Old wood from house framing?

[Jason White]

I'm going to look at some old framing members out of a house near Boston that is said to be 150+ old. Much of it is 2x stock used as roof rafters.

I don't know what type of wood it is and don't have any pictures, but I'm guessing it's douglas fir or pine or both.

Is douglas fir good for furniture-making? If so, what styles of furniture might it be suitable for?

Jason

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Pine of any sort can be beautiful when used right. You'll likely have plenty of nail holes to contend with.

[harry strasil]

Basement shelving from an old Clothing Store circa 1896. It had a finished basement and a Pine floor in it. I made this Carvers Box for the Father in Law of one of my daughters. It absorbed almost a quart of Natural Danish Oil before it started to set on the surface. There is no metal in its construction at all.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/wood/bobsbox.jpg

[Neal Clayton]

it'll likely be knotty. even in those days they didn't waste lumber that bad ;). clear stuff was for floors and trim, and they made everything out of that pine. but you'll likely get some pretty good looking short lengths.

suggestion: when cutting it, especially molded profiles, feed it fast with low RPMs and deadly sharp cutters only. it tears and splits pretty easily, and heat causes strange grain raising as the remaining sap is drawn out. think of the tools that they had 100 years ago (high torque, low rpm) and try to mimic that for best results.

[Lee Schierer]

If I were you before running any of it past any of my tools (hand or power) I would scan the surfaces with a metal scanner. Those old cut nails can be exceptionally hard. Even the rust in thee nail holes may nick you blades.

[James Runchey]

My 1874 farm house is built of cypress lumber. Several years ago I combined two rooms and a hall into one big room and saved a bunch of 2 x 4s, full 2" by 4". I scanned these for metal before working them so I wouldn't mess up the tools. I planed these with an old plane after wirebrushing to remove any plaster residue, then I ran them thru the planer. I found them to be mostly clear, any knots being small, tight. I made a set of kitchen cabinets with 1 x 2s ripped from these, some of the most beautiful wood I've ever worked with. In those days lumber came from huge trees and this, anyhow, was completely straight as an arrow and warp free. I wish I had a ton of this stuff. I've salvaged a lot of used lumber over the years and find it a joy to work with.

[Caspar Hauser]

Chestnut is not out of the question.

[Neal Clayton]

My 1874 farm house is built of cypress lumber. Several years ago I combined two rooms and a hall into one big room and saved a bunch of 2 x 4s, full 2" by 4". I scanned these for metal before working them so I wouldn't mess up the tools. I planed these with an old plane after wirebrushing to remove any plaster residue, then I ran them thru the planer. I found them to be mostly clear, any knots being small, tight. I made a set of kitchen cabinets with 1 x 2s ripped from these, some of the most beautiful wood I've ever worked with. In those days lumber came from huge trees and this, anyhow, was completely straight as an arrow and warp free. I wish I had a ton of this stuff. I've salvaged a lot of used lumber over the years and find it a joy to work with.

well, cypress tends to be mostly knot free anyways. if it's a pine he's got the knots will likely be more numerous and larger.