Hey,
What happened \was discussed \ was decided at the last WoodShop committee meeting?
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I have it, just haven’t typed it up yet. Sorry
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Busy weekend it has been
Any questions in particular?
The rough agenda was
- projects to improve the shop
- tools
- dust collection
- expansion
- committee structure
- classes
Oh, we did vote to not allow working with pine wood on all but one dedicated saw (pine and pressure treated wood) due to problems with excessive sap. There is a suitable alternate inexpensive material, some kind of fir, but I do not recall the exact variety.
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Interesting. That’s going to be difficult to enforce. A lot of framing timber is just marked SPF (Spruce/pine/fir).
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So regular 2x4s can only be used on one saw ?
This is not going to sit well with the casual users of the woodshop.
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They have fir as an alternative, pine is a large contributor to the issues with the jointer, planer and sanders.
Pine is what you usually get at Home Depot. It’s what most people use for projects. It’s the lowest cost.
Expect pushback on this one.
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From what I understand fir is equivalent in price and usually right next to the pine.
Sometimes. Dimensional framing lumber (not talking about s4s) is probably the most common material people use to build stuff. This is your everyday 2x4: https://www.homedepot.com/p/202091220
Notice it says “whitewood”? That is because the species is irrelevant for the intended use. It may be pine, may be fir, may be spruce. It’s silly to think that the most common building material in the world is inappropriate in our woodshop.
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Jointer, planer and sander are not common tools for framing if you want to talk about “intended use”
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I also question the logic of “pine is killing our jointer”. This whole thing is silly. Jointers, planets are made for just about any wood you can put in it. The users are the more likely culprit.
Ban treated lumber outright? I’m all for that.
Edit: you also misrepresented what I said about intended use. I said the species wasn’t relevant to the intended use, not that it was inappropriate for it’s intended use.
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The sap does significant damage, it gums up the blades and gears as well as messing with the rollers. I’m sure a good part is user error as well but the pine does take a toll very quickly. The rule was discussed quite a bit at the meeting and it was determined the damage done is too much to keep allowing its use. If anyone would like to voice an opinion on this please come to the next committee meeting, I’m literally just the messenger I have no power to change the rule. Having been elbow deep in the planer and jointer I can say I agree with the amount of damage it can do and agree with the ruling.
Edit: By “no power to change the rule” I mean that this rule was voted on and passed in the monthly meeting and I can’t snap my fingers and make it go away. Everyone has the power to change things at the space. I am under the impression that there are other options than pine available at the same price and can be used the same way so I would still vote in favor of this rule if it’s put to a vote again.
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How often are the tools maintenanced to that level now days?
I’m just pointing out the intended use of a 2x4, irrespective of species, requires zero use of these tools. Would you also complain about pallet wood being banned? There’s plenty of places to get appropriate stock for fine woodworking.
I don’t have much of a horse in this race, more of a miniature pony like Little Sebastian. If it doesn’t spin on the lathe I rarely mess with it. However…
When I took the woodshop 101 class the instructor gave everyone a piece of 2x8x12 pine to learn how to use the jointer, planer, and table saw. That action alone tells everyone that using whitewood on the machines is A-ok. If the idea is to get away from that (and I agree, why in the heck would you need framing lumber to be perfectly square?) then those classes need to change. I understand it was likely used to keep the cost of the class low, but it sets a precedent.
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You are correct, and the classes do now use douglas fir instead of pine.
Having the one saw that can be used for pine should be fine. Pine is not a wood that is used for much other than framing things out, and you can do that with just a chop saw.
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Thanks for letting me know they switched, that’s good news. and yeah just having 1 saw that is rated for pine is a good idea. I have seen folks join and plane a 2x4 and could not figure out why in the world that was needed.
I have personally done it to prototype something I plan to make with hardwood as I wanted a cheap first run. That said, I’d have zero problem doing the same with fir going forward.
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