Hi everyone.
It looks like I may be able to pickup about 500 board feet of knotty pine 3/4 inch tongue and groove paneling for free.
I help a remodeler from time to time, and he said I can have the wood. It is straight and dry, at least I am assuming because it has been is a basement rec room for about 35 years. It is really beautiful and has darkened nicely, I don’t think it has ever had anything on it. I plan to leave the aged face of the wood intact not even sanding it, and make some reproduction shaker blanket chests, and other pieces that would benefit from an aged pine look. Any cut edges would just need to be stain matched.
My question is is it worht the trouble to haul home and clean up? And how can I store it to help ensure that it remains flat? I don’t have the full complement of machines i.e. planer and jointer so I need to keep it as true as possible. I also am short on space my plan is to lay it flat on the garage floor, on plastic, to prevent moisture absorption. It is already dry so I don’t think I need to sticker it right?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Webby
Replies
It's history will have no effect on how it will act in the future. Just bring it into your shop and sticker it up, preferably a few feet off of the floor.
Placing it on a cement floor with or without plastic will probably lead to moisture absorption and warping especially if it isn't stickered.
I would figure on lightly sanding it as needed to clean it up from marks created by handling and machining the wood. Trying to stain the fresh wood to match will lead to problems of uneven color. Over time the aged look will return naturally. The wood probably had some kind of a light finish on it, knotty pine was almost never left unfinished, it got dirty too easily.
A "Shaker" chest won't be a reproduction if it has knots in it, they just didn't use knotty wood, which is true of almost all pre machine age woodworking.
John White
500 board feet of any free wood is wortht it!
webby,
I would echo what John said. My experience with concrete floors has typically been that they are like a moisture magnet. The further away from concrete slabs you can keep the wood the better.
I plan to leave the aged face of the wood intact not even sanding it
When milling wood like this for pieces I would cut it into sizes appropriate for the piece and simply join the pieces together. So what if it has a ding or three, adds to the patina.
If you decide to keep a piece natural I would recommend using shellac for a finish. We have a very old gun cabinet that was my fathers and it too had been left unfinished for more than 50 years. We wanted to preserve and protect it without upsetting the patina and shellac worked very well. I thinned it to about a 1½# cut and padded on several coats.
Have fun with that wood,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
First of all thanks for all the advice to everyone.
"When milling wood like this for pieces I would cut it into sizes appropriate for the piece and simply join the pieces together. So what if it has a ding or three, adds to the patina."
That is exactly what I plan to do. I see you have picked up on my intent. This wood has such beautiful color it is hard to describe. I plan to mill it as gently as possible and disguise any cuts, (with luck) and touch up any fresh marks. Then put a gentle finish on it maybe shellac, maybe oil and wax.
Unfortunately it is knotty, but all tight knots, and some peices very clear. I think it is a number 1 grade? I dare say that if you were to buy it today, you would not get the equivalent of this.
I first have to clean the nails out of it. My real problem is storage space. I really don't have the space for it but I am not letting it go so something has got to give. Lol.
I saw an episode of American woodshop, where Scottt Phillips took some really beat looking lumber old barn wood or something and made a drysink or maybe a chest of some type. Gave me the inspiration and bravery to work with more challenging wood.
Thanks
Webby
Let me see, is it worth it? Thats one heck of a gift I'll join in the others. Get it off the floor! Take it home put some 4x4's on the floor. Sticker it, and let it set for a while to get use to the shop then start making sawdust! I have a trash can of stickers I reuse all the time. I bought a sheet of MDF and cut it into 3/4 strips and use those over and over. Never had any issues. Did you go buy a lottery ticket as well?
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I would take it in a heart beat if you don't have a project you might be able to list it as a trade item on Craig's list for some wood that you need.
Good luck
Troy
I too came into some of this. But I gave it a light planing and for most things, sawed off the t&g portions.
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