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  1. #1
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    May 2010
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    Default Baltic Pine - Good for cabinetry??

    I came across about 50 super foot of really old Baltic Pine that has dressed down to 3/4 inch quite well. I've never used it before and was wondering how it would for for an Apothecary Cabinet build, dovetailing especially.

    I can see that it would be a bit more of a rustic look than fancy/pricey timbers, but I kind of like the look of it.

    Has anyone successfully done dovetailing or box making in old Baltic Pine? I'm worrying about splitting and splintering I guess more than anything.

    By the way, my first post in 7 months, I feel kind of guilty having dropped off the face so to speak. Finally getting the old mojo back after the 'prostate chop' in July

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  3. #2
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    May 2007
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    Gold Coast
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    Default

    Not Baltic but I have used old dry Hoop Pine a bit for dovetailed drawer stuff. I initially had problems with the pine crushing and tearing out under the chisel rather than chopping out nicely but found out from another member here that spritzing the wood with water before the cut works wonders. No more crush and tearout and nice clean dovetails!
    Franklin

  4. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Sth Gippsland Vic
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    4,355

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    Hi Bob . Good to hear your feeling better .

    Baltic Pine is good wood . It'll dovetail well .

    There was a time when I remember seeing second hand Baltic piled up outside wrecked houses and burnt. The whole floor and roof (lining boards) worth of an old house makes a Big fire ! Then around the start of the 1980s it started being used making tables and all sorts of stuff. It was everywhere for a while .The second hand floor boards got to be worth quite a bit . Going back you see it used in antique stuff in some very nice furniture.


    I did some of my own recycling too . I still own and use this pair of cabinets I made using lining boards taken from a bin at the back of a wrecked Victorian house in Prahran Melbourne . The lining boards are around 1/2 inch thick x 6 inches wide. The doors are a half lap joint in the corners, it was to thin for a mortise and tenon . Good stuff to work . The worst part about the second hand stuff was removing 100 years of paint, and the build up of grit in every crack and nail hole .

    IMG_3438.JPG


    I was on the phone just last week to three timber yards asking about Baltic Pine . No one had it ! Mathews had a little Hoop pine . Radiata Pine was the only option I had . The new Baltic is not as nice as the old stuff .

    Rob

  5. #4
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    May 2010
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    Bendigo
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    Default

    Thanks fellows, good tip to try out with that spritzing Fuzzie,w ill give it a try. Auscab, love those dressers. You were game using 1/2 inch material. I've got a bit of Baltic lining board that is gonna be 1/2 inch myself, so will consider that. Otherwise will do for the drawers for this Apothecary cabinet build, 24 drawers I reckon so plenty of practice coming up.

    IT was kind of funny, someone advertised this last lot locally as 20 boards (8" x 40" x 1")of Kauri pine for $50. (Well my heart skipped I can tell you) It was a demo yard I hadn't known of before. Got there and found it was Baltic or some other old growth pine but not Kauri, but took it anyway, some of the boards were about 12" wide, plenty of nails etc, but whatever.

    After educating, in my own boring 'old man' way, the lass on what Kauri really was, she pointed to a 4 ft x 2.5 ft x 2 inch huge slab leaning against the wall and asked me what that was. Yep, Kauri. $50 too. Got some holes in it, looks like it was used by the old SECV for some kind of machine base (got their ID on it anyway). NO idea what I'm gonna do with it but at least saved it from the mulcher.

    Yes Mulcher! seriously. She said if no-one wanted it that weekend it was going on 'the mulch pile.'

    You wouldn't believe the size of the pile. 200 yards long, 30 yards wide and about 30 feet high, MASSIVE! They employ someone from Melbourne I think to bring some HD equip up and mulch it up, nails and all, and sell it to Vicroads for roadside/Freeway mulch. Heck, what a sight.

    (Might post the Kauri slab here for sale. Who knows, I might make my $100 back )

  6. #5
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    Default Before and after

    Before and after of one board DSC_1356.JPGDSC_1358.JPG

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Hobart
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bendigo Bob View Post
    I came across about 50 super foot of really old Baltic Pine .....
    Good Morning Bob

    My house was built in the 1880's and all the internal joinery is done in baltic pine - four-panel doors, architraves, skirtings, picture rails, window frames, etc. We sold the baltic pine kitchen dresser when we modernised the kitchen seven years ago, but still use two BP bedside tables - probably original furnishings!

    The doors are of traditional mortice and tenon construction and after 140 years the joints are all still sound. The timber has mellowed to a lovely "warm honey" colour.


    Fair Winds

    Graeme

  8. #7
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    May 2010
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    Hi again fellows, finally getting somewhere. Will add progress pics in next post but got a question re funny marks being left on boards by my planer I think ??

    The wood is very soft for a start, really old pine this time from a bit of 100 yo furniture. You can see the blemishes all over it straight out of the planer (A Sheppach combo with straight blades)

    The rollers are clean so it's not muck stuck on them. But i'm thinking it must be shavings getting caught between the outfeed roller and the board, pressing indentations that also seem to change the color of the board in those spots.

    I've never noticed this with other timbers, so puzzled.

    DSC_1421.jpg

  9. #8
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    May 2010
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    OK, progress pics. Going to be an apothecary cabinet. Part machined, but joinery all hand cut dovetails.

    Now on to the 24 drawers.DSC_1423.JPGDSC_1422.JPG

  10. #9
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    Apr 2016
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    Mooroopna, Victoria, Australia
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    33
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    Default

    I was getting similar marks in old pine floorboard after thicknessing. I think you're right about chips getting caught and creating the marks, so make sure you hook up a dust extractor and it's working properly. If that doesn't solve it, you're due for a blade change.

    Very nice work too.
    I cut it twice and it's still to short.

  11. #10
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    Jul 2004
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    Adelaide
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    Welcome back Bob, good to see you posting again.

    Regards Keith
    ( I was Pedro66 )

  12. #11
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    May 2010
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    Bendigo
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    Yes, i think the 1hp dusty is probably struggling. I've just cleaned the fabric filter (In the wife's washing machine ) and will check the pipework. Man it was some workout hand planing the faces down. Good exercise though. Thank for confirming that PJM. Sometimes I miss the obvious and maybe was overthinking things.

    Quote Originally Posted by PJM16 View Post
    I was getting similar marks in old pine floorboard after thicknessing. I think you're right about chips getting caught and creating the marks, so make sure you hook up a dust extractor and it's working properly. If that doesn't solve it, you're due for a blade change.

    Very nice work too.

  13. #12
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    May 2010
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    Bendigo
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    DSC_1430.jpg
    Progress, that's all today as I went for a drive to buy something off a fellow woodie. Told him what time to meet near his town 'so long as the cops didn't pull me over for being out without good cause'

    Well we met up and the first thing he said was "Did any of my coworkers pull you over" Lovely chap too. I think he loves his woodworking more than policing.

    Anyway, very happy with that pine timber on the drawers, came off a slab that was the top of an old gentleman's dresser that was over 100 yo. I just LOVE that old growth pine for its character. Not even sure where it came from or species. Just one glue seam that is in the middle of the second top row.

  14. #13
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    May 2010
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    Question!! Advice needed.

    As per pics, I've trialed my first half blind dovetails for this apothecary cabinet. Got some more practice to be doing, so that's not the question, will be doing a few more to get up to standard.

    I'm intending a round-over for the drawer fronts so they stand out a bit over 1/8th from the cabinet, so I was playing with how far to set the dovetails back. I think i'm happy with that bit - but!

    While doing this I started thinking that the top and bottom shoulders are too heavy. I wanted to leave room at the bottom for the rebate/groove to hold the drawer bottom and also wanted the joint to be symmetrical top to bottom, but I can't help feeling it's a bit chunky.

    Does anyone have advice as to layout? Got 24 of these drawers to do and want to get it right before I start in earnest. (talk about biting off more than I can chew!!)
    DSC_1444.jpg

  15. #14
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    A purely cosmetic way to make them look less chunky would be to put a contrasting plug into each pin. A round plug would be easiest, but if you wanted to be adventurous you could use wedge shapes. They don't need to be very deep.
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  16. #15
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    I think I get you there Alex, that's an idea. Might try to make the next test a bit less chunky first and see how the join will intersect with the dadoes for the bottom. Thanks

    Quote Originally Posted by AlexS View Post
    A purely cosmetic way to make them look less chunky would be to put a contrasting plug into each pin. A round plug would be easiest, but if you wanted to be adventurous you could use wedge shapes. They don't need to be very deep.

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