does any one use douglas fir

[Zack Teal]

i was looking around at my local lumber supplier and they had some douglas fir and i was wondering if any one uses it for any projects or around there shop.

[Neil Brooks]

Built my bench out of it. Couldn't have been happier with the outcome:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/TS8bljfLWLI/AAAAAAAABms/4jgI9zBWRd8/s512/P1050096.JPG

Like most other woodworking BORG-purchases, select carefully.

[Dave Lehnert]

Chris Swartz says in his book that it is a great wood for workbenches.

[Jamie Buxton]

Douglas Fir can be very pretty. However, most Doug Fir is sold green -- soaking wet. It can be used for building houses in that state, but not so much for furniture. It will dry and shrink and likely warp. Even kiln-dried doug fir is dried only to 19% moisture content, which is still pretty wet, so it will shrink too.

[Phil Thien]

I have a ton of Douglas Fir 2x12's that are old-growth, straight as an arrow, and harder than you'd think fir could be.

I'd love to make a bench from them, but my wife won't let me.

They're the floor joists in my house. :)

[Dave Zellers]

I have a ton of Douglas Fir 2x12's that are old-growth, straight as an arrow, and harder than you'd think fir could be.
Old growth, tight grained doug fir is as good as it gets. Man, talk about stable wood.

Now if you could just talk your wife into giving up one of the 2nd floor bedrooms, for a cathedral ceiling living room, you could have your dream workbench.:D

[Russell Sansom]

I have used a good deal of DF over the years. First-growth stuff can be found here Northern California. For me it was a natural choice for a stairway and, in fact I have some gorgeous 3" X 17" X 17 footers on my back porch waiting to become a bookcase, a replacement 1st class stairway, and the base of a workbench.
It can blow out at the back if you cut it with a handsaw. Otherwise, it's pleasant to work and the old growth is shockingly hard and stiff.
Half the victorian buildings in San Francisco are fir ( the rest are redwood ). I've done a considerable amount of restoration of these buildings over the last 3 years and It's been enjoyable. The 100 year-old redwood has gotten a bit soft with weather ( like, in door frames ). The Fir has ridden out the years a bit more gracefully.

[John Sanford]

I built my first major furniture project out of home center construction grade Douglas Fir, a bed for my daughter. It works nicely, but one of the things to be aware of is the tremendous difference is hardness between early and late growth.

I do have an advantage over most other folks where construction grade lumber is concerned. 3 weeks to 3 months and it's as dry as kiln dried. Folks living in places with higher humidity don't have the same benefit.

[Rich Engelhardt]

+! to all the above

(Even Phil & the floor joists!)

I had a couple of old growth 2x12's in the garage that I used for the bottom part of the frame for my swinging lumber storage rack.
It was only after I'd put a coat of clear floor poly on that I remebered how really good Doug fir looks.

[Larry Edgerton]

I trimmed a couple of houses with CVG doug fir a couple of years ago. Everthing had to be predrilled and hand nailed to avoid splits, and you really have to watch for long swordlike splinters when sanding. Does not take profiles well, I set up my shaper to climb cut everything, but other than that it looked good. The customer thought it looked good, most important.

[phil harold]

vertical grain fir is pretty wood
I have installed cabinets made from it

[lowell holmes]

Fir is often used in raised oanel entry doors. It makes good door frames as well.

[Bret Duffin]

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I have used VG fir lumber and plywood extensively over the years for many things. Entry door, mill work, trim moldings, cabinets etc. It is beautiful wood left with a clear finish. it attains a beautiful patina with age which is spoiled when stained.

Its great wood although soft and splintery

Bret

[Brian W Evans]

I got some free 2x12 DF from a borg that was remodeling (they were using it for shelving and didn't want it anymore :eek:). I milled it and made some step stools and boxes out of it. It works easily and looks fantastic with a few coats of varnish. I'm always on the lookout for more.

[Bob Borzelleri]

We have Doug Fir interior/exterior doors and trim throughout our house. In addition, we had our cabinet maker fashion faux beams to delineate between the kitchen and great room. In further addition, we use DF trim to highlte the Maple cabinets throughout the house.

We used a finish with 3% teak tint and over the past 6 years, the wood has slightly darkened to a very warm and pleasing tone; one of the best design decisions we made.