Thread: Cypress pine as bed posts

There is nothing wrong with Cypress pine. But they smell.... So you should seal them.

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.

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,

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.

It would be Callitris.
The smell is something I was worried about too. I may just pay the price from bunnings.

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.

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

Originally Posted by Acco

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.

Thanks for the info, I called them today and they said they only sell by the truck load, maybe I called the wrong one, I’ll try again.

Originally Posted by Lrdars

Thanks for the info, I called them today and they said they only sell by the truck load, maybe I called the wrong one, I’ll try again.

Sounds like you called Reid’s or Powelltown.

Premier Timber Milling is the one you want.

Originally Posted by poundy

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

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.

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.

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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 .

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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

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,

Originally Posted by IanW

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,

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

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!