Need some insite

[bigbird09]

I have had the idea to make some boxes for storeing various things,  namely some of my small take down target holders.  I have been debating on what to use and since we cut a lot of big wood for our wood boiler I thought about sneaking some of it.  My biggest concern though is how to either dry it know, or keep it from cracking in the future.  most of what we have is soft maple, but I could probably find some other things somewhere if I had to look around.  I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible.

[cange]

rule of thumb is drying wood takes 1 yr per inch of thickness...must be stickered and in an area with air flow , like a barn loft....thats where i dry my lumber

[Drilling Man]

rule of thumb is drying wood takes 1 yr per inch of thickness...must be stickered and in an area with air flow , like a barn loft....thats where i dry my lumber

  I know that's repeated over and over, BUT...  How dry are you talking about?  1" pine with go down to about 20% in 30 to 45 days just by stickering and air drying it!  Many other softer woods will do the same thing!  Then to get it down further, it needs to be restickered in doors for another month or two...  It really depends on what part of the country you live in, what specie of wood it is, and what the lumber deminsions are, and lastly what moisture content are you starting out with?

  DM

[cange]

that is true, softer woods will dry faster, but you were talking about maple witch can take a little more time....even if it is soft maple. I guess the question is how fancy are these boxes going to be?

[Hit or Miss]

Depending on the size of boxes I would suggest pallets if you can get them for free.  The nails can be a real booger to get out though! 

[Flynmoose]

A cats' paw works well for removing nails! A big  box or real hardware store should have one, mine's a Stanley.
FM

[Higene]

pallets?

[Hit or Miss]

Pallets, rip then apart for the wood!  I've seen some of the most beautiful walnut from pallets.

[cange]

Aren't alot of pallets made of white oak?  If you can find them new enough, they could work out nicely.

[bigbird09]

pallets are generally what ever is handy at the time and place they were made,  I know one of the local guys has about a semi load made with cotton wood,  but that is a good idea, thanks guys.

[Drilling Man]

  That's how i got started in the early 70's, scroungeing for pallets and any other FREE wood.  Pallets can and are made from just about any kind of wood, as was said, it all depends on where they were built.

  DM

[OleFreak]

Kinda on topic, so:

Per Doc’s suggestion that I do something of a more physical nature to help slow the advance of a bloody awful neurological malfunction, I decided to take up a good ole timey woodworking style that utilizes very few power tools.  I have accumulated a fair collection of what was first cheap junk but is now a much better quality set of tools and have been getting a feel for how to setup and use them.  I think I’m now ready to attempt my first “real” project of building a shooting bench for use with a Sinclair mechanical front rest/rear bag combo that will accommodate both right and left handed shooters. 

It will have a heavy I-section trestle end front and a single rear leg base cut out of 4x4 and 4x6 and the top from 2x12 stock with more 2x for stretchers and tenoned breadboard ends.  Since it will live outdoors I chose pressure treated southern yellow pine fresh from Lowe’s and still all but dripping wet from the treatment.  The stock is rough cut to longer than finished length and has been piled stickered inside my air conditioned cracker box house for about two weeks now.  Once the stock gets past the worst of the twisting cupping drying mess I will attack it with my pretty new tools and see if I can pull off the fairly complex joinery that I dreamed into the design.  Much of the design was done so it will be able (I hope) to handle the moisture induced dimensional changes from being left outside in the weather after completion.

My stupid rooky question is, roughly how long should I allow my air conditioned environment to help draw out the excess moisture before I attempt to flatten, square, and cut the joints in the stock?  I’ve seen especially 5/4 decking and 4x4 in PTSYP from the same Lowe’s continue to do some really crazy stuff long after being put into a deck while still wet.  I expect to have to plane the top back reasonably flat a time or two after completion but I don’t want to watch the whole structure destroy itself just because I couldn’t wait.  I want it as nice as I turn out to be capable of but I’m not shooting for furniture quality and have function and solid as primary goals.

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I heard a story once about a guy who wanted some purple heart.  He ran into some difficulties importing it so he made up a bunch of pallets from it and shipped them to himself.


Alan

[Zulu]

OleFreak,
If you will look at this thread You will see a matched pair of cannon carriages I made out of treated pine.  It was all made from 2" X 12" wood from Home Depot that was dripping when I got it.  At the time, I used what I needed and put the rest on my wood rack where it sat for three years.  It was extremely dry for my project that I just finished last week.
I know you won't wait three years but wet wood is not fun to work with and is not good for your tools.
Zulu
 
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,236890.0.html

[OleFreak]

Thanks for the reply Zulu.  I checked out your site too.  I’ve been waiting over 3 months for a store bought BR Pivot portable shooting bench that still apparently isn’t going to show up anytime soon and is the reason for my impatience.  The 4x6 stuff has 9 months more dry time than the 2x12 for the top.  I’ll probably attempt the base and if there is still the need temporary a plywood top until the 2x12 has had time to dry.  No need in dooming my first “real” ole timey woodworking project.  I’ve seen what this stuff is going to do when used too wet and how well TPSYP can work if you give it plenty dry time first.

[Zulu]

If you stack it with a 1" space between boards and put a box fan on it 24/7 it will greatly reduce the drying  time.
Zulu

[Drilling Man]

  You DO have to be careful that you don't dry it too fast, and "case harden" the lumber though.  The greener the lumber is, the easier it is to ruin it by drying it too fast...
  DM

[OleFreak]

The 4x6 and 6x6 has been stacked with spacers between above a concrete pad with full sun bout 2/3 of the day.  The 2x is in the house with the central air cranked giving the drying a bit of a boost.  Out in the sun seems to border on too fast for the 2x but the 4x6 up likes it except for the few inches on ends.  Best would be a couple or three years on a rack in the back of the shop but not gonna happen this time.  Making super thin shavings by hand is fun but I still like shooting best.

[Rex in OTZ]

In barn haymows and rafters of enclosed buildings the summer temps can be oppressive during July and August and Sept, roofs of asphult shingles and tin roof, the temps can reach 114 or higher during the days.....dont sell short free (cheap) drying power these places have to offer.
 
 
Most wood pallets are currently shot with a particularly difficult nail to pull resin coated spiral nail's that grips really good, mostly the head pops off of when trying to pull them, may try useing hand nippers or nail puller, or a pallet ripper bar
 
They do make a off set adapter for the Saw-Z-All saw so you can do flush cuts on those nails, one can get a carbide inpregnated blade that looks like crush glass instead of saw teeth these work great as long as the wood dont clog them
this odd tool shoots through from the back side kicking out the nails.
http://nailkicker.com/joomla/