Wood For Exterior Applications

[hilbert]

I need a cross beam for a boom gallows.
What types of wood are good candidates for exterior applications?
Thanks,

[moctrams]

White oak.

[tjr818]

Teak ($$$$) or Cypress ($). Cypress can actually look a lot like teak. One of my drop boards is Cypress and the other two are Teak. You have to look very close to notice any difference.

[rorik]

Teak, Iroko, Purpleheart, Yellowheart, White Oak, Ash, Honduras Mahogany, African Mahogany, Jatoba, Apitong, Ironwood, Lignum Vitae, Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Meranti, Sapele, Port Orford Cedar.
I may have forgotten a few...
Depending on the intended use, some work better, or much better, than others.
For details on rot resistance, breaking strengths, gluing issues, etc. take a look at World Woods in Color.


http://www.amazon.com/World-Woods-Color ... 0941936201

[tmsc]

Sapele. Looks close to Teak but half the price. Cannot be bent however.

[rorik]

If you want it to look like Teak, choose Iroko. Almost the same characteristics and appearance. Dust is more toxic, less silica in the grain so it doesn't dull tools as quickly.

[SurryMark]

If price is an issue, almost any wood will do if properly dimensioned and free of bad knots - even relatively weak white or norway pine. The piece is so easy to replace: would you be happy with five or eight years - or many times that if properly cared for - if it saved a lot of bucks for now? Tight-grained yellow pine or fir is excellent. All of those other woods mentioned are fine too, though some are darn near as heavy as steel. We can get stuck on having the perfect, authorized stuff.

[hilbert]

Tight-grained yellow pine (is this the same as long leaf yellow pine?) or quarter sawn Douglas fir would be fine.
I don't have experience in buying wood. Where does one shop for it?

I am in Baltimore and I know about Exotic Lumber in Annapolis, but this would be like going to an inner harbor hotel for a cup of Joe. I might like the coffee, but not the price.

[tartansailor]

Pressure treated Southern yellow pine.
Big box store under patio lumber.
Dick

[SurryMark]

Tight-grained yellow pine (is this the same as long leaf yellow pine?) or quarter sawn Douglas fir would be fine.
I don't have experience in buying wood. Where does one shop for it?

I am in Baltimore and I know about Exotic Lumber in Annapolis, but this would be like going to an inner harbor hotel for a cup of Joe. I might like the coffee, but not the price.

You can go to any good lumber yard, tell them you're looking for a piece of boat wood, and almost certainly one of the yard men will help you out. It's luck of the draw, but I've bought furniture-grade western fir being sold for decks. New yellow pine nowadays is usually lazy-grained. If there is a place in your neighborhood selling salvage wood you might find some gorgeous, resiny old growth yellow pine (southern, loblolly, pitch) nothing better, a noble wood.

[Mr. Bill]

I have recently used Ipe that I bought in a home supply center as I read it has comparable properties to teak. It was a peice of 8' decking 1" x 6" wide for around $33. It's like iron and has a great red color and is very durable when it comes to holding wood screws and taking a load. I would use it again, great stuff

Word of advice, don't attempt to cut or machine it a dull saw blade, it is very hard

[joemerchant]

For Boom Gallows, one of the major considerations is keeping the weight down as much as possible. You are best with a softwood that is light and strong like Sitka Spruce. A Port Orford Cedar or Eastern Larch would be a good choice as well. Sitka would be my first choice as it has a high strength to weight ratio and a spar grade 2X6 will run about $75 MAX.

I think I would stay away from the hardwoods just because of the weight. African Mahogany is a little lighter than Honduras or Phillipine, but not as pretty or strong. Good Mahogany is running just under $7 a foot and your cedar's, Spruce, and Sitka are running from $3 to $5 a board foot. Oak is good and cheap, but heavy and would not be my choice for anything above cabin height.

Soft pines will only last a few years, and any project on the boat worth doing should be one that lasts another 20+ years regardless of how trivial in my opinion.

[joemerchant]

I have recently used Ipe that I bought in a home supply center as I read it has comparable properties to teak. It was a peice of 8' decking 1" x 6" wide for around $33. It's like iron and has a great red color and is very durable when it comes to holding wood screws and taking a load. I would use it again, great stuff

Word of advice, don't attempt to cut or machine it a dull saw blade, it is very hard

To put it mildly....

Ipe (e-pay) is well over 300% harder than teak. It is very hard to work with (cut, sand or form). It is too hard to treat or stain (very little will soak into the wood), and is fairly inexpensive. It is a fast growing tree and is not endangered in any way. In fact, no one wanted to touch it in the past as it was way too hard to cut and mill and was considered a pest.

Great for floors and has a class A fire rating. But very confusing to work with. You almost want to get out the concrete metal saw and welder the stuff is so hard.

Personally, I would rather eat worms than work with that stuff again. Careful, it will melt saw blades. Also, be very careful with the stuff, some people are very alergic to the dust.

Also, there are some other species that are thrown in under the Ipe name, you will know you have true Ipe if you saw is screaming for mercy when attempting to cut it.

Warning - this wood eats Harbor Freight Tools for lunch.