Salvaged Timber?

[Paul Griffin]

Is it okay to use salveged fir timbers from old factories to make the keel of a 26" boat? Some of these timbers are over 18" square. There is very little checking on any of the timbers and I didn't see any knots. What would I look for to know if they are no longer any good to use? What other woods could be used?

Thanks

Paul

[Donn]

You could probably use a bit of balsa for the keel of a 26" boat. :D

[whb]

I don't know about on a boat but I use salvaged timber any chance I get. It is stable, finished any warping its likely to do, usually old growth and holds any fastener you can get into it. The only concern I would have is that its natural oils are all likely dried out so it may be less rot resistant. That being said, you will be covering it with something and you probably should CPES is first.

Howard

[Ken Hall]

Paul, what whb said. Salvaged timber tends to be pretty good stuff.

Donn: "No one knew who they were--or what they was doin." ;)

[Ian McColgin]

You'll know if the wood's good as you dress it. Assuming no beetles, worms or termites, enjoy. Just watch for nails and such as you prep it. If you do a lot with salvaged wood, getting a detector is a good idea, but careful visual will work fine.

[centroid]

paul,
i was wondering the same thing for a 24' cutter. my question is, what about the pith ? i thought you are not supposed to use the pith or is that mostly with green timbers only.

what about the dryness of it, will it swell excessively after being in the water for a while ?

[John R Smith]

Centroid

you're not suppothed to pith on it, sea-water is better all round.

smile.gif John

[ 05-14-2002, 05:01 AM: Message edited by: John R Smith ]

[Ron Williamson]

Paul
can you determine the species?
When we worked out of an old furniture factory, we noticed that the timbers were a mix,including maple,beech and hemlock.
On the other hand,I did some work for a guy who bought 24x24x24'fir timbers.He had them resawn into parts for his timber frame.
This winter I resawed a fir 12x12 dam stoplog and found it to be lovely material.
R

[formerlyknownasprince]

I'm restoring a 64 year old 50' cruiser and I use salvaged, scrounged, old or new timber and even plywood in the appropriate places. I installed a 2 x 6 Oregon (Douglas fir?) floor beam today that came from the ceiling of a building demolished to make way for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The breasthooks are left over from a slab used by a mate to build his timber shop counter. The two main cross beams are now from re-sawn Australian hardwood bridge beams. Some of the ti-tree knees were kaput. These were replaced with grown hardwood roots that I cut with a chainsaw from some long-felled timber on a cousin's property.

The teak for the decking is fresh, as is the Queensland Maple in the cabin sides and some of the interior.

Believe me - the old timber we've used has provided sterling service.

Ian

[centroid]

is fir good for rot resistance ?
i thought it was not recommended to use timbers with a boxed heart because the center of the timber will decay. or is that only with green timbers ?

[formerlyknownasprince]

Don't know about its rot resistance, but all the timber that I've put back in has been fully epoxied - I'm on my third 20 litre container of resin.

Someone had previously used oregon (Douglas fir) as beams for the front cabin sole, which is below the water line. They had no rot but had been fully painted with red lead.

I've had to replace all the original Kauri deck beams because they had been fixed (in 1938) with iron fastenings at the ends. The new beams are laminated and epoxied Oregon.

Ian

[steve sparhawk]

Paul, if the fir you have in Waterloo is old enough, you likely have some very good old-growth stuff with close annular rings and it could hardly get better. It will be stable and strong and if given a dry bilge, will last as well as anything. The older stuff had enough resin remaining to be more durable than the second growth wood--but not like old heart pine which is another story altogether. If you got some of that old stuff you'd better save for where you can see it. It's too pretty to lay at the bottom of a boat. Cut it thin though if it is for ceiling. It's nearly heavy enough to be ballast.
Back to the fir: I once had some 4X6"beams from an old water pipeline which had been about ten feet in diameter. Those pipes had carried water down a canyon to a hydro plant for a bunch of years but were only worn a bit on the inside from the grit carried along. I sure wish I had some of those today.