Ipe deck info share

[Ron Citerone]

Today I screwed down the Ipe decking on my sand shower deck at the cottage. Thought I would share what I learned. I cut 12 pieces to length 1 x 6 with my 12” Dewalt miter saw, stock blade. It cut well and I did not notice any dulling of the blade. I pre drilled 5/32 holes in the ipe. 240 holes. I used one Milwaukee cobalt bit for hard metal. The bit seems to be working as well for the last hole as it did for the first. I countersunk all the holes with an old single edge countersink, not sure of the manufacturer. Countersinking was tough but I only needed the one bit, again worked as well for the last hole as the first. No dulling noticed. I used Simpson Deck Drive DWP Wood SS Screws 2 1/4” with bits I bought from Manasquan Fasteners whom I have no affiliation with. They have a good selection of 316 stainless joist hangers and fasteners if you line near salt water. I only used 1 drive bit and didn’t have any problems with screws snapping off.
BTW, I had previously used Simpson SS joist hangers and Simpson SS joist hanger nails for the framing, and was very happy with the quality/performance. Again, I have no affiliation with Simpson.
Not trying to Gloat here, Just wanted to share the materials I used and the results as I had researched a lot and found it went better than I anticipated.

[Bruce King]

Sounds like a first class job. Sometimes building structural things brings even more satisfaction than furniture.

[Bill Dufour]

wet climate?

[Dale Murray]

I built this bench a few years ago, tonight I put the final touches on Rev2. I will start Rev3 in a few weeks.

On this project several #10 stainless steel screws driven into properly predrilled holes had their heads break off.

I cannot say this project has dulled my blade. I can say Ipe will build pitch on any blade, router bit, or drill bit you use on it. The oils in the wood also affect the ability of any drill bit to eject shavings. This is the case with forstner, brad point, and standard twist bits; every single one of them clog.

Speaking of oil.
It does route fairly well but linger for half a second and it will burn and burn bad and deep.

I curse myself for using this stuff due to all the slivers, difficulty cutting, drilling, screws, and misery to sand, but, man does it hold up well to the weather.

I've left that bench out uncovered for an entire winter and it is no worse for wear.
It spent most of a year without a cover at all getting hit with sun, rain, hail, sweating beverage containers set on it, and bird dropping; its just fine.

After all this abuse it only requires a light sanding with the random orbital and a fresh coat of Ipe Oil.

The reason for the abuse is simply to learn the durability of the wood (Ipe and white oak) and my construction techniques (pegged mortise and tenon). I have several people interested in purchasing benches but I need to know they will last, they will.

One the upside, the scraps light up like and oily rag which help when starting a fire on the patio.

Obviously, you use pads with it.

PatioBenchV1.jpg

[Ron Citerone]

wet climate?

It is on the Delaware Bay in NJ. Not wet climate but right on the water with salt air that corrodes everything in short order. Galvanized pipe hangers rust out in 3 years. I learned the hard way any metal that is not stainless will fail.

[Ron Citerone]

I built this bench a few years ago, tonight I put the final touches on Rev2. I will start Rev3 in a few weeks.

On this project several #10 stainless steel screws driven into properly predrilled holes had their heads break off.

I cannot say this project has dulled my blade. I can say Ipe will build pitch on any blade, router bit, or drill bit you use on it. The oils in the wood also affect the ability of any drill bit to eject shavings. This is the case with forstner, brad point, and standard twist bits; every single one of them clog.

Speaking of oil.
It does route fairly well but linger for half a second and it will burn and burn bad and deep.

I curse myself for using this stuff due to all the slivers, difficulty cutting, drilling, screws, and misery to sand, but, man does it hold up well to the weather.

I've left that bench out uncovered for an entire winter and it is no worse for wear.
It spent most of a year without a cover at all getting hit with sun, rain, hail, sweating beverage containers set on it, and bird dropping; its just fine.

After all this abuse it only requires a light sanding with the random orbital and a fresh coat of Ipe Oil.

The reason for the abuse is simply to learn the durability of the wood (Ipe and white oak) and my construction techniques (pegged mortise and tenon). I have several people interested in purchasing benches but I need to know they will last, they will.

One the upside, the scraps light up like and oily rag which help when starting a fire on the patio.

Obviously, you use pads with it.

PatioBenchV1.jpg

Sorry to hear of your problems. That is a beautiful bench though.

[John TenEyck]

I built a deck and planters with several hundred feet of Ipe'. I used one blade on my CMS for the whole job. It was dull by the end but not terribly so. I didn't find Ipe' to be any worse on tooling than some other woods. What I did find was slivers from Ipe' hurt like hell and fester quicker than lightning. It's also a pain to maintain. Ipe' Oil lasts a few months at best, then turns into a grungy mess over the Winter. Same for Penofin Hardwood Oil. I have Armstrong Clark's product on it now; it faded faster than the others. We'll see what it looks like next Spring. A test panel with Flood CWF-UV looks better than any of the others after one Summer. Unless you leave Ipe' untreated, get ready for maintenance.

John

[Ron Citerone]

I plan on untreated. I just don’t want to have to redo this deck again. I used PT yellow pine last time and was not happy with how it held up. I went back and forth between Ipe and composite. Still have mixed feelings.