Pine boards

[mdotis]

We have a woodmizer bandsaw. We bought a few pine logs last fall. We are now cutting some of them into boards for a fence around the house. Once we build the fence we will paint the boards. The question is do we need to plane the boards or leave them as they are off the bandsaw? Which would be the best in your opinion for weather resistance?

 

[John R]

If you plane them they are easer to paint/stain.

 

[hamish]

Its pretty much your own preferance and the quality of lumber your mill cuts. Planing will defiantely be smoother, but I can cut some boards on the mill sooth enough that a babies butt wont be affected.

As you are building a fence, paint or stain the boards before putting them in place, much quicker and save alot of..........you missed a spot!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I wouldn't put them up green, they will sag in the middle if you have much of a span. Once dry, they will be much stiffer...

SR

 

[Mac88]

Most of the boards that come of the Woodmizer we're using require little more than a quick once-over with a palm sander to be paint-ready. Are any of those boards going to be in contact with the ground? If so they will probably require more than just paint.

 

[Incomplete]

For outdoor use (unless it's decking), you want them rough, for the same reason all of your cedar and fir from the lumber yard is Rough Sawn. When you sand the lumber you are closing the grain which prevents sealer penetration. The rough out holds the sealer better/longer and therefore weathers better. Best economy stain product for out of doors is Cabot. If money is not an option you want Sikkens.

Whenever I sand wood that I am going to paint or stain, I wipe it with a dampened sponge: the water raises the grain "microscopically" and the wood "drinks" in the sealer, giving you a better, longer lasting finish.

For fences? Put it all up and then take a commercial paint sprayer and go to town (you can rent them). Heck, Weber has a halfway decent cheap sprayer.

 

[mdotis]

Thanks again

You guys are the best. When I look at them they are ok but not great I think one pass per side on the planer will be the plan. Then use a sprayer and like you said go to town. They are not going to be in contact with the ground. We cut oak 4 by 4 to use as posts. They are white oak so they should last a couple of years.... thanks again for all your help.

 

[Dave Boyt]

If the boards are going to be vertical, as with a privacy fence, the boards can go up green. I built ours eight years ago using post oak, no sanding, paint, or preservative. It is holding up well. In a few years, I'll take down the boards, sell them for weathered barn siding, and put up a new fence. The boards came off the Norwood mill smooth enough that they could be easily painted to last longer.

 

[GeeVee]

Down here, all fence boards are rough sawn, just to make them affordable.

I can offer you a coupe of things?

Any asphalt product like Creosote Emulsion, Aspahlt sealer etc. will preserve the wood as well as anything else, and be much cheaper too. Using a few of these boards, set them up on sawhorses, and make a "tray" to set a board in by lining the tray with cheap plastic. USe a pump style garden sprayer, and wet it down with the sprayer, then with a paint roller, roll it on to make good contact. The roller at first will be dry, and want to pick up the liquid, after a while its wet, and will be great at ensureing you have introduced the liquid to the wood evenly. which is the point.