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Type of dried wood for keelson?
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:29 am
by Jim Tesno
Am having a devil of a time finding air dried white oak. I understand why it must be air dried for ribs to be able to bend, but is there any reason I can't use kiln dired wood to construct a new keelson.
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:19 pm
by Phill Blank
Jim,
Klin dried White Oak is fine for anything that does not require bending. It also does NOT need to be Quater Sawn for the keel or keelsons.
The key thing is that it be White Oak and it be heart wood. It has a tighter grain and is not as susceptible to rot as sap wood or other oaks like Red Oak. Look for a tighter radii in the annular rings in the end grain (not the spacing between the annular rings but the radius). The tighter the radius the closer to the center of the log or heart of the tree. Larger radii indicate the wood was from the outer diameter of the log.
Quarter sawn green (air dried) White Oak is used for anything that requires steaming and bending.
Good Luck on you restoration.
Have a Happy New Year!
Phill