by now. And I generally find the wider material (2x10s and 2x12s) to be of better quality and less likely to warp, twist, bow, etc. The 2x4s are the worst.

I use KD SPF construction lumber all the time in my shop and after a couple weeks it's down to 8-10% from 12-14%. I haven't used SYP recently, but I'd expect it to act about the same.

Do you have a moisture meter? If so, what's the moisture content?

[glenn bradley]

Hmmmm , BORG wood . . . . problems . . . . think about it ;-) I tried to save some money buying some KD fir from HD to frame my benchtop. Even after being stickered in my garage in sunny California for 2 months, it still continued to twist and shrink after machining. I had so much unusable material that I could have bought maple at the lumber yard and been ahead. End result is that I will have to re-do the frame on my bench and pay for a better material anyway.

[Julian Nicks]

It's not just the big box stores that have issues with their lumber twisting. Any lumber yard who gets a load of lumber that was improperly dried will have the same problem. Southern yellow pine is more dense than pine or doug fir. This is why it takes longer to dry out compared to spf lumber. I fhardwood air dries at approximately one inch per year, then I would assume syp would be close to that, so a few months in your shop might not be long enough. If you put a fan on it to help circulation, it might speed things up.

[Peter Gregory]

I like SYP and the western equivalent Douglas Fir. They are no fun when wet. The standard year of drying per 1" of thickness is still in effect. Sticker your boards and wait it out. It is good stuff, if sappy, when dry.

I have had the same problem with wet red oak though. Wet is wet.

[Bruce Wrenn]

The magic words are "CUT OFF BIN." When you buy the junk they couldn't sell, what do you expect? The reason it is there is it was twisted / warped / cupped. They cut it into shorter lengths. If you will look at Chris's recommendations, most likely he will say pick the straightest pieces, which you didn't. Truely a case of "you get what you pay for."