Jeffery Pine Slab Table

[Bounty Hunter]

We have been cutting tons of old Jeffery Pine for firewood this year, as the Forrest Service just opened up huge tracts that were torched by the Day Fire three years ago. The trees are dead, but hardly burned...the bark is barely scorched. Kind of a testimony to way that fire went through here, literally a fire storm with 150 mph winds.
There are lots of great trunks, many 3' to 4', some 5' plus.
My wife and I were thinking of making a slab table, as this wood is just beautiful...rich color with some pink and gray mineral burn.
I know softwood is a probably a bad choice for a large table, as I can imagine it will shrink, bow, check and crack like crazy...is there any hope? how thick should we mill the slabs?

Thanks,
Bounty Hunter

 

[excess650]

If its dead 3 years, its likely getting dry, so lots of hope there.

I cut some Douglas Fir slabs that were dead and down for 15 months, and they've barely cracked or warped. Mine were cut at 2" and perfectly quarter sawn, so should be stable.

 

[woodsrunner]

There are lots of great trunks, many 3' to 4', some 5' plus.
My wife and I were thinking of making a slab table, as this wood is just beautiful...rich color with some pink and gray mineral burn.

See this is how it always starts. You see the possibilities in those huge gnarly trunks. You're in trouble. No hope for you.

You will be hopelessly addicted soon. There is no 12 step program, no rehab that will cure you once you start. Your nights will be filled with fantasies of twin 090's on 96 inch double ended cannon bars and beautiful slabs of wood. I know. It happened to me.

Go for it. You will have lots of fun and find it very rewarding.

Scott

 

[BobL]

I know softwood is a probably a bad choice for a large table, as I can imagine it will shrink, bow, check and crack like crazy...is there any hope?

Shrink/Bow/Check can be controlled to some extent by you, But it will also dent badly through use, ie not controllable by you, even just writing on a piece of paper will mark a softwood. This is OK if you can live with it. We used Oregon pine for a our kitchen benchtops because I thought we preferred a "lived it" look rather than the more clinicial pristine look but after 10 years I'm over it. I've resurfaced it twice with a belt sander and two pack epoxy but it dents up again within a few months so now we're just leaving it. On reflection a harder surface would have been better. A table will not be as bad a as a benchtop but as long as you are aware of the problems.

how thick should we mill the slabs?

I would go for at least 1/2" thicker than you require and no thinner than say 1.75 to 2" thick and then have it thicknessed down to requirements after it is dry. It will take 2 years to dry but it should have less warp/bow etc than anything thinner. It will need to be stored and stickered. You will have far less problems if you are prepared to work with wide boards rather than whole slabs.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Thanks for the encouragement gents, we are going to give it a go. Probably mill a bunch of slabs of various thicknesses, just to get an understanding what works best with this species and growth of wood. We will sticker and clamp the whole lot and let 'em dry. I think it's going to make some great rustic furniture.
At least my wife hasn't got the idea to start carving...she would probably want a life-size 9' grizzly bear...I hope she doesn't see this thread...

Best Regards,
Bounty Hunter

 

[wavefreak]

See this is how it always starts. You see the possibilities in those huge gnarly trunks. You're in trouble. No hope for you.

You will be hopelessly addicted soon. There is no 12 step program, no rehab that will cure you once you start. Your nights will be filled with fantasies of twin 090's on 96 inch double ended cannon bars and beautiful slabs of wood. I know. It happened to me.

Go for it. You will have lots of fun and find it very rewarding.

Scott

No kidding.

Every day on the drive to work I pass this 60 or 70 foot pine tree that blew down last winter - the root ball came up so it was healthy. It looks like about 25 feet to the first branch, straight as a telephone pole. Just laying there waiting to be cleaned up. I really want to go ask the property owners for it but I don't know how to convince my wife that that tree is worth taking time away from working on the new addition to our house.

 

[dancan]

No kidding.

Every day on the drive to work I pass this 60 or 70 foot pine tree that blew down last winter - the root ball came up so it was healthy. It looks like about 25 feet to the first branch, straight as a telephone pole. Just laying there waiting to be cleaned up. I really want to go ask the property owners for it but I don't know how to convince my wife that that tree is worth taking time away from working on the new addition to our house.

Calculate the board feet of usable timber and then get your wife to call a lumber yard so she'll know how much $$$ you can save for the house (might work .....) .