Barn beams

[kendall yates]

Has anyone used old 12x12 barn beams for turning? I know where a few are that came from a 50+ year old barn. I'm not sure what they are, they are covered in dust, dirt, straw, and junk. Thanks for the help.

[Eric Kosanovich]

kendall,

A lot of barns in the east long ago used to use white oak. where you are and how old will give you a start as to the type of wood. Yes i have seen some of the turners here turning barn beams.

PS: make sure you take photos lol

Eric

[Brodie Brickey]

I'd also consider cleaning the wood as much as possible. All that junk, is bound to dull your tools.

[John Keeton]

One word - NAILS!! I think the wood should be OK, but I would want to clean the wood very good, scrape it, and use a metal detector on it. Tearing into a broken off barn spike wouldn't be fun!

[Steve Schlumpf]

My first thoughts were metal detector and breathing protection!

Looking forward to seeing what you turn out of it!

[Steve Mawson]

I kept a few beams from the barn my brother tore down. They were white oak over 100 years old. Can you say HARD but they work fine. All shavings will be dust so it goes everywhere and like John said NAILS. These beams had lots of beetle holes but being that old I guess that is to be expected. Also being that old you get close grain and the wood is much darker than something newer. Only thing was I wish I could have got more (some were over 12 in sq and hand hune) but with the high lift running at $100 per hour you don't take a lot of time picking through the pile.

[Roger Chandler]

John and Steve have it right. Your find is probably a real treasure which adds all the more to the end result that you turn because it now has a "story."

What you need to make sure of is that part of the "story" is not an injury because of unseen embedded metal, or a respiratory infection that you got from all the mold, etc associated with old wood. It could ruin the next 6 months of your life! :(

[curtis rosche]

go for it. old wood always looks neat

[Joe Pierce]

I scored a number of floor joist made from long leaf pine. They are at least 100 years old. They make some beautiful bowls and platters. But, you must use a metal detector, and visually inspect every mm. If not you will miss a nail, or screw. People were always hanging things from joist and beams!! Beautiful wood, but be very careful!!