Paul F Gillespie writes in response to what I wrote:

  > There's a local sawmill that had some 8/4 red oak, so I bought a
  > bunch, ripped it into 2x4s (true 2x4, not the junk houses are framed
  > with), and have glued them up into 4x4s (Excel glue).


> 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.



Well, I think it depends on the species. Seems to me that cherry has a
rather large and unstable pith (center) to it that can be a couple of
inches in diameter.

I don't think oak has such a large pith (walnut is small as well), and
might work ok. It will probably develop some cracks (like pine, PT 4x4s
do), but shouldn't affect the structural integrity much. Warpage might be
more of a concern if the pith didn't run down the center of the board.

One advantage to getting such timbers (if they are green), is that would
be well suited to drawbored M&T joints (except for the stretchers if you
ever wanted to disassemble the thing ;-)

You might be able to get them for a reduced price, or, if not, see if the
owner will saw some non-pith beams for you. It's worth asking. As my dad
always said: "If you don't ask, it's an automatic 'NO'."

I think I'd first inquire about thick timbers (3-4") of non-pith
content first, then check out the pith pieces.

That's just my uneducated guess.

Now, with the above said, I've purchased some walnut 4x6 pieces, some with
the pith, and after about 1.5 years of drying, they haven't
self-destructed. Some have warped a little, and there's some cracking, but
not as much as I would have expected. I bought these from the guy who
habitually advertises 'Central PA black walnut' in rec.norm for 80
cents/bf w/ 300 bf min. I was darned tempted to turn it into my bench for
the price.

Good luck,

	-Mike
 -----------------
Michael P. Weaver                                     Email: mikew@u...
Database Program Adminstrator 			      
Center for Health Program Development and Management, UMBC, Baltimore,MD 21250
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are mine, and not my employer's.