We got a new toy! See how it works on some Alder Doorstop material.
Did You Know?-Wood Shrinks and Swells
With the changing of the seasons in our neck of the woods, the wood in our shop and homes are changing. This change is caused by the relative humidity and moisture content in the air. Typically, when there is more relative humidity (summer) the wood swells, and less relative humidity (winter), the wood shrinks. Does this mean that a shelf goes from being 12 inches long to 10 inches long in the winter? No! The measurement of the width of the board is what changes. For example, a 12 inch wide board can be closer to 11 7/8″ or 12 1/8″ depending on the time of year that it is being used. Generally, the softer woods like alder and pine tend to move more than the harder woods like hickory and maple.
So what does that mean for you and I? We have rustic maple flooring we used in our house. We bought the rough lumber, ripped it on our straightline rip saw to different widths, and ran it through our moulder with a tongue and groove pattern on the sides. When we installed it, we made sure to leave a gap on all the walls to ensure that there was enough room for the wood to shrink and swell with the seasons. If we hadn’t left a little space, there would be a chance of the wood popping up off the subfloor, or pushing the sheetrock in on the walls. We also left a small gap in the groove part of the tongue and groove pattern to allow for the movement of the wood on the joint.
Another part of our houses that needs that small gap is our kitchen cabinet doors. If you have raised panel doors on your cabinetry, your carpenter took into account for the shrinkage and swelling of the wood doors. There is a small gap on the inside of the styles and rails to allow the center panel’s movement which minimizes the movement of the overall door.
We are always after our children to shut the door! Our doors always shut better in the winter when the door jam is shrinking. That also causes a small problem when you might notice cold air seeping in on the bottom or sides of your doors. It’s not poor construction, just natural shrinking.
So next time you buy a 1 x 12 at your local hardware store, just remember it might not be as wide as you were planning or wider, depending on the season and how much relative humidity you have in your air!
Wildlife Series
One of my favorite things is looking at wildlife. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because I get to see some beautiful wildlife in my part of the world. I wanted a way to have the beauty of the wildlife that we see during the year a part of my home. So I designed these silhouettes on my CNC program. We use a bit in the shape of a V to carve out the details on the wood and then I stained the whole thing black. After the stain dried, I ran them through the sander to reveal the wood again, leaving only the deepest carved spots still black. Then I finished them with a clear, low VOC top coat. To help with hanging them on the wall, I added a keyhole pattern on the back.
I think they turned out pretty cool! What do you think? We decided to add them to our Etsy shop.
Machinery Spotlight-Straightline Rip Saw
Have you ever had a crooked piece of lumber and wished you could make it straight? Well, here is our machine that can do just that! We take random width boards and straighten both sides to make them even and any specific width. This project ended up at 9 inches wide.
Moulding Delivery Last Week
One of the services we offer is to supply customers that are building a new house or remodeling with base moulding, casing, and headers, as well as tongue and groove and shiplap. It’s amazing the difference moulding makes to a house. It’s the icing and decorations to your favorite cake!
There are so many styles to choose from to make your house truly yours. We supply traditional, modern, rustic, etc. The possibilities are endless!
We delivered moulding to this customer last week and we can’t wait to see how it turns out!
