Dave Robison wrote: > We make a wooden box from scrap lumber, it's not even round. Seems to > work ok. I have made a "barrel" in the past, rip a bevel on a bunch of > wooden slats and band them together into a cylinder. Using regular > (Doug fir) lumber, it's only good for about one season. So hasn't been > worth the trouble.
Douglas fir is very similar to Radiata (Monterey) pine, may even be the same. When supplied by the lumber yard it is too high in water content, usually around 12% if not more. Timber is a living substance so it should reflect the prevailing ambient conditions. Coating with poly products suffocates it through changing the composition of the outer 5mm to a hard impenetrable surface, the inner wood slowly dries out, crumbles, and the item falls apart. Softwoods rarely last more than a few years if coated on all four sides. Paint (other than poly based), no matter how many coats, protects timber and allows it to breathe. Pine may be seasoned with sodium bicarbonate dissolved in tepid water, one tablespoon to 750ml (medium sized dog food can), stir well, apply with a 4" brush, one coat is enough. The bicarb dries the timber by driving water out of the cells. There's also an actual colour change to yellow. Allow to dry (doesn't take long). Coat it on all sides with a 70/30 mixture of gum turpentine and boiled linseed oil. (That is, 70% gt + 30% oil. Linseed oil comes in two sorts, boiled and raw. Don't use the raw, it doesn't dry out.) Use a 2" brush and then rub in with a lint-free cloth. Allow to dry 24 hours. Seal with a beeswax polish. Gourds and pumpkins may be protected with the same turps/linseed oil mix. I've made caskets in the past for pets (deceased, of course) from recycled cedar because it resists rot and soil organisms. Could be useful. roger
