Articles By Woodworker Johnny W Morlan

Johnny {J W} Morlan

The Oldest Workable Wood On Earth Ancient Kauri Wood

Botanical name is Agathis australis. Its average specific gravity is approximately 0.45. It is in the classification of softwood. It grows in New Zealand. Other names are Kauri Pine, Kaurikopal, Menghilan, Dakua Makadre and New Zealand Kauri.

The trees from ancient forests on North Island, New Zealand have been buried under peat moss during the last ice age. They are well preserved and are now being dug up from the tundra. They have been radio carbon dated to approximately 30,000 - 50,000 years old. Of coarse, 50,000 years is the ultimate limit of radio carbon dating so it is quite possible that these trees could be older!

It is estimated that the trees were growing approximately 12 - 20 centuries before they were buried by the ice. Some of the trees had a circumference of approximately 40 foot and heights of almost 200 foot. The Ancient Kauri trees are native to New Zealand and are not found anywhere else in the world.

\Ancient Kauri wood is environmentally safe. There are no cutting of living trees and the land that the trees were on is redone to its original contours and state.

The logs are underneath the surface of farm fields and ranch lands. When a site is identified, permission is obtained and expert heavy equipment operators are brought in to carefully expose and lift the logs which are gigantic and are at 100% moisture content out of what was a prehistoric bog. Then they are moved to a location to begin the milling process. The milling itself, has demanded some innovative equipment designs and in some instances just plain old lumberman's ingenuity.

The kiln drying process is very slow and great care and patience is required as it looses heavy amounts of moisture to reach the moisture content of 12%.

Kauri trees still grow in New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Fiji Islands, Indochina, Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Indonesia and New Caledonia. Law protects the Kauri trees that grow in New Zealand. The above Kauri trees are not the quality that Ancient Kauri trees are. Some have been dug up that are 3000 - 5000 years old.

Canoes were handcrafted by the older generations of Maori people. Each was made from a single tree and some were up to 80 foot long.

The gum from the Kauri use to be used as an ingredient in high quality paints and varnishes.

Ancient Kauri lumber is classified a softwood. It has about the same hardness as say Southern Yellow Pine. Because the growth rings are much closer together {tighter} than present day Kauri has, it is a little harder and easier to work.

The lumber has minute movement in service, {very stable}.

It planes, drills, hand carves and cuts well with either high speed tool steel or carbide tipped cutting tools and it also does not tool burn easily. It does have the tendency to fuzz. It does not have much of a dulling affect even when using high speed tool steel cutting tools. Cutting tools should be kept quite sharp as the wood has a tendency to chip out, tear and splinter.

As with most softwood routing across the grain is difficult. Extremely sharp bits should be used and multiple shallow passes made cutting away only small amounts of wood per each pass, 1/32" or so per pass.

Turns well on a lathe. Due to the softness of the wood it is best when turning miniature pieces to use the highest possible lathe speed. Sharp tools should be used at all times when working with the wood. Care should be taken to use slight pressure and remove a minute amount of wood at a time due to its softness.

Glues very well with carpenters yellow glue or polyurethane glue.

Sands well with all types of sandpaper (no gum up). If sanded down in steps to 2000 grit sandpaper or finer it will produce a finish that gives the illusion of being 3 dimensional.

Stains well but the wood should be preconditioned before staining due to the softness of the wood to eliminate blotching.

Polishing will produce a remarkable luster.

Due to the softness of the wood, deep thread wood screws should be used for fastening multiple pieces of this wood together or other parts to it. It nails well and no pre-boring is needed.

It is closed pored, usually straight. Sometimes some lumber will have wavy grain, may have a flame or mottled figure and may even have areas that give the illusion of changing colors..

This wood is moderately durable in an outdoor environment.

Ancient Kauri can be bought from veneer 1/20th of an inch thick, 9" wide and 10 foot long to slabs as large as 14 inches thick 48" wide and 12 foot long. Logs, stumps, natural edge and free form wild edge pieces are also available.

The lumber cost is $25.00 - $60.00 per board foot depending upon the grain {figure pattern}, thickness and width. The veneer starts at $3.00 per square foot

One place you may purchase Ancient Kauri wood online is, Ancientwood, LTD. Each piece of Ancient Kauri wood/lumber purchased, comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity.

When making a box, no matter how many sides always cut the sides from one piece of lumber and in consecutive order. This allows the figure and grain patterns of the wood to be continuous, wrapping around the perimeter of the box.

No mistakes, no experience; no experience, no wisdom. Stanley Goldstein

Hardwood Softwood Lumber Grades & Ways They Are Sold & Priced

In this article I will not go into explaining the rules of grading hardwood or softwood lumber as they are very complicated and lengthy. I will list the grades that are sold, the dimensions that are available and the ways retailers price and sell lumber.

In 1897 the National Hardwood Lumber Association {NHLA} was established to regulate hardwood lumber grading. Hardwood lumber grading does not require having a license to grade or even to be certified. Hardwood lumber does not have a system of stamps and symbols indicating to the consumer what grade of lumber it is. The grade is determined by how much clear surface {knot free, clear cuttings} of area is on the worst face side. It is almost always expressed by a certain percentage and is called the yield. The thickness {edges} are never used in determining the grade, only the two face sides of the lumber. There have been only minute changes in the rules of the NHLA since the 1930's.

I only buy FAS grade lumber. The yield is almost always 95% - 100%.

This is the best grade. You can buy this grade with different surface finish combinations. For instance, both the faces and both edges will be planed {2S2E or 4S}, both faces planed and the two edges not planed {rough} {2S}, both faces planed with one edge planed, and the other edge not planed {rough} {2S1E}, both edges planed with one face planed and the other face not planed {rough} {1S2E} and last but not least both faces and both edges not planed {rough} {Roughsawn}. Some retailers take the FAS stock, plane it if needed, then sand all four surfaces, then mark and sell it as A, AA, AAA and AAAA lumber. The 4A being the finest, {almost flawless} that you can buy.

The American Softwood Lumber Standard PS 20-99, which went into effect September 1, 1999 is what most softwood lumber in the United States is graded by. A lot of softwood lumber that comes from Canada into the US is also graded by this standard. Because of how strong each piece of wood has to be and the safety factors involved in construction you have to be certified and licensed to grade softwood lumber.

Softwood lumber has two groups, construction and remanufacture. Construction grade lumber can be further split up into three categories, stress graded, no stress graded and appearance. Appearance and no stress grade lumber is commonly called yard lumber and is what is usually sold at retail lumberyards and is what a lot of woodworkers use. With stress and no stress the most important factor is how strong the piece of lumber is. With appearance it is how aesthetically pleasing the piece looks. Like hardwoods, softwoods are also graded by the worst face. Unlike hardwoods, softwoods are always stamped with the grade.

The grades, Appearance Lumber Finish & Appearance Lumber Selects below can be quite confusing. The names of grades are actually an option given the lumber grading agencies and thus are not standardized throughout the United States.

In my own experience, I have bought Sugar Pine Appearance Lumber Selects graded B&BTR {B and Better} and it was better than the so called Sugar Pine Appearance Lumber Finish graded B&BTR {B and Better} that another lumberyard had across town. I have also bought 12" wide D Select Sugar Pine, that was perfect on both sides and should of been graded at the least, B&BTR {B and Better}

The best grade of appearance lumber is Finish. It is split up into grades designated by letters, combination of letters and names, such as Superior, Prime, B&BTR {B and Better}, C, and D. There is also a grade called S4S {surfaced on all four sides}.

Selects is the next best grade of appearence lumber and is designated mostly by letters and names A, B, C, D, A Select, B Select C Select D Select. A and A Select being the best grade, and D and D Select the worst. A lot of times A and B, A Select and B Select are united, and then sold under the grade of B&BTR {B and Better}.

Does not have any knots, splits, or other visible defects. Supposedly perfect. Used for fine furniture, exposed cabinetry, trim, flooring.

Has a few, small defects but nearly perfect. Used for fine furniture, exposed cabinetry, trim, flooring.

Has small tight pin size knots. May be nearly perfect on one side. Used for mostly furniture, shelving, some trim and flooring.

Has more numerous pin sized knots and more small blemishes. May be used for some furniture, shelving, trim and flooring.

There are some variations pertaining to particular species such as Cedar and Redwood, their grade names are Clear All Heart, Clear and Select. Some appearance lumber will have FG for flat grain, VG for vertical grain and MX for mixed grain.

With this grade, the numbers and letters are standardized throughout the US. The grades for 2" x 4" or wider lumber are in descending order Select Structural, No.1, No. 2, No.3, No. 2&BTR {2 and Better} and No. 3&BTR {3 and Better}. The grades for posts, beams, timbers and such are Select Structural, No. 1 Structural {Douglas Fir}, No. 1 SR {southern pine}, No. 2 SR {southern pine}.

The grades in this group are No.1 Construction, No. 2 Standard and No. 3 Utility, No. 4 and No. 5 economy.

Hardwood lumber is sold a little differently than softwood. Some species are not only available and sold kiln dried but also air dried. Yes, hardwood lumber is sold primarily by the board foot 12" x 12" x 1" {144 cubic inches}. Some lumber is sold by the pound such as Snakewood, Pink Ivory, Amboyna Burl, Afzelia Burl and numerous other burls. Certain retailer's sell hardwood lumber priced by the lineal foot, some retailer's even price it by the lineal inch and some on the internet sell it by units of 1/10th. of a board foot. If you want 2 board foot, you order 20 units, 1 1/2 board foot, you order 15 units, so on and so forth.

Because of the many different species of hardwood that are available, time and space does not allow me to actually go into the different dimensions that one may purchase. They vary so widely and are always changing with each particular species.

You can purchase burls weighing from a few pounds to over 1200 pounds in some species and slabs from 18" through 30" wide x 48" through 72" long x 1 1/2" through 4" thick to make tables out of. When ordering hardwood lumber be sure to specify widths and lengths, otherwise it will come in random widths and lengths. The extra charge for specifying widths and lengths varies greatly from one retailer to another. It can run from 5% all the way up to 25% per board foot.

Softwood lumber in the majority of lumber yards and home centers is usually sold by the piece. The price per piece is figured by using a board foot price. I have also seen softwood lumber sold by the lineal foot. Softwood lumber is always kiln dried. 1" softwood lumber comes in widths of 2", 4", 6", 8", 10", 12" with lengths up to 16' { 2' increments}. 2" and thicker comes in widths of 2", 4", 6", 8" 10" and 12" with lengths sometimes of up to 24' depending on the species. Softwood 4/4 is 3/4" thick and 8/4 is 1 1/2" thick. 1" x 4" is actually 3/4" x 3 1/2", 1" x 6" is 3/4" x 5 1/2", 2" x 4" is 1 1/2" x 3 1/2".

• Previous Posts:

• The Oldest Workable Wood On Earth Ancient Kauri Wood
• Hardwood Softwood Lumber Grades & Ways They Are Sold & Priced
• Wood & Facts, Facts About Wood & Trees Part 2
• Wood & Facts, Facts About Wood & Trees Part 1
• Tips To Becoming A Successful Artist Or Craftsperson Part 1

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