New to the forum, need avice

[Jazzys]

Hi guys, great to be signed up and have this new tool at my fingertips.
I wonder if you could help me with something.

To be honest i know nothing of woodwork, i am a metalworker and how transferable the skills are i'm not sure.
I knocked a small table up from chunky pine from bunnings a few weeks back and now it has shrunk, twisted, warped, you name it, its done it. Not that bothered because its time to learn and thats cool.
The pine was about 50mm thick sleepers and i think it may have been a little wet.
I like the wood and want to make another table top, i'm after the rough and ready farmhouse look. And i don't mind if it gets scratched, splits etc. All adding to the character of the piece. Warping and twisting is another thing though. I want a flat table top.
Would bracing underneath the table prevent a re-occurrence or is there another way i should be doing this. By the way the table is box section steel, onl;y the top is wood.

All of you seasoned woodworkers are probably chuckling at me now, but hey, we all gotta start somewhere eh!

many thanks in advance

[NCArcher]

Sleepers would be very wet. No matter what you do they will warp and twist.
You would need to stack and dry them for 2 - 3 years(only a guess) to get the moisture content down to a usable level.
Look for kiln dried timber of similar dimensions. It won't give you nearly as much trouble.
And welcome to the forums

[timboz]

G'day Jazzys,

Most pine in Australia is cut from relatively small trees (usually<40cm diameter). You can see this by looking at the end grain. There are relatively greater stresses in small logs than in large ones. Wide boards like sleepers have to be cut (from small logs) so the wide face includes the tree pith (core). This will show up as a soft brown line around 2cm thick with short lateral 'stubs'. The pith face is under compression and will want to expand (lengthen), whilst the opposite face is under tension and will want to contract, causing the sleeper to bow upwards when looking at the pith face. The same compressive and tension forces can generate cup, twist and spring (bending edgewise - the difficult way). Spring tends not to be a problem in sleepers as the wide face edges are both under tension and balance each other out. Pine sleepers are cheap for a reason - you truly do get what you pay for, so by all means practice on the cheap stuff but you'll need to spend quite a bit more to avoid the problem when you graduate to jobs that you can be proud(er) of. Hope this helps, Regards Timboz.

[Christos]

Jazzys

You are correct the timber would be wet and thus what you have experienced. It you want pine for the top then might be better to keep an eye out for curb side collections, like an old wardrobe. Could be a little bit thin for the top but might be able to glue panels together and have a little thicker.

Also welcome to the forum.

[Kidbee]

You have probably seen those TV shows where they build stuff from old wooden pallets. If you are the recycling type you could look around for some hardwood ones for the table top to give the rustic look you are seeking.

Gary

[Jazzys]

Thanks guys, much appreciated.
I should have known this woodwork game wasn't as easy as it first seemed.

Can anyone recommend a place where i may get kiln dried timber in the south brisbane area? (are recs allowed on this forum, apologies if not)

Cheers

[comgreserv]

What about old secondhand demolition timber? Has character, is readily available at low cost if you know where to look and for rustic look could be cleaned up with a wire wheel depending on finish required.