Impressions of Cypress

[Peter Quinn]

I started making blanks for a set of structural knee braces that will hold up an awning roof over an upcoming entry door build. Doors need protection, roofs need support. I had wanted to make the door from some reclaimed cypress inherited from my grandfather. Funny, "reclaimed" is such a weenie designer fad buzz word presently....anything reclaimed is green, and great and just fantastic. I wonder if they saw it that way 70 years ago when a cheap Connecticut Yankee was prying up the floor decking from a defunct thread mill? Well, I feared I didn't have quite enough cypress to skin the whole door and make the solid parts (divided lites), so next best thing, knee braces. I want the wood grampa carefully "reclaimed" in a prominent place where I can enjoy its beauty. He is after all the man who instilled in me a love of wood working and tinkering in general.

I opened up this well oxidized old cypress, what a pleasant surprise. Its still oily/waxy, still has a distinct "scent" that falls somewhere between teak and alaskan white cedar. The white cedar makes sense as its actually a cypress. I have not worked with cypress before, it rarely makes it to this northern latitude to the lumber yards I frequent. This material was very heavy for a soft wood, beautiful yellow/brown color throughout, distinct waxy tactile feeling. Mills like a dream, seems very strong for its weight. I feared glue up would be problematic given its waxy oily surface, but it face glued just fine with tite bond III. I had planed a semi solid stain for most of the millwork on the awning roof, but now I'm considering a clear penetrating oil and doing the annual maintenance just to see this beautiful wood in its purest form every day.

Any Creekers worked with cypress much? Any impressions, or any suggestions for a product to clear finish? I'm considering Messmers penetrating oil which works for oily exotics and very dense stuff. Beauty of messmers is it contains no waxes so it can always be stained or painted going forward. Is cypress really durable to the weather? This stuff has what I'd consider fairly tight growth rings on the vertical grain, and it was dead stable during milling.

[Jeff Bartley]

I'm with ya Peter. Cypress is one of those woods that I'd run through the planer just to put that scent in the shop! I'd love to build an exterior door out of the stuff. I vote for the clear finish too.

[Mel Fulks]

Sounds like you have some good old growth heart wood. I can't think of any wood where the difference between old heart and newer heart is as pronounced.From the way they look to the way they last. It is brittle but,as you noted,quite stable. A few years back you could still get some newly cut,Im told that's over. Enjoy.

[Art Mann]

I built two Adirondack chairs from Cypress and finished them with spar varnish. They have been on our front porch for several years and the wood has held up quite well. The chair on the West side of the porch gets all the blowing rain and late afternoon sun and the finish needs to be sanded and recoated. The chair in the more protected position would look good even now if I would get out there and wash it thoroughly.

[Alan Lightstone]

I just built a steam bent cover for my fire pit table out of cypress. After 1 month, it has warped like crazy out in the Florida sun / humidity. I'm going to have to plane it and refinish it.

Not sure if it was the steam bending that led to this, as the flat top is still straight, but the warping is impressive. It's also very light wood. YMMV.

[Jeff Duncan]

I don't work with cypress but have read up a bit on it and some on the cedars and redwood as well, in preparation for a couple projects. My understanding is the old growth cypress will outlast you! That stuff is supposed to be on par with old growth redwood, woods that will stand up in harsh elements for quite some time. As Mel mentioned, the new stuff is not the same and does not have the same characteristics. It may last 10 - 15 years but really not going to give you the same longevity.

good luck,
JeffD;)

[Bob Falk]

My experience with old growth cypress is that it tends to shake, that is, a tendency for the wood to separate at the growth rings. I moulded a fair amount of exterior window trim from cypress salvaged from old logging flumes and lost some due to shake, but it does smell nice and is durable.

[Larry Edgerton]

Be cautious when sanding. The mica like layer between growth rings can peel out and cut you quickly. It does not bend well.

It expands quite a bit when wet, much like cedar, but has more power. I learned that the hard way. Did cypress soffits on a round house, all tapered T&G to be perpendicular to the curves. Fit perfect. Until we poured the gypcrete over the infloor heat. The moisture coming out the soffits [heated but ceiling not in]buckled the cypress, and it never seemed to shrink back. Expensive lesson.

Larry

[Alan Bienlein]

Here is a piece I just recently did out of some recycled cypress. Every piece I cut was straight as an arrow and machined beautifully! I tried to find some more like this locally but haven't had any luck. Everything that I have looked at doesn't have the tight growth rings like this does.
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[Peter Quinn]

My experience with old growth cypress is that it tends to shake, that is, a tendency for the wood to separate at the growth rings. I moulded a fair amount of exterior window trim from cypress salvaged from old logging flumes and lost some due to shake, but it does smell nice and is durable.

Thats just the reason I didn't use it to skin the door. I read in several places that it like to live in a constant high humidity environment, like the South, where it grows, and doesn't so much like the wet to bone dry cycle we have here in the northeast. Leads to ring shake. I guess I can live with that on a bracket. I can live with some expansion too, shouldn't harm anything.

Larry, The soffit will be eastern white cedar, or swamp cedar, which has a reputation for being very stable. The soffit is well vented, the building is unheated, and the slab went in last fall. Its probably still kicking moisture, but not enough to wreck the millwork at this point I'm hoping. I'll watch out for the hands when sanding, which will be kept to a minimum, because this is a rustic building and I hate sanding.

[Peter Quinn]

Here is a piece I just recently did out of some recycled cypress. Every piece I cut was straight as an arrow and machined beautifully! I tried to find some more like this locally but haven't had any luck. Everything that I have looked at doesn't have the tight growth rings like this does.


Wow Alan thats beautiful. Is that figured wood cypress too? My wood is just old subfloor decking, but the growth rings on the vertical grain edges are as tight or tighter than the spruce top on my guitar! The mill the stuff came from was built in the late 1860's and closed in the 1960's, started closing way before that. Here's a pic of the glue up and a drawing of the brackets.

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[Alan Bienlein]

Wow Alan thats beautiful. Is that figured wood cypress too? My wood is just old subfloor decking, but the growth rings on the vertical grain edges are as tight or tighter than the spruce top on my guitar! The mill the stuff came from was built in the late 1860's and closed in the 1960's, started closing way before that. Here's a pic of the glue up and a drawing of the brackets.

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Yes it's figured cypress. I've been told by my hardwood supplier to hold on to it as it's hard to find. I have a few more pieces in my stash. I did a remodel of a home here in Houston and and this was used as wainscoting in the formal dining room. I had to remove and protect it for about two years and when the job ended they said to just throw it out!

[Mel Fulks]

Well ,I called it brittle.Bob referred to shake. In an attempt to reconcile the two descriptions : I have found the shake is in it when you get it and manifested in the wood falling apart. A friend of mine paid a fortune for some mail order old growth.It was so cracked up that it was like a bundle of knitting needles.If it is not cracked when you get it ,it is not likely to crack in the project but if you drop a milled part on the floor,it might break. Brittle.