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Thread: Cypress pine as bed posts
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28th May 2020, 10:56 PM #1New Member
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Cypress pine as bed posts
**Sorry if this question has been asked before**
I’m looking at building a bed and the plans have are saying I need 90x90 untreated pine posts, I’ve been unable to locate any other then bunnings at $70 each. My question is can I use cypress pine?
I’m located in the yarra valley in Victoria.
Thanks in advance.
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28th May 2020, 11:35 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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There is nothing wrong with Cypress pine. But they smell.... So you should seal them.
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29th May 2020, 01:43 AM #3GOLD MEMBER
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Just did a jigsaw table out of cypress pine, and it smells.
Even if it was sealed, I have my reservations that it still could be a strong smell for a bed.
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29th May 2020, 07:38 AM #4
By "Cypress" do you mean Callitris or Macrocarpa? Callitris is the one with the very strong odour, It's not unpleasnt, just just stronger & more persistent than most woods in the family. I've been in raw pine-lined houses in the northern hemisphere and they were pretty powerful too. I think the odour would diminish to tolerable levels once the finish is applied and it settles for a month or three - if you really like the pine "freshness" it would bring the outdoors in, as they say.
Macrocarpa is easily worked & would substitute for most situations calling for "pine" but Callitris is rather hard & split-prone & a pretty knotty customer. It might prove difficult to find pieces that don't have big knots every place you want to chop a mortise.....
Cheers,IW
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29th May 2020, 08:49 AM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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I second the type of cypress is critical .If you use the wrong type it will be hard as and prone to split, but I like the smell and look.
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29th May 2020, 08:50 AM #6New Member
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It would be Callitris.
The smell is something I was worried about too. I may just pay the price from bunnings.
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29th May 2020, 09:42 AM #7
Seeing that you’re in the Yarra Valley, head over to Millgrove and get some Macrocarpa from the boys at the sawmill, and it’ll be cheaper than Bunnings.
You’ll be able to smell some freshly sawn and some that has been sitting for awhile. Quite a few of us up here have used it for furniture and it finishes up very nicely.Cheers
DJ
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29th May 2020, 01:17 PM #8GOLD MEMBER
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just use 45mm and laminate two of them? A bed is a good use of kiln dried straight pine and I'd be making my own 90x90(ish) by using the square-edged, kiln-dried builders bits, even if it came from from Bunnings. Just don't forget you want the dried stuff, otherwise you can end up with bananas
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29th May 2020, 08:31 PM #9New Member
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30th May 2020, 03:24 PM #10
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30th May 2020, 04:32 PM #11GOLD MEMBER
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Two of these laminated together will be a strong enough proposition. But they are never going to be stunning looking posts. you should plane them down so they are flat enough to be glued together.
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1st June 2020, 01:47 AM #12
Any Callitris posts in Melbourne from what Ive noticed still have the heart in them so wouldn't be a good choice for a piece of indoor fine furniture left that way for that alone.
IMG_3441.JPG
Radiata Pine. The Bunnings stuff , is good wood but IMHO only if its painted for Furniture. Sure it gets polished but its never been a great looker under any clear coat IMHO once again. When I'm using it I'm staining the look of it away all the time . You have to be aware of the way it behaves too as taking it from a stacked situation from a yard and letting it just lie around can change its shape as it settles . It moves around a bit but left and then re machined its good .
The Macrocarpa Cypress recommended is worth chasing . It can be had in posts and if you are going direct to the miller, good clear ( no knots stuff ) is easily possible . Its also very stable stuff . It may be that getting it straight from a miller means letting dry out a bit though . Its also the best polishing pine between that and Radiata . Polishind Callitris in large furniture pieces is very rare and unseen . Macrocarpa has a look closer to Kauri pine when its clear and straight . That's a good thing .
IMG_0856.JPGrob2222 660.jpgrob2222 668.jpg
This is a large Macrocarpa Table I did some time ago . It was on the Knotty side , specially the big slabs for the top . So its not a great example of the best clear Kauri looking type I have used in this timber, and was talking about above. You can see in the clear sections what I mean though . Its also polished and aged a bit .
I see this wood cut as sleepers and they are knot free . If you had a saw big enough to re saw sleepers it would be a good way of getting cheap timber to re stack and dry for some good smaller projects .
Rob
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1st June 2020, 10:03 AM #13
Nice 'ageing' job Rob! Something I'm miserably poor at: my couple of attempts at ageing & an 'adzed' top were less than satisfactory to say the least. I discovered why finishing is a whole trade in itself....
Cheers,IW
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1st June 2020, 02:44 PM #14
Thanks Ian . It is a trade in itself but it’s easily learned . My Dad used to say “ Learn the woodwork , you can always pick up the polishing later . You don’t see many polishers by trade picking up the woodwork later “ it doesn’t work that way round , much , if ever ? I don’t know polishers turned Cabinet Makers .
The Ageing thing is a bit different . Any one I know who does it all have their own ways . It takes a bit of figuring out and often goes wrong . So doing things twice can be the norm at times . Rob
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2nd June 2020, 10:16 PM #15
Frequent user of Callitris here...and the concerns over its smell and its workability are overblown.
I just lined the Lad's bedroom with 130x19mm lining boards that were fairly fresh off the mill. All I did is refinish and sand them before fitting them - they've not been sealed as yet. The smell is negligible...unless my sense of smell has been killed by it?
In terms of pre-drilling, it's not always required in new wood unless it's close to the edge of the timber. It is essential in completely seasoned cypress and utterly pointless in seasoned but weathered timber (cause it'll just fall apart!).
Things to note though... getting a traditionally smooth oiled finish and polish out of it is quite some work. And, above all, the sawdust is not great for human lungs...even by the normal standards of sawdust!Ours is not to reason why.....only to point and giggle.
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