Today I feature the mighty Ponderosa Pine. I was marveling at these trees on a recent trip out west and knew I had to feature the species. A mainstay of the construction lumber industry often labelled as PP/LP on lumber racks. But also a species with a different life in the form of clear boards in moulding, interior flooring, paneling, etc. The species is fire propagating and is a perfect example of how healthy forest management needs a little fire from time to time. The Beetle Kill Pine is the result of weak forests without natures cleaning mechanism. Ponderosa is a yellow pine but a pale version of yellow pine both in appearance but in workability with softer and less difference between early and late growth. It makes for a more uniform working experience with planing, sawing or cutting joinery.
Also in this episode I answer questions about:
- Kiln Drying schedules to reduce trial and error when drying lumber
- How pulp wood forests no longer destined to a paper mill could be turned into saw timber forests.
- Typical construction lumber species in the 1920s in the NE United States
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55:19
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55:19
157 - Roots of Terror
Happy Halloween! Let's explore some lumber and tree lore from around the world and some spooky tales that may make you think twice before you cut down that tree or plane that board for your next project.
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21:33
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21:33
156 - Catalpa
The featured lumber species today is Catalpa. A very oak like tree but with a really soft workability. High quality, clear lumber that is easy to work and comes in decent widths and lengths. Why doesn't this wood more popular? Also on the show, Tree of Heaven as lumber and the engineered wood products world of PSL, LSL, and LVL.
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57:36
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57:36
155 Composite Lumber
Today I fight my strong wood bias and take time to talk about composite lumber. All the various plastic boards you will find on the market from wood flour and plastic slurry to polyethylene capped boards and fully plastic HDPE or PVC. What you should know about the differences and how you can actually work with this stuff.
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49:17
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49:17
154 - Buckeye
My featured species this episode is Buckeye. Its a non commercial species but not terribly hard to find and has some unique color and high propensity to form burls. But the real meat of this show is a look at how a forest regenerates after a disturbance like a fire or logging. The successional forest model helps us understand how forestry managers can foster a healthy forest through logging. But then we look at how bugs and blights can disrupt the succession model even further.
An 8/4, Kiln dried podcast all about lumber and your questions about it. Let's dispel some myths and broaden an understanding of this ancient industry and help us all become a little more wood savvy...woodier??
New Zealand