wood for storm/screens

[KenN]

probably more than you wanted, but here is a good document about wood decay. the higher numbers rot faster. it shows yellow poplar as 4- not good.
the heartwood is the dead part of the tree, the core. It doesnt' have as good rot resistance. and It shows how the parts closer to the ground have better rot resistance.

[...]

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/sites/defau ... bility.pdf

Here is another study I found concerning wood durability outdoors, it only cover a few common species.

https://www.fs.fed.us/eng/bridges/docum ... cayres.pdf

[GibsonGM]

If you leave fire wood improperly covered (covered totally) and/or lying directly on the ground...ash will be the last pieces that become un-useable due to rot.

Just an observation from the hills of Maine...even maple and oak will be destroyed by fungi but ash will still be sound.

[Casey]

For exterior work, I would go with "through mortises", because they vent moisture; a blind mortise is a water trap.
Casey

[phil]

I might have to contradict myslef , above I wrote that
"the heartwood is the dead part of the tree, the core. It doesnt' have as good rot resistance. and It shows how the parts closer to the ground have better rot resistance."

I think in fact the heartwood is more rot resistant not less and i should stand corrected.

I'd cut through mortises on the table saw just because I feel it's it's easier and faster that way. James bought a morticing machine so he had thought to do the blind mortices. I think its a more difficult way and the strength and durability probably wouldn't make a huge difference. maybe its practice with his new machine. both are much better than a miter or a butt joint or the kreg screws with the jig or using metal angle brackets and things. he'll probably paint them so that would help.

If I were to do it , Id put two or three blades of eqiual diameter in the saw at once then I'd be putting my stock through the blade with the stock oriented vertically, as long as the ceiling isn't in a way. I'd use a simple jig to hold the wood vertical. There are more ways to skin a cat though. I bought the mortising jig for that , it fits the T slots of the saw and has a micro adjustment. I think the home made table saw mortising jigs can work as well though It's a $100.00 tool you probably won't use so often. there are lots of plans online for shop made ones.

I think I'd just use fir myself but as long as you arent' using one of the really quickly rotting woods it should be ok. some woods have more tendency to warp with moisture changes. in generally if you find wood with fairly straight grain it will help because if you cut thin strips and the grain runs diagonally it can weaken it and you might have to cut around any knots and discard any pieces that have knots in them as that would be a failure point in a skinny stick. Its more stable if a knot is in a flat board than the same knot in a skinny stick. similar with a wavy grain pattern , if it's a wide board it isnt' so weak but if you slice it you might have a place where the grain is crossing the stick and creating a weak point. straighter grained woods have more even stresses so they won't warp up as bad with inevitable humidity changes.

twist is another thing. if the wood twists when humidity changes the thing might not want to stay in a flat plane.
In one of my earlier attempts at doing this I had a cheap saw that would flex a little and that caused the mortises and tenons to be just a teeny bit out of square and that caused a frame that was not flat, a little twisted. I finally realized that when my saw was stopped the bade was square but when it was running , especially with some load on the blade it moved out of square. James will enjoy his Unisaw almost without knowing it, because it won't do this sort of thing, because it has really solid trunnions.

[Casey]

Here in the Shenandoah valley, cut ash trees sport all kinds of fungal growth in about three month's time.

[Casey]

Here in the Shenandoah valley, cut ash trees sport all kinds of fungal growth in about three month's time.
By through mortise, I mean that you can look at the end of the tenon, not a saddle joint.

[phil]

this page shows a variety of M and T joinery.
http://www.craftsmanspace.com/knowledge ... oints.html

I'd gravitate to the "Open through tenon and mortise joint - Bridle joint" because that one can be cut on the tablesaw. The others could be approached in different ways depending what machines are available.

around here we have a lot of alder. it grows quickly. although technically a hardwood it is soft and rots quickly so it isn't really used for dimensional lumber or furniture. I noticed on the list that it showed some species of alder out east that might be longer lasting.

oak seems quite strong if cut into thin strips but I've seen that rot here quickly. the rating might be good. I'd look for an old fir door or maybe some reclaimed wood. usually I can find stuff that can be reused for free or close to free so I stockpile it then if I have a project I look what I have. Here in the city there is so much used material I seldom need to buy new stuff.

It could be possible to put the wood strips in a piece of waterpipe filled with blopentine, to let it soak right in by being fully immersed. not sure if it would cause warping through normalization. I bought a bucket of linseed oil and the guy said someone else was buying it for doing gun-stocks and he liked to stick them right into the bucket. The process seemed to make sense for that.