Pecan Headboards

[Sonny]

Got the pecan log milled, yesterday, and this morning I washed the sawdust off the boards. 7 good boards about 10' long and about 15" at the narrow a nd 22" at the widest, 6/4 thick.... plus a few other shorter/smaller pieces . Will take about a year to air dry and hope they don't warp or check too much.... they shouldn't.

Some nice, but not great, figuring in the wood and some fairly nice grain p atterns, also. Will decide if staining will be necessary, when they dry, etc.

Estimated costs: $150-$200 for labor/gas-transporting/handling the log and boards; $50 miller's fee. We didn't hit any nails or metal!!!

We'll see how the headboards turn out. I'll try the George Nakashima appro ach. I already have other pecan lumber for making side & foot boards. I think they'll look good, good enough for the camp, at least.

4 pics of the boards: =1

Sonny

[Gramps' shop]

The color is magnificent, Sonny.

t off the boards. 7 good boards about 10' long and about 15" at the narrow and 22" at the widest, 6/4 thick.... plus a few other shorter/smaller piec es. Will take about a year to air dry and hope they don't warp or check to o much.... they shouldn't.

patterns, also. Will decide if staining will be necessary, when they dry , etc.

d boards; $50 miller's fee. We didn't hit any nails or metal!!!

roach. I already have other pecan lumber for making side & foot boards. I think they'll look good, good enough for the camp, at least.

[Scott Lurndal]

Make sure you cover the ends with wax or thick latex paint to prevent excessive checking. Stack and sticker.

[woodchucker]

Scott, are you serious? Sonny has milled more wood than most of us have put through our shops. I would think he knows how to take care of drying it.

[dadiOH]

Nice! Pecan (Carya in general) is a nice wood...hardest commonly available but not all that hard to work, attractive, finishes well. I sometimes wonder why more people don't use it.

[Sonny]

Sometimes, it's good to have large thick pieces, as this, to check, especia lly if they are going to check down a long length of the board. Ripping do wn the check and regluing the boards will make the large piece more stable. If it's going to check, I want it to check now, not after the project is complete.

This tree was about 80 yrs old and there were some branching in this top pa rt of the tree, so I'm hoping the knarled branch areas help keep the boards from checking so much. The log was cut from the tree's upper 15', from g round level, to the 25' height.... which I think helped that there were no nails that high up.

One never knows what "rogue" lumber (not ground under dedicated, cared-for forestry conditions) will do, so painting the ends, or taking whatever mean s to prevent problems, is always good advice. I'm still learning, no matte r how much experience I may have. I have other large slabs, 2" X 17" X 12' , of pecan, from years ago, and some warped, a bit, but no serious checks. I was to make work tables with those, but those big boards would whip my b utt, handling & working them, so they've just been sitting there. We hit n ails, in those boards, also, so I'm a little leary about sawing them, with other than a circular saw.

Sonny

[SonomaProducts.com]

patterns, also. Will decide if staining will be necessary, when they dry , etc.

Wow, I really envy you. That is some great material and using wild edges wi ll really be a creative and fantastic use fore those boards.

I almost always at least add some "Natural" stain or dye on woods with whit e. White wood can bleach out over time and become very flat. For instance r ed oak will become really white after a few years if sunlight can get at it so just the slightest toning of a yellow-ish dye or stain can keep it beau tiful for a life time.

The other option is to do a glaze of dark finish to highlight the grain lin es on woods that have such, like red or white oak. Then even if they do ble ach you have the dark line contrast to keep it looking good. Not too famili ar with Pecan but I assume it does not have much textured grain and is more like maple or birch.

The other option is to use naturally yellowing finish like shellac or nitro cellulose lac.

[Sonny]

I don't think I've ever glazed anything. Sounds good. How do I glaze the wood, apply a glaze finish? I have the smaller pieces and other pecan lumber to practice on.

I'll try to take some close-up detail pics, to show its texture.

Sonny

[Puckdropper]

Sonny wrote in news: [e-mail]:

*snip*

Do you run a metal detector over the finished boards before cutting? I've done it with my little one, but while it detects deep enough for planing, I wouldn't expect it to go past 1/2".

Puckdropper

[Sonny]

No. I don't have a metal detector. You'd think I'd have one, with all the old salvaged cypress (with tons of nails), I have. I try to eyeball those lumbers, as best I can. That previous pecan, with the nails.... the nails were big and the defects they left in the wood were really obvious. Can't say that about some of the old cypress, with lots of small wallpaper tacks everywhere, in some boards. The heads break off and the nail part is ofte n difficult to see or detect by eye. Sometimes, more than I like, the join ter or planer is my metal detector for that salvaged lumber.

Sonny

[Sonny]

ly available but not all that hard to work, attractive, finishes well. I so metimes wonder why more people don't use it.

It's not a commercial tree for lumber, relatively slow growing, also. Many trees are in a domestic/private setting or grow along fence lines or in s mall private groves, where folks tend to drive nails into them, for the iro n input (nut production). For trees in an industry/production setting, fo r pecan nut harvesting, the trees aren't available for lumber production.

More often, when one is cut or falls down, it is used for firewood.

Sonny

[SonomaProducts.com]

rain lines on woods that have such, like red or white oak. Then even if the y do bleach you have the dark line contrast to keep it looking good.

e wood, apply a glaze finish? I have the smaller pieces and other pecan lu mber to practice on.

d grain and is more like maple or birch. The other option is to use natural ly yellowing finish like shellac or nitrocellulose lac.

Well, I call it galzing. Usually you do a wash coat of some finish like she llac or sanding sealer, etc. Then you can just use a gel stain or even bett er in my opinion is the settled pigment scrapped from the bottom of an unmi xed can of minwax oil stain. The brown sludge.

Wipe/grind in and wipe off immediately. I find this almost a must have requ irement for any red or white oak because it adds so much more drama by high lighting the cathedrals or rays and other grain features.

I found this picture. It shows what I am talking about but in this picture the background field is also darkened. Imagine this oak still being natura l color field with darkened grain lines.

[Sonny]

ure the background field is also darkened. Imagine this oak still being nat ural color field with darkened grain lines.

That link's pic is more clear than my detail/comparison pics. I like that darkening in your link. Pecan looks very similar to oak, but just not quit e as pitted. Here's a few pics of pecan next to cherry and walnut, for com parison of surface or texture.... hope you can see it well enough.

I'll do some glazing test pieces and post the results. I'm anxious to give them a try. Thanks for all the input.

When it comes to the headboards, I can always glaze one face and clearcoat the other face, of each board, then whichever I like best, use that face fo r the exposed side. I'll have multiple options for the finished product.

Looking ahead, I think I should look for someone with a widebelt sander, fo r all the sanding that'll need to be done.

Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

---------------------------------------- Sounds like it might be time to add a drum sander to the shop.

Then you wouldn't have to worry about embedded nails, etc as well as all the other functions that drum sanders perform.

Lew

[Sonny]

What ya think about this deal, $1K for both tools (if I'm reading it right), about 100 miles from me:

Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

----------------------------------------------------- You have access to 3 phase power?

Lew

[Sonny]

No, but my nephew could have installed a converter.

I called that guy and the sander and jointer have been sold. That seemed a darn good deal. Wish I had paid attention, earlier.

I'll ask the local commercial woodworks shop how much they charge for sanding. They're located near me.

Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

--------------------------------------------------- "S> No, but my nephew could have installed a converter.

---------------------------------------------------- That would be a winner for everybody.

THey make a few bucks and you don't have a lot of space taken up in your shop.

The guy I used charged $25 for the first 15 minutes and $1/minute after that.

This was for a 48" wide machine with 3, 25HP motors and a

15HP dust collector.

90HP makes the meter spin.

It was a serious piece of equipment but still only took 1/64" per pass.

Good luck.

Lew

[woodchucker]

What are you waiting for?? Go get them.

[woodchucker]

Never mind.. I see that they are gone... but he left the add up.