Lumber Grading, Quality, and Small Mills Here's an extended discussion of the public policy issues involved in lumber grading, and construction using un-graded lumber, as seen from the point of view of the small sawmill operator. May 18, 2010
Wood and Water An excerpt from Gene Wengert's book, "Drying Oak Lumber." May 31, 2001
Acetylated Treated Lumber ?What's Up with That? Here's an interesting discussion about the durability, fastener compatibility, and other properties of acetyl treated lumber, such as "Accoya," with some useful links to more. January 2, 2014
Preventing Cupping in a Wide Board Woodworkers discuss the "rip and flip" method, relief cuts, and similar methods of reducing wood movement. November 19, 2005
What Causes Ring Shake? Speculations and discussion on science relating to ring shake. April 10, 2005
Optimal Joint Method for Making Curved Beams Woodworkers discuss the best way to fabricate a curved beam, and learn about an interesting historic example of curved laminated timber barn construction. October 19, 2013
Warp in Drying Causes and cures for warpage when drying lumber. May 4, 2001
Troubleshooting Cupping in a Bar Top A solid Ipe bar top starts to show cupping. Furniture-makers chime in on wood movement and the nature of the problem. January 13, 2006
Maple Hassles Woodworkers kick Maple's reputation around on this thread ?but there's plenty of good information here about how to get the best out of it. April 9, 2008
Outdoor Stair Glue-Ups with Tropical Woods Complex glued assemblies have trouble in outdoor exposures. This discussion takes a look at that, and at the difference in performance among various tropical hardwoods. January 14, 2013
Cherry Log: Quartersaw or Flatsaw? Appearance would argue for flatsawn, stability for quartersawn ?but it's more complicated than that. October 1, 2010
Poplar in Exterior Conditions Although some people have noted 100-year-old poplar porch posts that are still sound, poplar generally seems to rot quickly in exterior use. November 10, 2005
Floating Shelf Installation Methods Ideas and an example for successfully installing heavy "floating" shelves using rods driven into the wall studs. October 27, 2009
Holly and Teak for Boat Decking This thread answers the question of why Holly and Teak are paired in boat decking (below decks only), and continues with a folkloric and historic discussion of Teak for boatbuilding ?including on nuclear submarines.October 19, 2013
Dining Table Stability Here's an enlightening, if confused, discussion of the forces required to tip over a table based on its mass distribution. Also, this is a cool looking table. July 16, 2012
Indoor Wood Shrinkage and Expansion A learned discussion of the way building interior humidity causes dimensional change in wood. December 1, 2005
Troubleshooting a Cracked Beechwood Countertop A good case example of the inevitable cracking that occurs when wood moisture-related movement is not allowed for ?this time, in a counter of solid wood glued to plywood. February 11, 2010
Free Span Limits of Cabinet Shelving For wide cabinets with double doors and no center stile, how far is too far for the shelves to span? Here are suggestions for stiffening wide span shelving. March 27, 2012
Troubleshooting Buckled Peel-and-Stick Veneer Indoor humidity has caused adhesive-backed veneer to buckle. Here, pros discuss the limitations and vulnerabilities of the material. November 20, 2005
"Water Oak" Versus "Pin Oak" Locally common names for Oak varieties can cause confusion. Here's a discussion of some Oak tree varieties and some information on their characteristics. February 9, 2008
Is Vacuum Dried Wood Stronger? With so many variables to control, it's hard to be sure whether any particular drying system gives better results in terms of wood properties. October 29, 2012
Engineering for Tables A discussion of the stresses applied to a heavy table in use, and what they imply in terms of appropriate dimensions and construction details. March 28, 2012
Table Top Mistake/Wood Movement A craftsman gets into trouble with incorrect wood orientation in a table top. It's a learning experience. April 20, 2011
Mahogany Varieties for Countertops A discussion of the practicality of mahogany for a countertop, and thoughts about similar alternatives. November 7, 2007
The Dimensional Effects of Wood Moisture Understanding how moisture interacts with wood can help you avoid problems from moisture-related wood movement. September 13, 2012
Fresh-Cut Pine for Rafters In theory, green softwood should perform acceptably for barn rafters. In practice, on the other hand ... well, life is full of surprises. November 28, 2006
Spanish Cedar for Furniture? Characteristics of Spanish Cedar make it problematic, even for porch furniture. January 27, 2007
Intentional Spalting Can you treat logs with fungus and humidity to create spalting on purpose? Some say "yes," but it's more art than science. June 23, 2005
Sycamore for a Post and Beam Frame? Beautiful as the wood is, Sycamore's tendency to twist makes it a questionable choice for timber framing. December 28, 2006
Paulownia Characteristics and Uses A fast-growing, light and strong semi-tropical wood, Paulownia has enough value to be worth stealing. Here's an example growing on a bathroom windowsill. September 5, 2010
West Coast Live Oak Uses This discussion of Live Oak lumber characteristics includes some info about the "Sudden Oak Death" disease that is plaguing the West Coast. July 30, 2007
Characteristics of Lyptus Wood Cabinetmakers discuss the properties of this lesser-known but increasingly popular wood species. February 28, 2006
Is Pin Oak Useful? Widely planted as a yard landscaping tree, Pin Oak has some drawbacks as a source of lumber. June 18, 2009
Solid Wood Octagon Table Top Failure Wood movement dooms a solid wood "sunburst" table top, and we learn why that will always happen. February 12, 2007
Eastern Red Cedar for Outdoor Use Thoughts on drying Eastern Red Cedar, and on the wood's value for decks or outdoor furniture. December 6, 2009
Working with Ash Beautiful and easy to work, ash also ages well. Fans discuss ash and its virtues in this thread from the Architectural Woodworking forum. November 9, 2005
De-Warping Table Leaves A draw-leaf table has warped, and the maker asks for advice on fixing it. Colleagues suggest ways to quickly straighten the crooked parts. October 19, 2005
Wet Cottonwood with Wind Shake Some comments about the dubious strength and quality of lumber from Cottonwood logs having noticeable wind shake. July 28, 2006
Working with Ipe Wood Woodworkers air their objections to Ipe, which is heavy, hard, and rough on tools. The Wood Doctor adds a little technical detail to the discussion. March 12, 2014
Working with Jatoba ("Brazilian Cherry") This tropical hardwood is dense, heavy, and beautiful, but prone to movement and hard on tools. Yellow pieces will probably change to match the rest. May 11, 2011
Timber Framing with Red Oak The material needs to be kept dry. Here's info on that, and some other useful tips. November 3, 2010
African Versus Honduras Mahogany Woodworkers compare the grain characteristics, color, and machinability of different Mahogany varieties. November 19, 2005
Working with Hickory Hard, dense, and splintery, Hickory does not take finish well either. You might want to consider Butternut as an alternative. November 15, 2011
Qualities of Butternut Fuzzy, soft, and nice to look at ?woodworkers share their experiences with Butternut wood. December 12, 2008
Working with Ebony Ebony is a difficult material to source, and quality varies. January 20, 2011
Pilings to Resist Marine Borers Untreated wood is vulnerable to attack when submerged in ocean water. But CCA-treated wood is still allowed for use as salt-water pilings. November 28, 2006
Drying Cedar Siding Fresh cedar boards need only a quick air drying for exterior use. October 30, 2005
Catalpa: Uses and Vulnerabilities Catalpa is a beautiful wood, rot-resistant and prized by some wood turners. Standing trees may have heart rot, however. April 24, 2013
Sawn Wood Versus LVL Header Strength Sawmiller needs to verify the allowable bearing capacity of a sawn timber for code inspection purposes. February 9, 2008
Ipe For Cabinet Construction Ipe's coloration, oiliness, irritating dust, and density are disadvantages when it comes to building cabinets. October 27, 2009
Uses for Black Gum Lumber Sawyers discuss how to handle Black Gum wood, and what you can make with it. June 30, 2009
Working with Tamarack Wood A discussion of Tamarack's suitability for board and batten siding, and for other uses. December 28, 2006
Sawing Norway Spruce for Lumber Norway Spruce doesn't saw into the finest lumber going, but it's not trash either. February 22, 2011
Building with Green Water Oak Building with timbers that have not been dried creates some degree of risk. September 27, 2008
Monkey Pod Wood Here's a little information on Monkey Pod wood, also sometimes called just "Monkey Wood."February 25, 2009
Working with Zebrawood Tips on working with this interesting (but stinky) wood species. October 25, 2006
Ring Deformation (Compression Wood) An odd-looking ring pattern in a cross-cut log is explained as compression wood, certain to bend after sawing. April 20, 2011
Black Locust for Window Sash Black Locust wood is naturally durable, but unstable and prone to movement and cracking. April 13, 2010
What's Better for Framing, S-P-F or SYP? Southern Yellow Pine has a greater span capability than the mixed-species category "Spruce-Pine-Fir," according to Dr. Gene. January 11, 2007
Characteristics of Beech Wood Woodworkers admire Beech for its machineability, stability, and good looks. January 14, 2009
Straightening Old Bowed Floor Joists Overloaded wood deforms over time (it's called "creep"). There's no quick way to reverse the process. December 1, 2005
Ebony Substitutes for Inlay Suggestions for softer woods to substitute for Ebony as an inlay in a table top, along with a tip on bringing Ebony flush to softer woods during sanding and finishing operations. November 15, 2011
Sweet Gum to Frame a Workshop? Construction may not be the best use for Sweet Gum: its beauty exceeds its durability. October 3, 2009
Uses for Juniper Complex knot patterns make Juniper wood beautiful, but challenging to work. September 14, 2006
Epoxy for Laying Up Ipe Stair Treads Epoxy should hold a joint for glued-up stair treads in Ipe wood at 20% MC for an exterior exposure. November 28, 2006
Tulip (Yellow Poplar) Color Fade A large slab of Tulip, freshly sawn, shows some striking and dramatic coloration. But what will happen over time? October 26, 2011
- Wood species Information on tree species and their uses. March 20, 2001
Poplar for a Storm Door: Movement Issues An extended discussion of the behavior of Poplar in an exterior exposure. Science says Poplar is suitable for exterior woodwork, but experience may indicate the contrary. June 3, 2007
Stabilizing Details for a Mahogany Island Top Concerned about wood movement, pros consider options including threaded rod reinforcement, sliding dovetails, or thin-sawing the wood. December 10, 2008
What Does "Old Growth" Mean The sawing and drying forum discusses what "old growth" means when used to describe lumber, and what qualities "old growth" wood may or may not have. May 14, 2006
Durable Wood for a Screen Door A craftsman's question about screen door materials kicks off a long discussion about the qualities of various wood species, old growth and second growth. October 4, 2005
Ripping and Re-Gluing to Limit Cupping The Wood Doc weighs in on the old-timer technique of ripping and re-gluing boards in order to lessen moisture-related cupping. February 19, 2008
Checking Concerns with Massive Wood Posts A custom home project calls for 15-inch-wide solid timber posts. Here's a discussion of the inevitable checking that will occur, and how to minimize it. November 13, 2005
Laminating a Curved Exterior Beam Here's a detailed discussion of adhesive selection and clamping methods for a large, curved, laminated beam for an outdoor structure. March 12, 2014
CNC feed rates for melamine Concerns on purchasing a CNC router and software for cutting melamine. August 12, 2001
Durability of Eastern Red Cedar Short answer: it's the heartwood that is rot-resistant. But you'll learn more than that from this discussion. April 11, 2008
Steambending How much time to allow based on thickness and proposed radius of wood. September 23, 2003
Toxicity of Black Locust The leaves, bark and wood of Black Locust are poisonous to both people and livestock. March 31, 2008
Using Lyptus Here's a detailed thread on woodworker experiences using Lyptus wood. April 20, 2008
Alternatives to Honduran Mahogany A discussion of the qualities of some of the woods used as substitutes for Mahogany, plus an attempt to clear up some of the confusion around the much-misused "Mahogany" label. February 5, 2007
Bowing in a Panel Glue-Up Woodworkers consider why a one-inch thick shelf made up of a 3/4-inch wood layer glued to a 1/4-inch MDF layer came out of the vacuum bag bowed. October 13, 2012
What the Heck is "Honduran Black Walnut"? Woodweb pros discuss the opportunities, risks, and unknowns inherent in buying lumber from foreign sources at arm's length. September 7, 2013
Building a steamer Homemade steamers for bending wood in your shop. January 21, 2002
Alternatives to Cumaru for Cabinet Work A client want cabinets made with Cumaru, a Brazilian hardwood. But the cabinetmaker is looking for a more practical species to substitute. Here are a few ideas. December 31, 2012
Sawing Dawn Redwood A discussion of the characteristics of lumber sawn from Dawn Redwood. March 28, 2010
Determining MC by weight Tools and techniques for measuring moisture content by weighing lumber cuttings. January 4, 2001
Yellow Cedar Characteristics Not a true Cedar, Yellow Cedar grows mainly on the northern Pacific coast of North America. Here is some info about its useful properties. April 2, 2013
Understanding Drying Stress in Wood A complaint about cupping in mahogany door stiles after machining leads to a discussion of what causes drying stress and related movement in kiln-dried wood. June 23, 2006
Working with Balau Wood A dense, durable tropical hardwood that is rough on blades, Balau is good for outdoor features such as decks. April 4, 2011
Ring Shake in Hemlock Hemlock makes good boards or framing lumber, but wood from trees exposed to grazing animals may be have structural flaws. July 12, 2005
Plywood Shelf Deflection Thoughts on plywood shelf thickness, ways of reinforcing shelves, and othe ideas. February 26, 2007
Aspen Wood for Cabinets It's soft, it's fuzzy, and it takes finish unevenly. Hmm... August 29, 2006
Pecan Wood for Use as Ties A little info (and some unanswered questions) about the usefulness of Pecan wood for railroad ties.June 14, 2014
"False Acacia" (a.k.a. Black Locust) Black Locust is known in Europe as "False Acacia." Here's some info about the species and the lumber. October 15, 2010
Building Cabinets with Lyptus Cabinetmakers discuss the machining qualities and other characteristics of Lyptus (Eucalyptus) wood, and its suitability for cabinet construction. April 6, 2007
Properties of Tamarack Tamarack dries nice and straight, but it's splintery and may have some shake. August 8, 2010
Poplar Is a Hardwood, but Is It Hard? As a deciduous tree, Poplar is classified as a hardwood. Here's some hard info about just how hard it is (or isn't).November 15, 2011
Working with Silver Maple Like Red Maple, it's a type of Soft Maple. Machines easily, but with a tendency to fuzz. August 29, 2006
Slope of grain How to process lumber to achieve a given slope of grain. March 28, 2001
Rx For Bending Wood Dr. Gene Wengert offers advice on bending solid lumber in production applications. 1998.
WOODPRO - Species Selection Made Easy A free complete working computer program (that can be downloaded at WOODWEB), allowing woodworkers to select the most suitable wood species for any particular application - 1997
Hard vs. soft maple Can these maples be mixed, and what are the differences? January 21, 2002
Teak Finish on Kitchen Cabinets Teak may be naturally water resistant, but in a kitchen environment, even this tough lumber needs some help. February 26, 2005
Cherry Color After Aging When cherry shelves are constructed years apart, how dramatic will the color difference be? May 8, 2004
Drying Rewetted Kiln-Dried Lumber How to render kiln-dried lumber, which has been rewetted due to flooding or excessive humidity, useful once again. 1998.
20 Steps to Drying Hard White Maple The Wood Doctor's 100 percent guaranteed, sure-fire, no-snake-oil method for successfully drying hard white maple. 1998.
Wood weight and highway transport How to accurately estimate the weight of a truckload of air-dried lumber to assure compliance with trucking regulations. Includes access info for resources. August 1, 2000
Aromatic cedar for closet lining A discussion of drying and machining, aromatic red cedar for closet lining. Includes ideas on marketing the finished product. March 4, 2000
Food prep finish The finish and wood to use (and what not to use) on butcherblock tops. August 29, 2001
Working with hickory How to get around the difficult machining characteristics of hickory. July 24, 2001
Steaming beech for veneer production Questions and answers on various technical aspects of steaming beech lumber, preparatory to producing veneer. Includes ideas for further reading.
Faking mahogany What species are closest to mahogany in grain structure, so, when stained, will look like the real thing? March 20, 2000
Kiln drying Mexican oak Mexican oak can be dried using the same schedules as those used by processors in the United States. 1998.
Cypress board and batten siding It's better to kiln dry that cypress before siding your house with it than to let air-drying suffice. 1998.
Working with Zebra Wood Zebra wood is splintery, twisty, smelly, and irritating ?but beautiful, woodworkers say. January 25, 2013
Spots revealed in dry, planed lumber Dr. Gene attempts to find the causes of discolored spots on dried lumber, revealed only when the stock has been planed. 1998.
Quartersawn mahogany, or is it? An architectural woodworker seeks specifications and industry guidelines for what constitutes truly quartersawn mahogany. March 5, 2000.
Cures for sticker stain Drying lumber can suffer from sticker stain for a variety of reasons. June 20, 2000
Raised glue lines after curing A glue line that is raised days after parts are assembled and the glue has cured is a sure sign of wet lumber. 1998.
Moisture content of walnut -- and measuring it A woodworker seeks information about acceptable moisture contents for walnut used in furniture, and wonders what makes moisture meters tick. 1998.
Hickory or Pecan Ideas for telling two highly similar plywood faces apart. February 25, 2005
Black ash uses White ash, black ash, and their various uses. July 26, 2000
Calculating longitudinal shrinkage There's no firm factor for calculating longitudinal shrinkage in maple, but here's a place to begin. 1998.
Working with casehardened lumber Casehardened lumber should be returned to the processor, or planed to the desired thickness; resawing is not an option. 1998.
Gluing white oak panels Because of its density, white oak lumber must be machined carefully for panel glue-up, and assembled within an hour of preparation. 1998.
Laminating different species In a triple lamination, it's OK to use two species of lumber, given a few conditions. 1998.
Wood dust a carcinogen? The Wood Doctor points to two sources of information on the carcinogenic properties of wood dust. 1998.
Workbench end caps: Bad idea? Though European workbenches commonly feature caps over the ends of the worktop material, these may hinder natural movement of the wood on this side of the Atlantic.
Relative densities of various birches The Wood Doctor offers resources for information on the relative densities of birch lumbers, and offers an opinion on plastic laminate. 1998.
Controlled spalting Is it possible to control spalting to produce unique turning stock? June 20, 2000
Darkening wood with steam Saturated steam can be an effective way to darken some species of wood, while still green. 1998.
Smelly lauan The Wood Doctor is quizzed about bad-smelling lauan in a commercial bar. Diagnosis: anaerobic bacteria. Prognosis: terminal. Prescription: replacement. 1998.
Know your maples A primer on different types of maple lumber. August 23, 2000
A rubberwood primer Rubberwood's machinability and comparability to teak. January 31, 2001
Wood technology Web sites A short list of Web sites with information about characteristics of given species. 1998.
Salvaging lumber from submerged wood The best chance for salvaging lumber from submerged wood lies in cutting it quickly, and drying it slowly. 1998.
Why is machined teak blotchy? If you're not familiar with it, one property of freshly machined teak can take you by surprise. 1998.
Gross tally vs. net tally The difference between "gross" and "net" tallies in lumber processing is explained. July 18, 2000
Wet bulb, dry bulb An explanation of the terms "wet bulb" and "dry bulb" in reference to temperature measurement, and their particular usefulness. March 6, 2000
Twisting cabinet doors Only changes in moisture content cause wood to change in size or shape. 1998.