Thread: help with rough sawn iron bark balcony column

Kevin welcome to the Forums.

i am not sure that you can reasonably do much about the cracking. The fact that the posts are rough sawn and of a large dimension probably indicates they were installed with the timber still green. Checking and cracking is inevitable as the timber dries.

You could fill the cracks, but it will be very obvious and look most unattractive. Even if you fill the cracks the drying process will probably continue for some time and the cracking will continue. The fill will then either fall out or develop further cracks alongside the fill.

Realistically, your best bet is to slow down the drying process as much as possible by making sure the outer surface has some sort of sealer. This can be paint, oil, clear sealer etc.. In the picture it looks as though there is something already on the timber. You could give it another coat. The problem is the outer surface of the timber is drying faster than the centre.

You may have to live with the cracks. Again, from the pic it doesn't look to be too bad and has some character.

Regards
Paul

Unless you are skilled, I would stay away from a belt sander.
Use a random orbital sander instead, either 1/3 sheet, 150mm or 90mm diameter. Being external will need to be resealed.

Sanding or planing will only make things worse. A smooth surfaced piece of timber is far more prone to checking than a rough sawn one during the drying process. As the posts dry, the cracks should become a little less noticeable due to shrinkage. In fact, dont be too surprised if most of them close up completely! At the moment, your posts are drying much faster on the outside surfaces than the core. Over time, as the inner timber dries, things tend to balance out a bit. Shrinkage takes place and what was once a gap tightens up. This can take years depending on conditions. The secret is to keep the drying out process as slow as possible. An oil sealer would be ideal for this purpose.

Not sure why you would want it to be smooth, it's not furniture. I don't think what you are suggesting is a good idea, as others have mentioned the timber was probably green when installed and given the dimensions will probably be drying for years to come. Given that it is external, expansion and contraction in the wood is a natural process with heat, cold and moisture. Covering the checking won't stop it and will result in a mish mash of patches and fresh checking in the future.

In any case if you you want the posts to look pristine and smooth then perhaps you would prefer to cover them with something suitable...ie not timber. Colourbond flashing or perhaps aluminium extrusions that have a wood grain finish come to mind.

Personally I wouldn't do that to such a post as there would have been much cheaper ways to achieve this initially. I suspect the original brief for using such expensive posts would have been for their look ...ie "rustic", isn't that what you have now with the checking? Just leave it as it is and keep it oiled regularly to preserve the colour.