Drying Reclaimed redwood

[Crichardson2010]

So I skimmed through a page or 2 looking for an answer, but I'm just going to assume my question is SO naive that nobody has asked it yet. I picked up some wood from a guy who was pulling up a deck, he says it is good quality redwood, and I'm interested in making a table or furniture of some sort to sell. I'm mildly familiar with carpentry and basic handyman stuff, but when I started researching about how to prep the wood I came across multiple articles referring to Air drying and Kiln drying.

Most of the wood seems to be in fairly good condition, only one board was rotten.

Anyways, My question is, Do I need to dry it in some form or fashion before I start working on it?

Also, How can I figure out the quality of the wood?

Thanks in advance!

-Caleb

Edit: Located in Los Angeles, CA

[beenthere]

Caleb
Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

If this is from an outdoor deck, and even if it is an outside deck, the need for drying likely isn't a main concern.
Usually the discussions you are reading about the two choices have to do with fresh sawn lumber from a log.

More info about the deck and its location and age (even some pics) would help to guide you in your decision to buy it.

My suggestion would be to sticker it for uniform drying under cover, and later decide if kiln drying is of any merit.

A close-up of the end grain will even help establish that it is redwood.

Join in for a good discussion.

Your location, in general, will help answer ??'s too.

[Crichardson2010]

Okay awesome! From everything I read, I was assuming I didn't have to dry it.

And yes, it was an outdoor deck, here's the only picture I have right now of the wood. Can you guys decipher anything from that? I can get a better one tomorrow.
I picked it up for free from an ad on craigslist, he was just trying to get rid of it. He said the deck was about 10 years old if I remember correctly.

.....It won't let me upload the photo? Hang on...

[Crichardson2010]

 

 

[Ianab]

Most important thing to know about drying wood is that it will eventually adjust itself to match whatever environment it's in. It can even gain moisture from the air (up to a certain level)

At the moment the wood will be at whatever your local outside equilibrium is. If you move it inside, it will probably dry out a little more, and this causes shrinkage.

The good news is that redwood doesn't shrink much, and it dries quite quickly.

What  I suggest is that you stack them in a dry place on stickers for a few weeks. This lets them equalise to that environment and get any movement settled down. If the wood is 10 years old then it's pretty dry by now and wont need full drying or need to be kiln dried.

As for the quality of the wood. You probably want nice clean straight grain. No splits, no rot, few knots etc. Having tight growth rings generally indicates that it's from an "old growth" forest tree, and probably better quality wood. More stable and durable. Wider growth rings would be from "2nd growth" which is a younger faster grown tree from a managed forest. The wood will still be OK, it's just not the stuff that wood workers drool over. If it's from a 10 year old deck, chances are it's 2nd growth. Not a problem for what you intend to do, and you can call it "Reclaimed Redwood" with a clear conscience.

Ian

[Crichardson2010]

Excellent, I'll look up some growth ring pics and check it out in the morning just to see, but I'll post some close ups on here since you guys are the experts.

Also wondering about the easiest way to clean it, probably a pressure washer right? That wouldn't cause any crazy moisture change would it?

I've used one before, but this will just be my first solo furniture building extravaganza, so I'm double-checking every possible way I could mess up before I start.

-CR

[Ianab]

Also wondering about the easiest way to clean it, probably a pressure washer right?

Pressure washer will be fine, you are only wetting the surface. Stack it back on the stickers, wait a couple of days and it will dry back to where it is now.

A metal detector is the other thing you will need. Hitting an un-noticed nail will really put a downer on your planer blades etc

Ian

[jueston]

one guy i know who reclaims hardwood pallets cleans his boards in the planner, i'm sure everyone here with an expensive planner winced, but he just has a set of nice blades and a set of not so nice blades[these are the cheap lunch box planner blades] and after he pulls our the nails he just feeds it through for a 1/16 off each side even if there is a little sand forced into the wood, after he has done this to a lot of boards, then he changes blades and finishes planning... i'm not saying this is the best method, but i have a couple sets of dull disposable planner blades, so its how i would do it too....

[Crichardson2010]

Good stuff. Yeah I'm working on getting the nails out at the moment, don't have a metal detector, might pick one up and return it when I'm done, can't afford too many out of pocket expenses, maybe if this turns out well and I sell it I'll get some good tools, I only have the basics right now.

By the way, this forum is great, you guys are a huge help, and the mobile version of this site is pretty impressive too!

[beenthere]

What tools do you have to cut up and finish the lumber, in prep for what kind of treatment (paint, oil, varnish, ? ) ?  Table saw, jointer, planer ??
Glue clamps?

Or only hand tools? And most can be done with hand tools.


And what type of furniture are you thinking of building? Indoor, outdoor, etc. ?

[Crichardson2010]

Mainly hand tools, skillsaw, drill, etc. Need to pick up some small stuff.

Still figuring out which direction we're going to take it, I'm doing most of the construction, and a friend of mine who sells vintage furniture is going to help with the varnish/stain it.
Apparently there's a good market in LA for reclaimed furniture. I think what we're going to do to start off is get a little wrought iron table frame and just make a table top for it to get a little experience. Probably indoor too.

[Crichardson2010]

Here's a close up of the grain

 

[beenthere]

That is a pretty respectable piece you show there. If average of the lot, you should be in good shape.  8)

[Crichardson2010]

That's great! ;D I have another one here, there's a few good boards in the lot, at least enough to make a table or 2.

Now I'm curious as to what specific type of glue I should use, It seems to be another naive question that is difficult to find the answer to online. I have some gorilla glue, but I'm assuming there's something made more specifically for securing a table top?

Thanks again,
CR

 

[Ianab]

Grain looks good, nice close growth rings, but what your pictures shows is a bit of white sapwood. This is not durable like the red heartwood, and probably accounts for why some of the pieces have started to rot.

This is not a problem for indoor stuff that's going to stay dry, but if your a building outdoor furniture, trim it off. Indoors you can make use of the contrast between the heart and sap wood in your design.

Gorilla glue will work just fine. It's not so popular for serious wood workers because of it's foaming, hard clean up, and short shelf life once you open it, and price. But no one ever complains about it not sticking  :D If you have some, go ahead and use it, it works fine, especially for out door use. For indoor use, any of the wood working PVA glues is cheaper, less messy, and works just as well.

Ian

[Den Socling]

For glue, consider Titebond II. Much cheaper and much easier to work with than Gorilla Glue.