Oregon for furniture?

[Redgy]

Is oregon a good wood to use for furniture projects? There's a thread elsewhere that suggests it's not to bad for turning. I scored an old set of shelves for nicks that have about 10 layers of paint on them & it's made of oregon. There's 6 shelves of about 250X18 X2.5mtrs plus the sides. So I'm wondering if it's worth stripping down & chopping up to make some smaller things out of or just leave as is to stick junk on in the shed. So far I've made most of my projects from crapiata pine so surely it's better than that?

Cheers
Reg

[Gumby]

Yeah, why not have a go at it. Oregon (Douglas Fir) is very similar to pine in that it is very soft and marks easily but also has hard grain lines through it. That means it isn't easy to sand flat. The hard grain stands up and the soft bit in between sands down quickly so you end up with a ridging effect on the surface. It splinters fairly easily so watch the edges and your hands :eek: It will be nice and dry and I'd suggest using a cheap electric planer to remove the old paint. I tried stripper on mine but was there all day and it made a hell of a mess. The cheap planer took it off in no time and then i cleaned the boards up on the jointer/thicknesser.

It's fine for shelves and stuff or join the boards together to make a thicker section. If you check the Woodwork pics forum, there's a coffee table I made mostly from oregon which I posted pics of not that long ago. It's good for benches as well, and anything structural like that.

A small chest of drawers would be a good project for it and a great way to learn as well. The only thing I don't really like is that the shelves I made in my kitchen just look too much like pine. Non woodworking folk wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It just isn't much good out in the weather and termites absolutley love the stuff. Inside, fine.

[Redgy]

Yep, cheap planer (got) and thicknesser (excuse to buy one) was gonna be my prefered option. The project I had in mind was a small hall table with joined pieces to make thicker for legs. Does it stain well? or just a clear finish looks good?

Thanks for the quick reply Gumby....I did a search prior to starting the thread (saves the "go do a search") and saw you've got a heap of it.

Reg

Just hijacking my own thread a bit :D I saw Mitre10 advertise the Ryobi thickneser with anti kickback, dust chute & extra set of blades for $399....good value?

[zenwood]

Ryobi thickneser with anti kickback, dust chute & extra set of blades for $399....good value? This might answer your question:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=18948

(http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=18948&highlight=kickback)

[Gumby]

Yep, cheap planer (got) and thicknesser (excuse to buy one) was gonna be my prefered option. The project I had in mind was a small hall table with joined pieces to make thicker for legs. Does it stain well? or just a clear finish looks good?

Thanks for the quick reply Gumby....I did a search prior to starting the thread (saves the "go do a search") and saw you've got a heap of it.

Reg

Just hijacking my own thread a bit :D I saw Mitre10 advertise the Ryobi thickneser with anti kickback, dust chute & extra set of blades for $399....good value?


Not sure about the value. We had a GMC at our last club meeting and it's been going for a good year or so and Stuart is happy with it. I think they are all around the same $350-$390 price. Stuart Lees also put up a thread recently about building a dust extractor for the GMC, it's also on our website under mods:
www.tritonwoodworkers.org.au

As you saw, I've had quite a lot of oregon but haven't stained any. I used Minwax Wipe-on Poly on the coffee table and it looks good but it does have the hardwood insert to spice it up a bit. Staining isn't my strong suit, I find it hard to get an even finish. oregon may suck it up pretty quickly like pine and that could make it difficult. Somebody else might know more.
I reckon the hall table would be a good option. Make sure you post a pic when it's done. ;)

[Redgy]

Have read that thread before & seems like the go to have AK, more a question of $$$ as there's not a lot of options for purchase out here in the sticks. I'd hate to buy it & someone say "you coulda got that at XXX for $320" or at the show in a few weeks will I save a bundle there?

[Wongo]

I tried stripper on mine but was there all day and it made a hell of a mess. The cheap planer took it off in no time and then i cleaned the boards up on the jointer/thicknesser.

Exactly what Grumpy said. I use an old Hitachi electric plane to dress old timber. So if I hit a nail then it is still better then stuffing up my jointer. Do you have a jointer or thicknesser?

I will throw away the one with lot of knots or just cut them off. They are not easy to work with.

Recycled pine makes nice furniture and we have seen plenty of them on the forum so it is a big YES from me. :)

[Gumby]

Exactly what Grumpy said. :)

You looking for a place on my honour board mate ?? :D

[zenwood]

at the show in a few weeks will I save a bundle there? Prices are a bit lower at the show. Not sure if it would be worth the petrol from the Mount though.

[craigb]

I made a console table out of re-cycled Oregon, (there's a picture on the board somewhere).

I find the natural colour of the oregon I used (aged) to be rather orange so I tried Termites tip of darkening it with a Condies Crystals solution.

It worked o.k. I guess but I don't think that I will make anymore furniture out of Oregon.

My $0.05 worth. :)

[Redgy]

Zenwood, I coming up there anyway, first show for me, & intend to spend a bit so I might hang out for it. Normally spend a heap at the 4WD/camping/fishing shows....not this year!

Craigb, I'll have plenty of scrap bits (cut around the screw holes etc) so I'll try a few finishes before deciding (before SWMBO decides)

Cheers
Reg

[Bodgy]

A while back I restored a very old table where I stripped the paint off and then intended to stain. No idea what the timber was, rosy red in colour, very, very soft and sucked up the stain like a sponge. Amazing, the liquid would not sit on the surface for even a second.

I was completely stuffed until some old guy said to mix up weak paperhanger's size (fancy name for wallpaper glue I think), paint it on and when dry - stain.

It worked. The 'paste' goes only so far into the wood then clags and dries, allowing one to stain like less porous timber.

Also recently stained some hardwood outdoor furniture which I like to keep oiled. Mixed the stain into the oil.

Incidentally, I make my own outdoor furniture oil, the price at Bunnies for off the shelf stuff is crazy. Half and half Linseed oil and Turps. Works fine and one tenth the price.

Bodgy
(you can probably see the reason for the choice of sobriquet from the above)

[Stylesy]

It's also been mentioned on some threads that a coat of sanding sealer prior to staining pine, etc helps prevent the "blotchiness" - definitely couldn't hurt, would also kill two birds because you'd sand again at that point as well.

[soundman]

Origan ( otherwise refered to as the irish wood "O' Rigan")is not wonderfull timber but its a bit more interesting than pine. Very variable in quality, hardness and growth ring spacing.
You can get some great rustic effects with it using fire http://www.ubeaut.biz/flamer.gif , wire brush and /or "inventive" sanding methods.
If you don't like the orange colour stain or tone it dark or flame it
cheers

[Harry72]

Oregon is quite fine for making furniture out of, it is a strong wood for its weight and can take a fair amount of flexing pressure before it breaks.
As Gumb said it is tricky to get a smooth to touch surface, depending on the size/space between the veins of harder grain, if its closely grained its easy to get smooth but if the spacing between the veins are wide it can get tricky IMHO its best to use a cabinet scraper and only finish sand with no less than 400g Al'oxide paper using a hard faced sanding block(keep the paper tightly wrapped around block).
Staining properties are good, it doesnt go blotchy so long as you follow the grain, dont wipe stain across the grain as it builds up very dark between the veins of harder grain.(see 1st pic)
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=8500

Oregon is an atractive wood it has a very distinct grain, heres a table that I still havent finished yet.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=8929
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=8930