Replies

1. 
   jgaiennie | Feb 26, 2003 02:03pm | #1

   Must be a valuable piece of wood!

1. 
   Jeff1 | Mar 02, 2003 06:56am | #2

   I think they are, there free and a lot of them, I am tearing up the floor in my hay mound. I plained a couple down and the grain fantastic, I think the barn was built around late 1800 s I hate to cut it up for fire wood , I don t  think I would  be able to sleep at night.

           woodsy

1. 
   jgaiennie | Mar 02, 2003 02:42pm | #3

   Woodsy,

   I actually have attempted (with some success) to straighten some lumber that I knew to have been straight a day or two earlier but had absorbed moisture from the damp slab that it was laying on and developed a bend.  It was just from having a higher moisture content on one face and the solution was to bring that moisture back to more uniformity.  - using logical applications of applied moisture, circulation, and sunshine.

   Don't burn that wood.

   How thick is it?  Do you know the species?

   It sounds like it may have been subject to 200 years (wow! that's pretty old) of structural loading and deflection.  I'd guess that if this is the case, you'll find it to be quite a challenge to bring back into straight.  Can you flatten to usuable boards by planing?

   I also have used old lumber that is not perfectly straight for many applications where I was able to pull it into straight, and due to the shape of, and it's place, in the assembly it worked well.

   jdg

1. 
   Jeff1 | Mar 03, 2003 07:49pm | #4

   the lumber is 1in thick, planes flatt to 1/2in or less.I think I might build a solar kilhn,get the boards wet and put  them in the kilhn and see what happens.

   I am not sure what type the wood is so far, I  am  sure when I get tearing It up IT will be a variety. I had some fir laying arond here for years. It was off a old feed wagon, it made a nice book shelf

                   see ya.  woodsy

1. 
   jgaiennie | Mar 03, 2003 08:01pm | #5

   Is it cupped?

   As a last resort, rather than plane it to a half inch, I'd consider ripping it first.

   You may know this but anyway, you may be able to relieve the cup by backgouging or rip sawing a few half depth slots on one face, enabling you to flatten the board and having the other face original.  Obviously this would only work in boards where one face is exposed.

   Also, you may try to relieve the cup by applying moisture to the center of the concave side all along the length of the board - the theory here being that it will expand the most contracted part.

   If you're going to wet the whole stack and put together a solar kiln, I would assume that you know about properly stickering a stack.  I'd think you'd want to over sticker it and put some serious weight on the stack to induce straightening stresses.  Or maybe bum a Signode banding set up from a lumber yard or somewhere so you can really bind it down.  Just suggestions that you possibly already have thought of.

   Good luck with that wood.  Sounds like it could be a treasure.

   jdg