Wood choice
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Thanks Dave, I will let you know if I need the contacts.
Jeff, thank you also. I was wondering if pressure treated would be alright but worry that after a couple seasons that I am rebuilding the table. I am not against painting it either. I have a nice color I used on the garage door to match our siding I could use. Of course I would get it in an oil base.
I had not planned on grouting the tile. I would like to make them floating, something like the attached image. That way I could maintain the wood easier.
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@unknownuser said:
I had not planned on grouting the tile. I would like to make them floating, something like the attached image. That way I could maintain the wood easier.
ahh, ok.. that's a better way to do it. it will look nicer too - not as bulky as what i was picturing.
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I wouldn't use pressure treated lumber for this. The chemical doesn't penetrate very deeply and everywhere you have a cut face there won't be be any treatment at all. There'll be a lot of cut faces with all those rabbets. If you can't get cypress and teak and ipe are out of range, you could go with western red cedar which is also common for building decks. Getting quarter sawn WRC is probably almost impossible. Cypress ought to be available in your area since it is a southern wood and frequently used for exterior trim and stuff on houses.
I think your idea looks good. How did you get the model to overlap the toolbars? I think I have an idea but...
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What kind of glue and fasteners are best for outdoor furniture? I would imagine galvanized for the fasteners but I am not so sure on the glue.
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stainless steel and a polyurethane based glue such as gorilla glue.. galvanized screws etc are sort of a hoax in that the coating wears off as you screw it in.. ceramic coated screws are another option and work better than galv.
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Thanks. Sort of a Duah moment for me as I rebuilt my deck last summer using composite decking and STAINLESS STEEL screws
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From my boat building experience I would use epoxy (not the five minute stuff) and either silicon bronze or stainless screws. Stainless are better than galvanized. As Jeff says, the galvanizing comes off too easily. It's too thin. With stainless you need to be careful, too, though. Stainless steel develops a sort of 'skin' that protects the metal from corrosion. The 'skin' will get damaged by the screwdriver. It will heal itself in the presence of oxygen but if you cover the screw with a plug or something, the healing won't take place. Then if you get moisture in there, the metal can corrode. Bronze is nice because it isn't affected by that. I think bronze oval head screws look nicer, too. Especially if you align the slots the same way.
Epoxy is a good choice for gluing because it is weather resistant and you can mix in fillers to make it gap filling if needed. It needs little clamping pressure. Once cured it can be sanded or machined and you can even drill it and tap the holes for machine screws.
If you have good faying surfaces, even Titebond III will work, though.
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Eric, I spent the past couple of years living in Atlanta and I know Peach State Lumber carries cypress. Our old shop purchased lumber from there quite a lot and cypress was one of the woods, I believe. Western red cedar is a good choice, as Dave mentioned, and so is Redwood and Spanish Cedar. We've used all three in our shop for storm doors and screen doors with good success. It is definitely softer than Teak or Ipe but I'm sure less expensive. There is definitely lots of cypress to be had in the south. If you know a guy who knows a guy, go ahead and buy the old growth salvaged cypress--it's beautiful.
We use Titebond III for our exterior projects (we have a 8' x 8' door / sidelight assembly right now made out of oak that we've assembled with that product). Glues like gorilla glue are a pain to apply as have to wipe the mating surface with water and ---argh, just too many extra steps.
And please, please, please stay away from pressure treated lumber. Not only will it make you sick but the dust is gross and lacks the more polished look of real hard woods.
best,
Charlie -
hey Boo,
when it comes to the finish and adhesive for the wood i have had much success with the epoxy from West Systemsthe finish is extremely durable and easy to apply and when used as an adhesive there is no issue with squeeze out because the finish and glue are the same product.
of course Teak, Mahogany, Ipe, Cypress, Cedar, Maro Macho and a few other exotic hardwoods will all hold up well under the elements without any finish other than a yearly coat of some type of exterior grade penetrating oil.
if your local lumber supplier cannot locate and supply the wood you want than you might want to check with Woodweb and search the forums and databases for suppliers.
as for screws, stainless steel, Hot Dipped Galvy, or ceramic will all hold up fine but if they are going to be seen in the final project that SS is the best choice.
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I appreciate that, thanks.
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