Pecky Cypress Facts - Woodworking Talk

Amalgam · 10-15-2009, 10:48 PM

Hi you guys,

I just bought some beautiful pecky cypress. I am a sculptor with almost no knowledge in woodworking. I am going to use this wood to ad some dramatism to one piece. Is there any fact that I should know about this type of wood? Anything at all that can help a rookie to get the best of this material. Also I am going to store the wood in my house (garage) while I do the sculpture first, Should I be concern about termites?

Thank you so much

Alfredo

Tony B · 10-16-2009, 04:10 AM

It is soft, light as a feather and It works fairly easily. It can be somewhat delicate when relative thin boards (3/4") are glued up for a table top if the worm holes are large. I'm not talking 'delicate' like it will fall apart, but more like it cant take abuse. I recently made a table with a pecky cypress top. These photos were taken before a finish was applied.
If it didnt have termites before you bought it it should be just fine. I have worked with pecky cypress off and on for 20 years. I buy it from a lumber supplier and it is kiln dried. I have never concerned myself with termites or any other creatures from kiln dried wood.

Amalgam · 10-16-2009, 07:07 PM

Tony thank you for answering. Coming from a guy who has worked with this wood for so many years, this is probably all I need to know. The piece of furniture in the pictures is just amazing. What do you use to finish pecky cypress?

Alfredo

Tony B · 10-16-2009, 08:27 PM

I will finish it with lacquer. Thats about all I ever use. The wood is soft and absorbent so no matter how much I put on the top, it will not gloss which is fine with me. The normal cypress is sometimes prone to splitting but I have not found that to be true with the pecky, probably because it is somewhat spongy. BTW, I dont fill the holes, I just clean them out.
When I get home I will have a piece of glass cut to put on top. This was meant to be a narrow Hall Table. I think the top dimensions are 18" X 50". I dont remember for sure.
BTW, where are you located that you even heard of pecky cypress?

Amalgam · 10-17-2009, 03:35 AM

I am in Tampa, Florida; again I know too litle about wood but the guy at the lumber store told me that it is a Floridian wood. I guess he is right since we have a lot of wetland here.

GeorgeC · 10-17-2009, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amalgam

I am in Tampa, Florida; again I know too litle about wood but the guy at the lumber store told me that it is a Floridian wood. I guess he is right since we have a lot of wetland here.

He is correct in that the wood is found in large quantities in Florida. However, it is not, by a long shot, exclusive to Florida.

There two types of termite. (Besides Formosan) The dry wood termite and the more common subterranean termite. The dry wood termite is the only one that can come with the wood and live. The subterranean termite must maintain contact with his underground home.

I have only run across the dry wood termite once. I brought home a load of fire wood and they were in that. I left some logs in my fireplace at the end of winter and later the termites swarmed out.

I have a couple of 1x12x12' cypress boards hung up in my garage right now. They have been there at least 10 years and I have no termite concerns.

George

Tony B · 10-17-2009, 07:43 AM

Alfredo

I bought my last boat in Tampa Bay area. Small town named Duneden. My wifes mom had gotten sick so she couldnt help me get it back to Texas. I called a few friends of mine to sail with me. I was 59 at the time and I was 'the kid'. It was a loooooong wild trip. Bill was 7 4, Phillip was 69 and Herb was 64. It took the Geritol Generation 11 days to cross the Gulf and we drank the last drop of rum coming into Galveston Bay. Brings back good memories.
I use a small sandblaster with a relative fine sand and blast the holes very very lightly to clean out the bulk of the loose stuff. The rest of the cleaning is with a dental pic and sandpaper. It dont take as long as it sounds. That top took about 20 minutes total. I dont get too radical about it or I will never be done and you wont have much board left.
Anyway, can you post a pic of the boards?
Also, we would love to see the finished product.

One more thing, I am a big proponent of 'profiles'. Although they are not necessary, it sure would be nice. When folks on here know more about where you live and your experience level it makes it easier to answer questions and a lot more personal.

jeffreythree · 10-17-2009, 07:51 PM

Here is an intereting tidbit about pecky cypress. It is caused by a fungus in the living tree and not insects. The older cypress that is occurs in is actualy pretty insect and rot resistant.

Gerry KIERNAN · 10-18-2009, 10:39 AM

It constantly amazes me the wide variety of interesting woods that show up on this forum. I had never even heard of pecky cypress before. It sure looks pretty. Is cypress related to cedar?

Gerry

jeffreythree · 10-19-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerry KIERNAN

It constantly amazes me the wide variety of interesting woods that show up on this forum. I had never even heard of pecky cypress before. It sure looks pretty. Is cypress related to cedar?

Gerry

Actually, its' closest relative would be redwood, I believe. It is pretty enough for indoor use, but a bit soft. Durable for outdoor use when it is older heartwood, young trees and sapwood are not durable. It was over harvested in the past and mostly occurs in poor, slow growing sites. It makes great outdoor furniture wood. A couple of resources if you want to learn more:
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics.../distichum.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxodium_distichum

Amalgam · 10-21-2009, 12:59 AM

Thank you guys for the answers and interest in my thread. I will post a picture of the boards very soon. Tony, thank you for the remark on doing my profile, Ill will do it right now.

Thank you again

Alfredo

carole · 10-21-2009, 01:27 AM

I think you will have a great work, we are expecting it.

Tony B · 10-21-2009, 06:15 PM

Paul

Here are 2 photos face-on that I just took a short while ago. Send me your e-mail addy and I can send you full size pics approx 470kb each. I didn/t have much time to rummage around so I couldn't find any sizable scraps to send you. I had dumped everything before I went offshore. If I find some laying around, I will mail it to you.