I was watching the Garden Bench video and episode one features a good discussion with Hank Gilpin about outdoor furniture construction. A quick pop-up screen lists several woods that are suitable; including white oak, cedar, redwood, etc.
I was surprised to see walnut on that list and more surprised to find that cypress was not on it. I’ve built several pieces from cypress and have left them unfinished so they’re zero maintenance and over time the wood weathers to a nice pewter gray.
Here in the Southeast cypress is readily available and pretty cheap. Why was cypress omitted from Hanks list? Just not available in Rhode Island or something more fundamental? What’s been the collective experience out there.
Thanks.
Replies
Not sure why it was left off the list. I made this bench from cypress and 3 matching chairs, over 20 years ago and it is still in use today albeit a bit grayish in color.
View Image
Not too bad to work with but it does tend to tearout easily but be careful with glue, it telegraphs its presence. Titebond III or polyurethane glues are recommended. I used poly as TB-III did not exist back then.
After we had built the pieces the customer didn't like the color, wanted it aged/gray so we placed the pieces on the rooftop. Mother nature decided to bless us with the remnants of a hurricane and all the pieces ended up on the parking lot 40' below. A few dings and scratches but all intact.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Nice bench. Hurricane sky hook eh?
What about Tamarack that stuff is hard and used in wooden boats for years.I have played with some and it is like cedar on steroids.The sawyer I got it from just finished a huge order for tamarack for potato storage, guess it contributes to reduced storage losses.
Ahhhh, tamarack (sp?). It's a member of the larch family methinks.
They seem to grow in clusters, not scattered about in the woods; like to keep to themselves I reckon. Haven't seen any sawn into boards though. Would like to give some a go.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Beautiful bench, but who lives in the house across the lake?
Seriously, I just bought (??) a patio furniture set made from Eucalyptus and painted. What are the prospects for endurance?
Not sure about eucalyptus for outdoor furniture but Google turned up several sources for it. It's used for flooring and if memory serves me Gap stores used it in one of their brands, can't remember which one though.
There was no finish on the bench in the photo and the lake is actually the Merrimac river in Lowell. The photo was taken on the west side of the river facing towards Lowell, before it fell nearly 40' to the parking lot. The customer liked that patina too.....
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
jscharver,
I don't think Hank left if off because he doesn't like it or thinks it's unsuitable. He was naming woods that he likes to use when building outdoor furniture. I like the list he gave, because he listed woods you might not think of as outdoor woods (like walnut and white oak). He has used at least 100 domestic species during his career and really knows trees. So you can trust that the ones listed in the pop-up will work outdoors, but that doesn't mean that if he didn't name one it isn't a good outdoor wood.
-Matt K.
Old growth baldcypress is classified by the Forest Product Lab as "resistant or very resistant" to decay. However, new growth baldcypress is classified as "moderately resistant". It is difficult to get old growth cypress any more so most of what is being sold is new growth and it is not as resistant to decay as many other woods.
You can see the complete list at: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch03.pdf Go to page page 18 Table 3-10.
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