On 23 Mar 2004 16:41:38 -0800, (Dan
Thomas) wrote:


I wish I knew where to find the engineered lumber that was
developed a few years ago. It's the lumber equivalent of plywood or
OSB or particle board. The wood is cut into long, very thin and narrow
strips (like string), laid in a mold with some resin, and compressed.

LVL (laminated veneer lumber)? See
http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=prd_lvl_main. The
Georgia-Pacific version of the product, including usage guidelines,
can be found at
http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx...730&hierarchy=.

- Rick Tyler

--
"Ignorant voracity -- a wingless vulture -- can soar only into the
depths of ignominy." Patrick O'Brian

Good points. I had forgotten about Binghams book. Been on my book self but
haven't looked at it for years.. Never cared for his coverage on cabinet
work.. I still prefer Bruce Binghams books and designs.

Of the 6 wood masts I have built, 3 were with douglas fir.. Good fir is
become almost as hard to find as Sitka Spruce. Some of the fine mill work is
good quality fir, however the moisture content is very low.. I have a pocket
moisture meter and when I tested some mill wook lumber it was 8% or lower.

One of the best mast I built was of Flight Deck Fir.. This was some old
surplus stock that I purchased from the Navy supply system while stationed
over seas. This douglas fir and very straight vertical grain.. The
Mil.Spec. on this stuff was very stingent. I was also able to get it in 20ft
lengths.

Fortunately I was building a box section mast and therefore able to reduce
the thickness to make up for the extra weight without effecting the required
strength and outside dimensions.

Also, being box section, there was very little hand shaping or planning..

However, as I have done previously, for a solid spare there is nothing like
Sitka Spruce, IMHO.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

The Shipyards (and maybe other) use this form of lumber for scaffold planks.
Full 2"X12" (heavy as hell).

I found some in scap surplus since OSHA only allows them in service so long
(same with fir planks). I tried cutting some deck beams out of these but
found that the veneers are of a low quality and the laminating process is
pretty sloppy.. Once I ripped a plank to expose the unweather edge, I could
see many voids (all the they small,1/16" to 1/8"). Also where one veneer
would stop (about every 8")and the next begins, they would overlap rather
than butt, causing the veneers above and below to compress and deform. I
don't know how this effects strength, but it wasn't a pretty sight.

As it turned out, 2" wasn't thick enough for the regular deck beams and I
only made one which is sistered with a engine room bulkhead (where I don't
have to look at it).

For mast building, IMHO, the laminate voids would allow water entry and the
overlaping veneers would have unpredictable effect on the masts performance.