I'm in the process of building a pretty massive treehouse in my back yard. Although I purchased the pine lumber to frame it I'm very adamant that all the finishing be done with lumber I cut from my EZ boardwalk JR! I'm an extreme novice but am loving this process. I've cut quite a bit of 3/4" eastern cedar (off my own property) that I'm using on the exterior and so far it's looking great. (I'll try to share a pic or two).
Yesterday I went out "tree hunting" and was able to fell a good handful of additional cedar trees and I think I'll have enough to finish the exterior and likely the interior too.
I'm planning to cut some white oak to tongue and groove for the flooring but I am still undecided on the interior walls. My first thought is to use more cedar for its various positive qualities, especially in a treehouse.
If you were to use cedar for the interior walls how would you dimension the lumber (I would likely just use it rough) and square up edges with table saw. What thickness? Tongue and groove?
Sounds like a ton of work but I think something to be proud of. Although I've done quite a lot of woodworking, tongue and groove is something I've never tackled. Any recommendations for router (table?) and bit sets? Remember I'm a weekender and not a pro so I don't have to have a commercial grade.
Thanks for any suggestions. I plan to cut and sticker to cedar for a couple weeks in the dry. I've found the cedar to dry super fast especially when cut 3/4" or less. And again, it's a treehouse. A little gap here and there is called "character"
Thanks all!
I would recommend against tongue and groove for rough lumber, it might work if the tongue is cut very loose but minor differences in thickness or slight warp could make it a pain to install. Cutting a rabbet on each side so the boards can overlap would be easier to do and more forgiving.
As to thickness, 1/2" seems like a minimum and more than 3/4" seems like a waste IMO.
Thank you. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. When I cut my planks using 3/4" adjustments the kerf makes them slightly thinner. I think this size might work good for both exterior and interior... and make it easier on me to cut not having the think about how much of each.
I like the idea of the rabbet joint.
I'd love to post a pic but can't figure out how to do so from my iPhone.
This is what I did for the interior of my house. Pieces are flat cut on 1/2'' to get a proud 3/8'' thick.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20540/2940/Paul_s_house_pict_%283%29.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1282171451)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20540/2940/Paul_s_house_pict_%284%29.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1282171452)
PC
Paul that looks great! What kind of joint?
I have a treehouse with pine t&g walls and floor. I planed the pine on the inside and that was the reference surface for the router. It was not hard to do. I think I used an Amana 1" tongue and groove router set. You have to get a router bit set that corresponds to the thickness of your wood.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11405/20170226_092352.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499031220)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11405/20170326_142430.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499031246)
Two walls I did, ship lap, the angled wall creates a lot of waste but I like the look. White pine with a few denim pine boards thrown in. 1" planed to 3/4.
Mine are lapped. Put up green. screwed through the lap. Wider boards will split when done this way. Screwing just the top one down above the lap will let them move without splitting so badly. The one pic is Red Oak 8'' boards. The other is some narrow ERC.
PC
I think shiplapped is the way to go with minimal equipment. Can be done with just a table saw and dado blade. A shaper would be better.
A router would be okay if only doing a little bit, but most of them are not meant for continuous use and burn up kind of quickly.
Another alternate would be regular lapped siding (like house exteriors). The boards are often tapered, but don't have to be.
Tongue and groove isn't the end of the world if you're willing to put in the time and effort to produce it. It's best if it's planed, but as long as you make all of you're cuts to the face (where the back would have any difference in thickness) it can be done without planing. I've done T&G with just a table saw (no dado), with a router, a shaper, and with a molder. Our ancestors did it with a molding plane.
This herringbone wall was done with a router. It is Juniper.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12769/OurHouseRemodel078.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1407302307)
This ceiling is from Aspen. It is 3/4" thick, finished width 5 1/4", made into a bead board. Made with a table saw and a router.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12769/image~13.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1453617955)
It all just depends on how much you want to do.
Quote from: moosehunter on July 02, 2017, 05:45:23 PM
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11405/20170226_092352.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499031220)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11405/20170326_142430.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1499031246)
Two walls I did, ship lap, the angled wall creates a lot of waste but I like the look. White pine with a few denim pine boards thrown in. 1" planed to 3/4.
Mike - That looks really nice. I like the denim added in. GOOD JOB!
Bruce
All of my deer shooting houses are 1" ERC tongue&groove built 17 years ago. No cracks and no problems.
Yep, shiplapping with a tablesaw and a dado blade is easy. Just takes time. Some oak.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/38788/IMG_1002.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474391800)
I've made millions of feet of t&g on a moulder and less than 100' with a router. I'm getting ready to build a house and the plan for it is to use the table saw. I probably will do rabbit or shiplap rather than t&g.
Stacked dado blade set is by far the best if you don't already have a dabo set. Even if you do, it's nice to have it cut more cleanly and make the process faster so your treehouse will be built sooner. Here's a comparison of how the brands all compare: http://bit.ly/2fm4Mtt
Interesting that you resurrect this thread. I have a big stack of pine logs ready to be milled for the interior walls and ceiling. I bought the Freud stacked dado set that's in your link. Hoping I'll be able to make the T&G with it. Or at least the shiplap. I'd prefer the T&G since some of the boards (ceiling) will be spanning 24" rafters.
My table saw is a really old and cheap delta. I probably should replace it before attempting this project. That old thing has been a workhorse and cut lots of stuff for my projects over the years.
One thing I think I'd like to have on the T&G joint is the little bevel which I think will hide most imperfections. I don't think the bevel is possible with the dado set but I can easily hit the boards with a fast pass on a hand router to create the bevel if needed. It'll be such a minute amount of material it shouldn't take much.
Thanks
If you choose to use a router and plan to do more projects with it, it's not hard to build a good solid router table. What I did was plane and glue up a stack of 5 or 6" wide boards (ideally hard maple), planed to under 1" (easier to get tight glue joints). Glue and clamp with as many pipe clamps as you've got, leave it for two days, and then put the cant on the mill. You can make a good thick flat top as wide as you can cut, and it won't warp over time.
All else you need is the proper plate for your router and a proper hole in the table. It helps to leave out some material in your cant as you glue up so the router body has a hole, and then route the surround recess for the plate by hand (clamp down a fence to run the outer edges cleanly). Also slot out space for the collet wrenches.
I added some T slots for the fence and featherboards using a keyhole bit. They bind up though and aluminum might be better, but it works.
I don't use mine much, only about 50 sqft of flooring as a test and a few hundred sqft edging for S4S stair treads. Worked okay though, and better than shelling out $300 for a cast iron top half the size.
Quote from: Bluejay27 on September 22, 2017, 03:58:24 PM
If you choose to use a router and plan to do more projects with it, it's not hard to build a good solid router table. What I did was plane and glue up a stack of 5 or 6" wide boards (ideally hard maple), planed to under 1" (easier to get tight glue joints). Glue and clamp with as many pipe clamps as you've got, leave it for two days, and then put the cant on the mill. You can make a good thick flat top as wide as you can cut, and it won't warp over time.
All else you need is the proper plate for your router and a proper hole in the table. It helps to leave out some material in your cant as you glue up so the router body has a hole, and then route the surround recess for the plate by hand (clamp down a fence to run the outer edges cleanly). Also slot out space for the collet wrenches.
I added some T slots for the fence and featherboards using a keyhole bit. They bind up though and aluminum might be better, but it works.
I don't use mine much, only about 50 sqft of flooring as a test and a few hundred sqft edging for S4S stair treads. Worked okay though, and better than shelling out $300 for a cast iron top half the size.
I'd love to see some pictures if you have any.
I had a "table" but I did not have fences, hold downs, nor featherboards so I found out quickly that that handheld was my best option. LINK (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,47709.msg893135.html#msg893135)
Hi If you are using a router for T&G please use ½ shaft bits. The heads on T&G bits are too heavy for ¼ shafts. There is too much vibration and I had one break and go through a cab. door 10 ft. away. SAFTY FIRST
no doubt, I didn't know they even made them in 1/4"
2 schools of thought, handheld the router can follow the wood better, there are times when this is an advantage, unplaned or cupped come to mind. on a table with fences and featherboards you can set it up to joint the boards if you run tongue first with ~ 1/16-1/8" of removal at the infeed of fence and full support on the outfeed, like a jointer on its side. then rip and run the groove with full support the whole way.
my table is just 2x6's and ply about 30" wide x6' long with setup for 2 routers, fences on both sides, plane first, t/jointing down one side (can take multiple passes if the board needs much straightening), over to the tablesaw to straightline off the jointed t edge, then g down the opposite.
I set the table up by the tablesaw the rest of the time with a straight 3/4 bit and use it to quickly edge joint for ripping or to make glueline edges for panels. it is in a friends shop at the moment, he's making wainscot for their house. this is a pic from my gallery of some I did in hickory several years ago
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/hickpanel.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1213751118)
this is with square t/g bits making ambrosia maple floor for a winecellar
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/ambmple.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1215308944)