WRC at Home Depot

[potomac]

Home Depot carries what is labeled as kiln dried WRC, rough cut, that they suggest using for outdoor applications. Most of it, is indeed, pretty rough with lots of large knots. Picking through the 2x stock (true 2x, not 1 1/2''), I found a board or two that appeared more or less knot free with straight grain. Would this be acceptable WRC boat lumber if it was remilled and scarfed for proper lengths (for stringers, inwales, etc), or is there something that makes this wood unsuitable? I've also found building grade stud lumber that very occasionally, (read rarely to almost never), is knotless and straight grained and marked as fir. I find myself in HD probably twice a week and I'm wondering if I couldn't stop by the piles each time I made a trip there to check what they have and slowly collect my own pile of suitable lumber waiting for a project.

[Woxbox]

I say if the boat is going to be epoxy encapsulated and live in a garage, that wood will last longer than you will. But if it were traditional construction living outside, then you'd want better materials. And then there's a whole range of argument in between those two extremes.

[wizbang 13]

Oh Yea, "Pullouts".
My whole stinking boat is planked with twobyfours from the corner hardware store.
Learn the diff between fir and hemlock

[AndreasJordahlRhude]

"Rough" has nothing to do with the grade of the wood. It is direct from the sawmill without being machine planed smooth or S4S (surfaced 4 sides). That's what "rough" indicates.

Andreas

[potomac]

"Rough" has nothing to do with the grade of the wood. It is direct from the sawmill without being machine planed smooth or S4S (surfaced 4 sides). That's what "rough" indicates.

Andreas

Thanks Andreas. I'm aware of that. I indicate "rough" here to help identify it to others who may have seen it. In this case, it is rough in both senses of the word, but occasionally, there seems to be a board that looks pretty good. I know, however, that boards are sometimes marked as being one species and are, in fact, another with different properties. I believe this is what Wiz is pointing out by telling me to learn the difference between hemlock and fir. What I'm trying to get at is if this lumber is simply garbage for boatbuilding purposes or if one can find a diamond in the rough.

As far as I can tell, I live in paradise. After ten years in New York City, this belief is reinforced every time I walk out the door or cross one of our little bridges over the ICW, with dozens of boats below, all pointing in the same direction on their moorings, directed as it were by the tide. But there is a strange dearth of lumber here, plywood or solid lumber. Cypress grows down here as does live oak and these might be good choices for a big boat, and worth driving a hundred miles or so to find a proper sawyer for supply, but I am wondering about collecting lumber for smaller projects.

[davebrown]

I'm with Wizbang on both comments. I have a great deal of success going through lumber piles. Hemlock is occasionally mixed in with spruce or pine. It has a unique greyish or yellowish hue. I can't describe it but know it when I see it.

[Canoeyawl]

Hemlock is occasionally mixed in with spruce or pine. It has a unique greyish or yellowish hue. I can't describe it but know it when I see it.

Look for the stamp link
Then smell it.
There are several species listed as fir, they will have a different grading stamp.
When looking for boat wood, I always take a little block plane and shave a bit of the end grain to see what we have.

[potomac]

Do you guys refer to (or did you initially refer to) any particular books for aid in identifying different species or is it something someone taught you?

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Canoeyawl, I'll look for that particular stamp. Thanks for the link. Good information.

[Ron Williamson]

The ones that you don't want are labeled S-P-F(spruce,pine,(balsam)fir) and Hem-Fir.
Regarding wood ID,I often use all senses plus past experience to identifyl ocal wood.
Other stuff,I only know what I'm told.
R

[SMARTINSEN]

Hemlock is good for the floor in your barn--even in the house, I daresay, I, at least like it-- it is a tough wood, but it cannot tolerate the wet or damp.

I am talking about Canadian Hemlock, tsuga canadensis.

[upchurchmr]

Potomac,
Be careful of the WRC rough cut. I had some that literally left a puddle on the floor after one cut. I did what everyone says, picked thru Home Depot and Lowes for about 4 months, occasionally finding something I could use for a Kayak. This boat was just delivered so no longetivity data, but this is standard for glass / epoxy coated boats. I also used Poplar - avoiding the green boards to get a big color difference. It was cheap at a real lumber store, milled nicely, and was quite tough. Hope no one says there is a reason not to use it. I did use some wet WRC, cut it to oversized strips, let it set for weeks to months, then finish sawed to thickness. If you cut to the typical ~1/4" thickness for a kayak, it doesn't take long to get dry.

Home Depot carries what is labeled as kiln dried WRC, rough cut, that they suggest using for outdoor applications. Most of it, is indeed, pretty rough with lots of large knots. Picking through the 2x stock (true 2x, not 1 1/2''), I found a board or two that appeared more or less knot free with straight grain. Would this be acceptable WRC boat lumber if it was remilled and scarfed for proper lengths (for stringers, inwales, etc), or is there something that makes this wood unsuitable? I've also found building grade stud lumber that very occasionally, (read rarely to almost never), is knotless and straight grained and marked as fir. I find myself in HD probably twice a week and I'm wondering if I couldn't stop by the piles each time I made a trip there to check what they have and slowly collect my own pile of suitable lumber waiting for a project.

[Mike Vogdes]

Potomac,
I also used Poplar - avoiding the green boards to get a big color difference. It was cheap at a real lumber store, milled nicely, and was quite tough. Hope no one says there is a reason not to use it.

I guess if you have it heavily epoxy saturated it may hold up... but poplar is rot prone and unsuitable for boatbuilding.

[Nicholas Carey]

You need to look at the grade stamp. Most western NA woods are graded by the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau or, more likely, the Western Woods Product Association. You need to read their buyers guide (http://www.wclib.org/pdfs/buyers2008.pdf) and their Grade Stamp Facsimile Booklet (http://www.wclib.org/pdfs/GradeStamps.pdf), or see the WWPA site -- http://www2.wwpa.org/TECHGUIDE/Grade...ult.aspx#stamp -- the grade stamps tell you a lot about the lumber, For instance, Douglas Fir will bear a stamp that looks something like this:



If it says "D Fir" or "Doug Fir" or "DF", its Douglas Fir. "WRC" or similar indicated Western Red Cedar, etc. If it says "Hem-Fir" or "WC" or "Western Cedar" is something else. "Hem-Fir" means any number of species other than Douglas Fir. Western Cedar" is any number of other "cedars" (most cedars, even the the good ones, aren't true cedars).

But you can probably find, if your local lumber yard supplies western softwoods, decent boat lumber if you're willing to jack up the waste factor. You want to high-grade the stock (if they let you). You want douglas fir, larch or western red cedar most likely. You might see a grade stamp that indicates "Doug Fir - L" or similar. That's a mix of Douglas Fir or Larch. Both are fine woods for boatbuilding.

In any event, the wood you're looking for is clear and free of heart (FOHC/Free of Heart Center), and it's heartwood, not sapwood. In the best of all possible worlds, it should be vertical grain or rift-sawn as well (good luck on that ). The most likely grades are either "Select Structural" or "Number 1"

Also bear in mind that air-dried wood is preferable for boatbuilding over kiln-dried.

[upchurchmr]

Perhaps not classic wooden boat building, but coating with fiberglass inside and out seals it pretty good. There is no such thing as "heavily saturated" - it either is or is not saturated. The glass adds most of the strength and all of the abrasion resistance. I'll tell you about the rot resistance in this instance once a year until I see something. It will be very obvious since this is clear coated.

I guess if you have it heavily epoxy saturated it may hold up... but poplar is rot prone and unsuitable for boatbuilding.

[BrianM]

I say if the boat is going to be epoxy encapsulated and live in a garage, that wood will last longer than you will. But if it were traditional construction living outside, then you'd want better materials. And then there's a whole range of argument in between those two extremes.

Yep!!!

Further, it's kind of oxy-moronic that someone who would put all the effort into building a new wooden boat, would then let it fill with rain-water for months on end.

Simply flipping even a very sub-standard built boat will extend its lifetime by years! (Assuming it is a small boat, if it a "big boat", well built and sealed decks with good ventilation make a huge huge difference on longevity.