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O/T kind of: sawmilling oak for shop

J

JBMac

Member
My FIL ownes a small sawmill (Hudson brand). We have cut all of the pine for the construction of my shop, except the pressure treated poles. I got the bright idea that I wanted to saw some oak up to make a heavy, sturdy work table I could beat and fram on. Any recommendations on how to cure the stuff to limit checking and warping? This is live oak, by the way. Very heavy and hard.
 
I would suggest finding somebody with a kiln and paying them to dry it.

If it isn't going to be anything terribly precise or you arent worried about gaps in the top you might be able to get away with air drying through the summer. I doubt a few months will get you dry enough that it won't continue to shrink or warp though.

I built a workbench out of sorta dry oak off our sawmill. 4x4 legs and 1 1/2" top with 2 rows of steel drawers down it. It was great for a while until the wood finished drying out and warping around. Drawers didnt work worth a hoot. Ended up rebuilding it out of steel. Hasn't warped a bit since. Hated to do it, but the old one ended up on the burn pile.
 

Stack it with 3/4 or one inch thick by same wide, 12 inches apart, dry 1 year per inch of thickness. May need to put weight on top of stack, put spacers under weight also. Needs to be covered if outside, like a piece of roofing tin on top, weighted to keep from blowing off.



KEH
 
my brother and I pulled some old oak out the woods the other day and decided to put it on the mill . It was dry, had been down 4yrs , made it into posts for a pole building . I'd say cut the tree in the spring just after the leaves come out and wait a couple of years . It makes good wood . It was red oak
 
A old guy that builds cabnets told me he was ordered to build cabnets from green lumber that had only cured six months. He try to trfuse, but the old Sweedish farmer said there would be no problem, and so it was built.


Thirty years later the cabnets are still perfect. The farmer layed a layer of oats down, then a layer of lumber, then oats etc.

The old cabnet maker told me the farmers name, and offered to prove his point. He is not a typical story teller, rather very serious guy, with seldom so much as a smile.

I have built numerous heavy duty benches for shops. I take a nail gun, and stack full lengtht 2 x 4's together, layer after layer, then a sheet of B C plywood on the top for a smooth surface. It is hired man proof, and the last several years we use all GRK screws so in case there is ever a change of plans it can be dismanteled, and a total salvage of all materials.

You can use scraps that are three ft long if you want a free material project.

We also anchor it to a wall, then with downward braces at a 45 degree angle, BUT they are kept up off the floor 8" to alow a fast sweep from a push broom.
 
You want to sticker it and paint the ends, but you don't need to wait a year per inch. The cracks will generally not proceed past the first sticker, so get them out to the ends as far as possible. Keep your stickers vertically aligned with one another. If you saw it now and have it in a fairly dry area with good air circulation it should be dry in a few months. Lumber doesn't dry at all outside in the winter once the temps fall below freezing, and in the summer it can be dry in less than 60 days under the right conditions.
Zach
 
I wouldn't put those Red Oak poles in the ground unless you treat them. They will be rotten after a few years. White Oak would probably be fine but Red isn't so rot resistant.
 
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