What woods have good water resistance?
jeremyillingworth
| Posted in Wood and Materials on
I going to make a tool box for construction work, so strenght is very important, but so is water resistance, as it will be getting wet. My thoughts naturally turn to teak, but what other woods would be suitable for such a project?
jeremy
Replies
White oak (the navy used to make frigates out of it). Fir would be fairly weather resistant, but not quite as rugged for a tool box. Mahogany and ipe are also fairly weather resistant.
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
You could add walnut to the list-- and note that as with oak and others it is the heart wood, not sap wood that has the weather resistance.
Ditto; White Oak then Black locust or Osage Orange.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Elm was used by the navy as a substitute for oak, and was regularly used for planking.
Jim
Jim, in truth elm is not a durable wood. That applies to American, Rock and Dutch elms. Durable in the timber technology sense refers to a wood's ability to resist decay when used in exterior conditions.
On the other hand there are elm piers propping up ancient chunks of Venice, so the wood is permanently wet. In this circumstance the wood is effectively sealed off from wood munching fungi and bacteria and can last for centuries.
You're right about elm being used in ships. It was used substantially. Its greatest virtue from a warship's point of view was its tendency to twisted and interlocked grain. Because of this it withstood direct hits from cannonballs and the like rather well. Hit a piece of oak just right and it splits asunder. Oak planking was made by riving long before it was sawn into planks. This exploits the wood's natural characteristic of splitting radially with ease.
It's reckoned a 1" thick riven plank of oak is about as strong as a 2" thick sawn plank. The Vikings made their sea going ships with riven oak planking. They sailed as far as Greenland, Newfoundland, what is now the north east American seaboard, and some reckon as far south as Florida.
I personally wouldn't be keen build a toolbox that's likely to get wet, then dry, then baked by the sun out of any sort of elm. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
Ciamar a tha sibh.
Well, you live and learn. Elms did have a reputation for inconveniently dropping large branches on passers-by, so that makes sense. I knew that elm was used for decking, and assumed that meant durable. But then decks were scrubbed every day and the seams caulked, so the microbes didn't stand a chance. I wonder if the people who built coffins out of elm realized how ecologically responsible they were being? Still not as ecological or economical as a Scottish slip coffin, which is the way I plan to go ;(
Cheers, Jim
I built a box out of white pine 38 +- yrs. ago. It has been through the mill, snow, rain, ice, used for a horse, piled on top of and abused in every way. It was beautiful at one time, now it just holds junk I don't want to throw away. Someday, I might clean it up and put new brass on it. A weather strip around the top is essential. Unless you are burying it in the ground, I don't think it matters what species you use. These days I use a Bucket Boss that rides in the passenger seat. No digging for tools, one hand to carry but definitely not water resistant.
I have individual boxes for all my portable power tools. They still ride in the back of the truck. These Tuffboxes are waterproof and very convenient.
Once it gets wet, is it going to stay wet? As long it gets a chance to dry out between exposures, almost any wood will work.
-Steve
Hi jeremy,
Toolbox is a very general term that could mean a lot of different configurations/compositions to a lot of folks. For example, is this toolbox going to sit in the back of an open pickup only. Is it for taking tolls to a jobsite where it will be unloaded and placed into a building? How big is it going to be?
Weight vs weather resistance might lead one to choose a different material.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Good point Bob, I may have been to vague.
I'm a carpenter and I work in commercial construction, which is to say I build concrete buildings. I currently have a plastic tool box, but it is not meeting my needs. There are some tools which don't fit in it. So my solution is to make one. Although I don't want it to be heavy, I usually only work on two or three different projects a year, so I don't have to carry it around much. I'd rather have high strength than light weight.
It will get wet if it rains during the day but it will be put away in a dry location every night. I was going to have some sort of easily replaced feet on the bottom in case it sits in water, which does tent to pool on the slab.
jeremy
for site tool boxes, if you go to yer local plywood wholesaler, you can find the protecting panels that are used on the side of lifts of baltic birch They are typically 3'x5'x 1/8", and they do run the gammet for quality.But given that they are often available free, the price is right.They make good sides. They are strong and durable despite their thinness, but even even if they ain't always pretty they do make for light boxes. But they don't last forever. Maybe 10-12 years before they get so dinged up they gotta go. Yer gonna have to spring for a sheet of 1/2" for the ends maybe 30 bucks or so, or maybe you'll even luck onto a protection plate for free (not me yet)yer not gonna be leaving yer tools out in the rain are you,but even then, you could do what my mine-carpenter grandfather did, make a conventional carpenters tool box and staple a sheet of canvas to the handle so that it would cover it from drips. And a clever guy could design the sides so that they could maybe hang on the chop-saw stand so you don't have to bend over so far every time.For finishing stuff, I just staple small scraps of carpet over the feet so they don't scratch finished flooring. I guess if you want water resistance, you could just put some rubber feet on the bottom too, to keep it off of damp concrete.While I suppose a fella could go upscale and use marine grade mahogany or some such stuff, the cost benefit ratio wouldn't be there. Make it too upscale and all yer doin is posting a sign that says "steal this box first" on it. If you are rural, you may find a local supplier of elm- a highly water resistant/split resistant wood whcih is often nicely figured to boot. Seems like it is largely off the commerical wood circuit these days. You could use a slab of this as a replaceable bottom on whatever tool box you use.Just my thoughtsEric in Calgary
White oak, cedar, cypress maybe?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Well if you was building a water wheel or a hub for a wooden wagon wheel, yu might use elm.
As stacked in the woodpile for splitting a real intelligent fella wouldn't even try to split it, the grain is so interwoven it ain't even funny.
Trubble is, elm is so hard to find in the commerical marketplace these days, you might have to go out at night with a chainsaw, or go to local bandsaw sawyers, whom yu may find through yer local state or provincial agricultural represnetative more easily than you'd find in any wwing venue.
Good luk
Eric
Hey Jeremy,
Since it's going to be out with you a lot, you might look at man made materials, specifically MDO (Medium Density Overlay). It's the same stuff billboard signs are made of. Very weather resistant, very durable, and can take paint if desired. To increase weather protection I would apply solid edge banding such as 1/4" Mahogany, Cypress, White Oak to all the exposed edges and then apply a good marine varnish.
Adam
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