Species of spruce for gunwales
- Thread starter msturd
- Start date
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
I have an aircraft certified board of sitka, now gunwhale stock.
There is no certification board. You as the builder of the aircraft are responsible for using appropriate wood that meets government standards. This means clear, no knots, no runout in 4/4 over 20 ft with a minimum of 6 rings per inch. So if I could get 5 rings per inch with some wavy grain over 20 ft to use as gunwale stock at a reasonable price I would buy it. My 1937 OT CS was not made with super duper spruce but it wasn't bad either.
Thank you very much. Curiosity satisfied. Think there should be a board certification board, tho. I'll check into the spruce a little further. Michael
Paul Miller
Canoe Nut
Sitka Spruce is very different than any other kind of spruce.
The wood grain seems to interweave with the grain next to it and makes it very strong in any direction. You will notice how threads of it come off when you saw it with the grain.
We are always looking for good sources of wood. Right now I get it in Michigan through LL Johnson.
Where do you live Michael?
Thanks,
Paul
The wood grain seems to interweave with the grain next to it and makes it very strong in any direction. You will notice how threads of it come off when you saw it with the grain.
We are always looking for good sources of wood. Right now I get it in Michigan through LL Johnson.
Where do you live Michael?
Thanks,
Paul
Glad to meet you Paul. I live about halfway upstate New York, along the Vermont border. East of Saratoga Springs in the township of Cambridge. The source I mentioned can be found at www.condonlumber, or just google condon lumber/white plains,ny. I haven't really looked for anything closer as that was the first I found. They advertise the longer pieces (18 to 20') for use in boat keels, so I'm guessing it's good quality. They also have about every other wood imagineable from all over the world.
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
Good Q on 'certified' ; the guy I bought it from was an aircraft mechanic and pilot with experience building planes. He said it was ceritfied and I did not care. It was good clear stuff so I bought what I could afford. I didn't know if certified was to impress me or had actually been through some speical inpection. He had bought the stuff to build a plane and had it in his basement. the boards, not the plane. He decided he was never going to build the plane after all so Craig's listed the wood. It has been awhile and I don't recall how much I paid, but it was costly.
In order to be considered "certified", spruce must meet military specs for aircraft use per http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/13-14900.pdf For even more, see http://www.sportair.com/articles/Aircraft Wood - Part One.html
Condons seemed reasonable, too, about 8.50 a bd ft., but I'm pretty much in the dark as to what "reasonable" is. Most wood is very expensive these days, unless you can find a good sale such as: Buy one board, get two more for the price of four. That's the kind of deal I always seem to end up with. Ha
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
It's been a while but I bought sitka from LLJohnnson too. the private owner stuff was, as I recall about half what I would've expected at Johnson's. Is the LLJohnson sitka about $7.00 bd ft? Or am I remembering wrong?
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
Kettle Moraine Hardwoods (two stores, Milwaukee, WI area) recently added white cedar to their inventory, though I don't see it on their web site yet.
http://kmhardwoods.com/
I assume it'll get there eventually, and then offers another resource for comparison shopping.
http://kmhardwoods.com/
I assume it'll get there eventually, and then offers another resource for comparison shopping.
JClearwater
Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
Condon Lumber
Condon Lumber is a decent place to deal with. I bought two lengths of Sitka Spruce from them recently for gunwale stock. They have a yard in Stormville, Dutchess County, NY and will deliver your order there and save you the trouble of driving into White Plains. I think there was a minor fee but it saved me the cost of crossing the Tappan Zee bridge so it was about a wash.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Jim C.
Condon Lumber is a decent place to deal with. I bought two lengths of Sitka Spruce from them recently for gunwale stock. They have a yard in Stormville, Dutchess County, NY and will deliver your order there and save you the trouble of driving into White Plains. I think there was a minor fee but it saved me the cost of crossing the Tappan Zee bridge so it was about a wash.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Jim C.
DAVID EDGERLY
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
eastern white spruce
I have been using sitka spruce for inner rails on my canoes.i have been questioning this woods durability i have read that it is not very resistant to rot.i wondered if eastern white spruce was a better choice.my problem is lumber yards mark these boards as spf don't want the pine or fir.
I have been using sitka spruce for inner rails on my canoes.i have been questioning this woods durability i have read that it is not very resistant to rot.i wondered if eastern white spruce was a better choice.my problem is lumber yards mark these boards as spf don't want the pine or fir.
Thanks for the heads up. Several others have written that they think sitka spruce is ok. I have time, so I'll do some more checking. Condon lumber advertises it specifically as sitka spruce, so I don't think there is a problem with that. I really haven't heard much about eastern white, so will also research that further. Thanks again, Michael
Over all the spruces do not "wear as well " as ash, cherry, walnut etc. Spruce was used because of its lightness and strength to weight. Sitka was used for the same reason as Western Red Cedar, that was the availability of long clear lengths. I just do not think you will find long clear lengths of either eastern white spruce and certainly not of red or Adirondack spruce. Any clear lengths of the later are going to grabbed by the instrument builders at prices you do not want to think about.
