Amazing. I have some old growth cherry and the rings are a lot more tight but not as extreme as your fir. With old forest density gone, on top of GMO, we will be lucky if future woods hold a wood screw.
Someone here posted an interesting video about wooden firemen ladders. They’re preferred because unlike aluminum, they will not collapse without notice. San Fransisco has an inspector at the ladder shop that measures the growth ring density. Home Despot tubafors need not apply for that job. Anyway, they use Douglas Fir and it looked a lot like the top picture. I don’t know where they find it today. Probably a spot held more secret than a good fishing hole.
Practically every construction grade 2x it’s pithy. I’ve noticed that all the lumber the scaffold crews carry is stamped “rated for scaffold by OSHA” or something to that effect. I’ll have to look into that so see what the minimum standard is.
As a contractor of 30 years I have seen a big change in the grading system in lumber, what use to be #3 or #4 is now graded as #1& #2 . Dealing with demolition on some homes built as far back as the 1800s there is a very wide difference from what homes were built with then versus now. I don’t find Doug fir being mostly pithy but I live in the northwest where it’s logged so the material they send to NY might be of an even lesser grade than here. It’s kind of amusing to me that in UK doug fir is considered something they use for joinery.About the only items, we use Fir for are perhaps replacement of old VG flooring, but I understand that some wood(timber) is less available in the UK.
Clear Douglas Fir and spruce is wonderful for making jigs and for shop furniture. Once in a while I’ll see clear untreated spruce 2bys at the home despot for cheap.
Not mortgageable due to non standard construction? A Victorian home? That is complete insanity. It’s an existing building. If it was such a fire hazard, it would have burned down a long time ago.
Most Europeans I know turn their noses up at frame construction. I guess they had the story of the 3 little pigs drilled into their heads. You’d think after they get the bill from the electrician for adding an outlet they would change their minds. You better love your cement house because plumbing and electrical changes are gonna cost you.
My mother in law is here from Hungary for a few months. We have a Hungarian internet TV set top box connected to the downstairs TV and my wife wanted a TV in her bedroom. The box is capable of multiple output so I snaked a wire up to her bedroom TV. She was amazed at how simple it is to run new wiring in a frame house compared to all the Stone age houses she’s lived in.
Zip zap, done in a couple of hours. It doesn’t work (I think it’s too much interference from my solar panels), but it was no big mess or cost to do the job.
The quality has dropped a lot in forty years or so. I made a lot of picture frames out of 2x4's, back in the day. Lumber yard types scoffed at the prospect, but even the six foot ones are in excellent condition these few decades later.
I worked on the oldest Queen Ann in Olympia, Washington. It's a Heritage house and is called the Byrd House. The entire house, from the floors (coated with amber shellac) to rafters, is tight grain cedar. The framing is of nominal 2x's, so true 2x's.
I can only agree Brian here is a recycled verandah post due for the burn pile. the grain is typical of your images It wouldnt look anything like it these days. pity I didn't do an end grain shot back in Jun 2019
Picked up this small slab of Douglas fir the other day. I just bought it because the Rift-Sawn grain was so tight. definitely old growth. Will likely use it in a small box or cabinet project.
Norman Pirollo replied 9 days ago Picked up this small slab of Douglas fir the other day. I just bought it because the Rift-Sawn grain was so tight. definitely old growth. Will likely use it in a small box or cabinet project.
Norman
Norman Pirollo If it's heavy, then it's larch
Sasha. - Life is not a draft, you can't redo it tomorrow
