Paul G. is planning to make his workbench out of _thick_ oak:


> wrt the legs.  At first, I was going to glue up stock just like Mike 
> did.  Then I got to thinking of asking the sawyer for several lengths 
> of 6 inch square oak from the center portion of the tree.  This would 
> be the portion of the tree which usually goes into fence post 
> material.  I have a local sawmill which can probably give me what I 
> want but I wanted to check it out with some galoots who are much 
> smarter than me.  Is this material stable enough for workbench legs?  
> Are there any other concerns I should have using the center portion of 
> the tree?  What does a sawmill usually do with this part of the tree?  
> Is it waste? (Read that as, can I get it cheap?)  Thanks for any 
> input.  

The "center portion" of tree's contains the pith, and any board
with pith will split big-time as it dries.  You won't get dried thick stock
cheaply.  They generally don't saw hardwood to leave a "fence post" in the
middle - too much waste, especially of the quartersawn wood.  My 
local small sawyer cuts out the pith in a single 4/4 (quartersawn) board, 
then cuts out the pith to yield two nice boards.

I think the "fence posts" containing the pith that you're talking about
are cut mainly of SPF (spruce/pine/fir), probably from smallish trees.  I
also think you're more likely to find pith in posts from lower quality 
lumber yards.

BTW, most places around Phila. charge a very high premium (per BF) for thick
stock - often 2-3x the price / BF for 4/4.  That's supposedly due to the 
long, slow drying schedule required in the kiln to avoid splitting.  
You don't want to know how much I ended up paying for 12/4 (closer to 16/4)
red oak stock for legs for 2 beds last summer.

Tony Seo seems to know places in PA that sell thick green oak cheap, but I 
still wouldn't accept pieces containing the pith.  As far as the 
stability/usability of thick green oak, I'm skeptical, but Tony seems to 
have had success.

Regards,
Don Berry