Jeff Tidd has been creating out door furniture for many years. In this article he shares his words of wisdom on the types of wood he uses and how to make outdoor furniture last.
I make several types of outdoor furniture. The best seller is the hardwood Adirondack chairs using white oak. However, I have also used ash, walnut, cherry, and maple.
I also refurbish cast iron park benches using white oak or cedar. My favorite are the ones with flat, one-piece backs that allow me to use the wider boards that I get off my mill.
I have been using Olympic deck stains as a wood preservative and my personal chairs have held up well for six years now.
In the top photo is a fully assembled Adirondack chair on my left and most of the parts for another chair on my right. Each chair is approximately 20 board foot of lumber. My dog, Hankerchief, is sitting on a refurbished bench using white oak with a whitetail and a wild turkey laser engraved onto the back. Also pictured are other Adirondack chairs in various stages of assembly.
All of the wood in this photo came from Washington, DC or Arlington and none of it was taken down for its lumber value
For more information about Jeff Tidd's business or to contact him with questions, please visit their Facebook page >>
------------------------------------------------------------------
City of Roanoke
St. Pierre
Woodworking & Sawmill
The City of Roanoke and Bill St. Pierre (St. Pierre Woodworking & Sawmill) are collaborating on a project to replace the wooden guardrail along the road leading up to the Mill Mountain Zoo. The present guardrail, which was installed in the mid-1960's, continues deteriorating with each passing year.
The new replacement guardrails are being made of oak from trees that have reached the end of their biological lives and need to be removed from the city's urban forest. The new oak guard rails are 6 x 8 inches and 10 feet long. The present stock is being air dried until enough guard rails are ready to begin the 1400 foot long replacement project. A sealant will be applied to the new oak guardrails to help preserve them against elements. According to William West, "The new guard rail system will be based on a design similar to what is found along the Blue Ridge Parkway".
Check out the websites of these two great collaborators >>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Shou Sugi Ban
The words themselves are attention grabbers! When you see the treated wood product you will be even more amazed!
Shou sugi ban is also known as Yakisugi was traditionally used on a Japanese cedar known as Sugi wood. The process involved charring the wood with a very hot flame, cooling it, cleaning off any soot or burnt debris on the surface, and finally finishing the boards with an oil. The unique black tones in the wood that are created by this process has made this one of the hottest trends in architecture. Typically shou sugi ban treated wood is used for exterior applications such as siding, fencing, decking and benches. Some of the more unique applications includes the siding for an entire house!
Not all woods are created equal in their responses to this charring. Some of the best performers include spruce, pine, larch and western cedar. In Virginia it has been used effectively on both ash and oak.
The idea of torching all the wood needed for a large project or even a house may seem to be a somewhat daunting task. Fear not, for shou sugi ban treated wood is commercially available! A quick Google search will lead you to many providers of this unique wood product, some of them even located here in Virginia!
The shou sugi ban bench, pictured on the left, was made by a local wood crafter, Brad Wroblewski of Knoched-VA located in Crimora, VA.
For more details on the shou sugi ban method of wood preservation, visit either of the following websites:
