THEO WILLIAMS - THE OUTDOOR WOOD RPOJECT GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Skills, Techniques You Can Use For Your Outdoor Wood Project

Copyright 2020 THEO WILLIAMS MD
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Contents

Introduction

There's lnt f it, t' rltvl h (r vn fr), t' environmentally frndl, t looks grt, t' wrm nd cozy, t' ur-trng, t lt hundrd or vn thousands of years, nd you n u it for vrthng from buldng brdg t mkng paper r heating ur hm. It' wd nd it's ut possibly th most uful nd versatile material on th planet, wth many thund of dffrnt u.

Choosing the right tmbr for ur hm, whthr u'r lnnng on buldng or furnhng ur home, n b a dffult tk there's jut mn t t pick frm! Contrary to ulr belief, nt all tmbr r created equal, w'v rtd th hnd gud t different types f timber t hl you fnd one tht' rght fr u.

Whthr you're ftr nw tmbr flrng, r r nt ur whh t f timber t f fr your nw dining hr, dffrnt types f wd wll nturll dffrnt types of qualities. Sm timbers are hrdr, or ftr, than thr, and th range f hd vlbl across all knd of tmbr r untl.

Woodworking n mzng hobby as wll vocation, tht can lt a lftm. Th 10 wdwrkng rjt r straight frm ur dtr, and are bl t wdwrkr of ll kll lvl. Mt rjt nlud ln and a materials and tools lt, u hv vrthng u need to get trtd.

Tk a tr nd l ff th outer "kn" r brk nd what u'll fnd is tw knd f wood. Clt t th dg there's a mt, lght, living lr called sapwood kd wth tub lld xlm tht hl a tr water and nutrnt up frm t roots t t lv; nd th wd thr' a much drkr, hrdr, part f th tree called the hrtwd, which dead, where th xylem tubes have blkd up with resins or gums nd stopped working. Arund th utr edge f the sapwood (and the trunk) a thn active lr lld th mbum whr th tree is actually grwng outward by a lttl bt each year, frmng th fmu annual rings that tell u how ld a tree . Sl hrzntll thrugh a tr, running the saw parallel to th grund (rndulr t th trunk), and you'll see th nnul rng (n nw one ddd each r) making up th r-tn. Cut vrtll through a tr trunk nd u'll see lines nd runnng rlll to the trunk formed b th xlm tub, frmng the nnr structure f th wd known its grn. You'll l nl wnk ovals ntrrutng th grn called knots, which r th l whr the brnh grew ut frm the trunk f a tr. Knt n make wood lk ttrtv, but th can also weaken t trutur.

WOOD

Softwoods nd hrdwd

Frt, bfr we g nt dtl about f tr t, why r they lfd thr soft wd r hrd wd? Wht th dffrn?

It isnt but trngth. Sft and hard woods are bth vr trng, ft woods rnt the lt bit wk. Sft wd come frm nfru trees, .. tr wth n, nludng dr, fir nd n. They ftn have a rd r yellow tinge nd bu th nturll grw trght and ft ntd f curvy and slow, theyre usually cheaper thn hrd wd nd are generally mr utnbl. Which mn ur nt ntrbutng to deforestation b using them r bung furntur and flooring md frm thm.

Hrd wd r loved by woodworkers because f their grgu lur, butful grain ttrn and xtng textures. Th nl dwn d is th t. Because hrd wood tr grw slowly, some exotic r far t tl t use nwhr xt in fn detailed wrk, vnr, nl nd fn drtv fnh. If u want to work wth a hrd wd, mk sure t m frm a utnbl ur. Altrntvl, you can lw find a piece f ld, non-antique hrd wd furntur to take rt nd r-ur.

Cmmn ft wd

Cdr tends t be reddish n lur and t a relatively soft wd. It mll lvl, lk freshly ut n, h a n, trght grn and usually used utdr. Cedar hngl r ud to rf buildings n th USA mr ftn thn here thnk f a mountain lg bn with dr hngl nd you get th tur and t l uful for furntur, dkng nd thr xtrr wdwrk projects. Cdr great at rtng rot and used widely in damp nvrnmnt as a result. A well bng very beautiful, t is relatively inexpensive.

Fr also h a straight grn like cedar, and also reddish in colour. It a relatively h wood ftn ud fr building and isnt grt for furntur, bu t grn a bt brng nd dull, and it doesnt tk wd tn vr well. It d, hwvr, take nt perfectly. For a ft wd t relatively strong nd hard.

Pn th nm ud fr ll mnnr f tr, mn f whh r commonest n th USA. Thr th wonderfully nmd Ponderosa pine, fr example, lu yellow n nd ugr n, in the UK usually jut labelled n. It rdulul easy t wrk with, vr soft, rll gd for rvng nd rft for furntur. And it tk wd tn wll, rvdd u seal t first.

Rdwd is resistant to dm nd is ftn used outdoors. Its frl ft wth a lr, straight grn, nt th most interesting wd to lk at. As youd mgn, t has a rd tnt to t. Its cheaper n th USA, whr California Rdwd comes frm, and more xnv n Brtn.

Common hrd wd

Ah mght nt be a mmn hrd wood for muh lngr, brng n mnd the rvg f Ah Dbk Disease. But fr the mmnt its tll vlbl, a tunnng white t l brwn wood wth a rtt, straight grn. It relatively ft and t wrk with, tkng tn rnbl wll. If u nt fnd wht oak, h is a great ubttut.

Brh has two f, either llw r wht. Th llw vrt a lovely l llw/wht with a heart the centre f the tr f rddh brwn. Wht brh lr still. Theyre both ut hrd and, a rul, are ftn hr thn many hrd wd. Ash grt fr furniture, stable and t wrk wth, but tnng can be tricky bu t can l g blth. On th other hand t tk nt rll wll.

Cherry to wrk wth, perfect fr furntur nd t wd stains wll. It looks grt fnhd wth a wood l. Th hrt is reddish and the outer part, knwn as th wd, very l, almost wht. Its l hrd than birch nd rdl vlbl from utnbl ur. It tends t b more xnv thn mn thr hrdwd, ml bu its in grtr dmnd.

Mahogany rbbl th mt famous furntur wd. Brwn t deep rd n colour wth a straight grain, t l hrd thn brh. It t wood tn butfull nd rt a wd oil finish. You m nd vrl t f oil but th end result awesome, wll worth the ffrt. One thing t rmmbr the wood rarely available from utnbl ur, so bung new mahogany down t ur nn. Lukl you can mtm bu used mhgn frm wood rlmtn yards.

Ml n b either a hrd wd r ft wd, and the hrd vrn is hrd t trk t work wth. Th softer type of maple fairly easy t work with n comparison, nd because bth hv uh a lovely fine, trght grn ttrn theyre bth very tbl, more thn mn other wd. Ml relatively h, t.

Ok m n red nd wht nd probably n of the wrld mt popular wd fr furniture nd hrdwd flrng. It trng, hrd nd easy t wrk wth. The wht variety is th wdwrkr favourite because th ray-like patterns n th grain are so attractive. It moisture resistant so ftn ud for garden furntur. And white oak costs l thn many hrd wd.

Poplar nthr rltvl lw-t hardwood, ut soft and easy t wrk wth. It usually very l, mr r l wht, wth grnh r brown trk t th hrt. Th rultng trng nd nt ntrl attractive pattern mk t l ulr fr furntur thn k t nt ud t make fn furntur very ftn. But its grt fr th nd f drwr, tbl and cheap. It tk nt really well, much bttr thn t accepts a wood tn. People ftn use t to mk bowls, toys and small rft tm.

Tk is getting rarer but still ulr for gd ult outdoor furniture. It extremely wthr-rtnt nd vr butful, as well costly. It gldn brown with an xt, l texture and a mdum-hrd wd.

Walnut xtrml hrd, a rich, d brown lur and t wrk wth. Sadly its expensive and rltvl rr. Th days craftsmen use it fr fancy tuff like inlays.

Whr n I buy xt hardwoods

Rainforest dfrttn n rtulr nd dfrttn in gnrl is a no-no th d, and utnbl wd r ud mr often a rult. Luckily thr r lnt of wd reclamation nd architectural rlmtn rd springing u ll vr Brtn as the trend for r-urng and recycling ht u. It amazing what u n fnd, everything frm wndrful ld k rlw lr t th llr from old bh grn and chunks f exotic wd lk Sapele, which th most tunnng nkr rd lur and a j t rv b hnd.

If u need new hardwood, you uld try British Hrdwd, a ldng UK ulr f everything frm timber t specialist planed hrdwd. Yu can vn bu nln. Softwoods r much more easily vlbl tr ur local timber mrhnt.

Amazing wd brgn fr rft, furniture and wdwrk projects

I found a lvl of Sapele, which I ud fr my frt vr wd rvng, nrd b brd. The wd only cost a fvr! At the m Brighton wood rlng yard w found a hug, silvery, worn mhgn blk, but eight feet b tw b tw. They cut t nt fur hunk fr us, whh hv bn ut n th grdn fr five r r more, and r still good new nd rft fr utdr tng. Th cost? 70. It jut g t hw, f ur dng to hv a g t wood rvng r wdwrk, t neednt cost a frtun