I have been give a large amount of old white oak lumber from an old barn in Missouri. I have planned on using some for a small campaign style oak desk. In the process of milling down the lumber to size, I am comming across more than a desirable amount of powder beetle damage. I have two questions:
- Will the bettle damage continue after the project is finished? I can’t tell if the bettle is active at this time, although I see no sign of dust forming on the floor of the storage area.
- What do you do about the tunneling affect that is obvious after you mill the lumber? I had planned on staining the wood a dark brown, fill the pours with an oil and sanding dust filler, and than top coat with an oil varinish.
Any thoughts on the matter would be helpfull.
EDH
Replies
There are a number of Lyctus and other genera like Anobid with holes akin to "powder post".
The bottom line is that if those holes are in heartwood and in dry lumber, then the only really reliable way to remove the infestation is to kiln or heat the lumber through and through to 133 degrees or so for 30 minutes. An insecticide soak or fuming won't do it to 100% reliability.
They may well be long gone, but finding frass and new holes in a finished piece of furniture in your front room isn't worth that lumber.
http://www.woodweb.com/forum_fdse_files/sawdry/330941.html
“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.
Edited 5/15/2004 8:30 pm ET by Bob Smalser
Thanks Bob.
That is not the answer I was hoping for, but I had a feeling that was going to be the case. I guess I can use the lumber for more primitive projects.
EDH
Why not build a kiln? An insulated box 2x2x6 feet or so that will go to 135F can't be that difficult. Depending on your location, you could hit that temperature with a solar setup. Or solar pre-heat with an electric boost.
The beauty of this job, as opposed to kiln drying, is that you don't have to vent any moisture.
First, though, get all the "contaminated" lumber out of the house.
Sometimes free is too expensive!
Isn't that a fact.
The suggestion of a solar kiln is doable, but only if you add a space heater and carefully monitor the temperature.
I'd try black plastic and lath on the hottest day of your summer with a space heater and fan inside the enclosure and would keep it running most of the day. It'll take a while for the heat to get to the center of anything thicker than 5/4.
That alternative is to truck it to a kiln and pay their fee.
“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.
It's always been my understanding that beetles attack wood when it is still fairly green. If that is true, then I would suspect the holes your seeing in the lumber were caused early on in its life on the barn. Most barn lumber was put up fairly green.
Wood bees, however, prefer dry lumber. Their holes will be much larger.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
"It's always been my understanding that beetles attack wood when it is still fairly green. "
That's true for most of them, and their damage is in the sapwood only, but there are some that do dry wood....and those are often found in barns.
If your infestation is in heartwood, you need to kiln the wood.“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.
I remember that American Woodworker had a piece on building a simple and inexpensive kiln, and that would get rid of any infestation in your lumber.
I'm sorry I can't remember the issue, but it was within the last 4-5 years.
Check out their web site:
<http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/action.do?categoryId=7000&siteId=2222>
They don't seem to have a search function, but you could probably track down the issue by phone or email.
Good luck.
Sorry, but I can't figure out how to make this a live link.
Edited 5/16/2004 3:35 pm ET by nikkiwood
Edited 5/16/2004 3:39 pm ET by nikkiwood
http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/action.do?categoryId=7000&siteId=2222
The highly capable Prospero software that recognizes URL's gets confused by the angle brackets.
Edited 5/16/2004 7:11 pm ET by Uncle Dunc
After spending another day going through the stock, I think the best kiln for this material is going to be my fireplace. I may have found enough to build one small desk out of a whole load. And yes, the material did come out of an old barn.
Thanks for everyone's help.
EDH
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled