Working with cypress wood

Re: Working with cypress wood

Michael Stadulis, in Clarksboro, NJ

>Cypress is far superior to pine in just about every conceivable way, unless you want to replicate the look of pine grain.

Mike

Re: Working with cypress wood

Mike-in-Michigan(Richland, that is)

>Cypress is soft like pine, but takes finish a lot better. I find that it does dent easily and some will tend to delam/splinter -- not often but some cases, I usually round over any exposed edges to prevent this from ever happening.

Overall it is one of my favorite woods to work with. The look is outstanding and I think you will come to love it. I wouldn't use it for painted projects because of the denting but for everything else it is a great choice.

Re: Working with cypress wood

Leo Boudreau

>I used cypress as one of the accent woods on my sea kayak. It was really nice to work with, but you have to pay attention to grain direction. I found that it tore out pretty easy when planing.

I used it create a kind of striped pattern by offsetting 1/2" strips of spruce and cypress with a 1/8" strip of redwood separating them. There was just enough of a color difference to create a pretty cool look for the deck of the boat. The darker of the light woods is the cypress.

Re: Working with cypress wood

Sam Simpson

>Hi Y'all,

Davy, I like cypress. I built my breakfast room table out of it. It moves a bit, and is very soft. Consequently doesn't hold a film finish very well. So, avoid a lacquer or poly film finish, and go with a finish closer to the wood. Wipe on poly is OK, Watco, BLO, that sort of thing. And don't sand it too smooth, it is best to do the final sanding with/at the same time as the first finish coat.

Regards Sam Simpson.

Old growth vs new Growth

Robin Frierson

>I have found a distinct difference between the new growth stuff available in yards today and the old growth stuff. I purchased an old house that was completly sheathed in old growth tidewater cypress. When I added on to the the house I used the new growth stuff and had rot within 3yrs in the sapwood. I finally bought some old river recovered stuff and its a completly different wood, oily and tight grained with a distinctive musty smell and a delight to work with. If you use the new growth stuff, get the widest you can and rip out any sapwood as it will rot.

Wow, that's beautiful

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>It must be great fun to build a boat.

Best, Ted

Re: Old growth vs new Growth

Davy

>I intend to use it for mostly indoor projects, so don't anticipate much problem with rotting.

Finishes on cypress

Davy

>I prefer oil and shellac finishes over poly anyway. If I use cypress to make a dining room table, then I would likely put a sealer or shellac on before using the poly.

Re: Working with cypress wood

Davy

>Thanks for the encouragement. I was thinking that it isn't too desirable for furniture, but sounds like it's definitely worth a try, especially since I can get it dirt cheap here in Central La. Since it's softwood and not figured, would a low angle plane work better than a standard angle in it?

Re: Old growth vs new Growth

Dennis

>Best you pick up couple boards and work with it and see what its like, try some finish choice's and then you will have a idea how it works.

I would think long and hard using cypress for table top, just too soft imo.

Cypress is one of those woods the waste factor is very high, you will go through a lot of it to find what you want for furniture so sometimes there are better choice's. And don't even ask me about pecky cypress, the waste factor on that is so high to try and match boards.

Dennis

remove nospam for email

Re: Wow, that's beautiful

Leo Boudreau

>Thanks Ted,

It is great fun to build a boat and it's really fun to be out paddling your creation. I'm thinking of a canoe next.

I'm planing on a New England wildlife motif for the sheer line. I'm thinking I'll use Walnut sillouttes against a spruce background and then red cedar for the remainder of the boat.

I'll use a figured maple I think for some of the accents on the interior of the canoe.

Re: Working with cypress wood

Kurt Loup

>Below is a picture of a blanket chest I am building. It's made from cypress salvaged from an old sugar mill. The finish is Tried and True linseed oil and wax. There's no comparison between old growth/sinker cypress and common lumber yard cypress as far as color goes. I use both though. If you want the name of a couple sources for the older stuff in the Baton Rouge area, send me an email.

Kurt

Re: Working with cypress wood

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>That is a great looking chest. I presume that it has a piano hinge? Is that a lift-out tray inside?

hinges

Kurt Loup, Baton Rouge

>Don,

The picture below shows the Lee Valley hinges that I am using. I am building the chest from a picture in a book that surveys early Louisiana furniture, so I am trying to keep the exterior look close to the book. The hinges in the book are not visible, but I thought these would look close enough. The chest is 46" wide and I was worried about the sides bowing, so I added the divider. There are no drawers. I'm not sure how this will hold up, but I laminated cedar closet lining to 3/4" plywood as the bottom. The bottom floats on top of cleats screwed to the sides. The divider prevents the bottom from falling out through the chest. If there is a problem, I can remove the cleats and the ply. Currently, I am working on the lower section of the chest. The top section sits on a matching bottom section with two drawers.

Kurt

interior

Kurt Loup, Baton Rouge

>Here's a picture of the interior. The lid stay is from Rockler. It's not quite strong enough to keep the lid from slamming shut once it gets past 45*. I'll need to order another for the other side.

Kurt

Beautiful chest, Kurt, love that cypress

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

"pretty cool look"?

MikeL in SoCal

>I'd say you exceeded that by a longshot Leo. That's a beautiful deck. What did you use for sealing everything against water penetration?

Cheers,

Mike

Re: "pretty cool look"?

Leo Boudreau

>Thanks alot... it'covered in Fiberglass... the whole boat is glassed inside and out with 6 oz glass. 2 layers on the bottom where abrasion can be a problem. Once the glass is nice and fair, then 6 or 7 coats of Captain's Spar Varnish to protect the glass from UV sun damage.

Here's another picture of the finished product

Re: interior

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>Thanks for the additional shots. I couldn't see all of the details with the original. Now I see how it goes together.

Thanks for the compliment

Kurt Loup, Baton Rouge

>