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Cypress

Started by Randy, January 16, 2005, 04:41:12 PM

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Randy

Thanks to everyone for your help!! I have some cypress to cut in a few days and don't know how I should cut it. This guy wants to use it to build a privacy fence. I have read that the sap-wood and the heart-wood is not good for outside usage, so my question is where does the sap-wood stop and start and the heart-wood start?? Also is it best to flat-saw this or quarter-saw it?? Thanks again!!! Randy

Tom

Saw it like pine.  Basically flat-saw it but you can cut it through and through too.  It's easier and does just as good a job.  Square the can't using the width of the fence boardds as a target size for the width, then cut to the bed.

Be aware of tension,  there is a lot in cypress that you can either get rid of by turning the cant frequently or sacrifice the bottom board and try to hold it with your clamp.  It will probably come out with a real thin middle.......and might pull right out of the clamp.  If it does, turn the cant, flatten the top and start cutting to the bed again.


You can usually see the demarcation line between the sapwood and the heart.  Lots of young cypress will have little heart.

Randy

Thanks Tom for your quick reply!! When I am sawing these tree's do I need to try to cut the sapwood off( isn't the sapwood like new-growth and isn't this just under the bark?)?Do I need to cut the very center of the tree out??? Thanks Randy

Ianab

Hi Randy

You are about right on the sapwood thing. On a good log it should look something like this. There is about 2 inches of sapwood in this picture.

Thats Macrocarpa cypress, but I believe yours looks similar.
The light coloured sap wood is not very durable, so trim it off your outdoor use boards. The very centre of the log (the pith) is often unstable and full of knots. It may split or warp as the timber dries. I usually just throw the middle board away. Other than that, flat saw it like Tom suggests.

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

ellmoe

Randy,
    We saw alot of cypress and build privacy fence. If you are cutting short lengths tension should not be too much of a problem, however if you are cutting long lengths it will be. We flip the log every cut and often "hop" on the log to weigh it down while sawing! Of course that's me, I like a little danger in my life! :) We use sapwood as well as heart in the panels. With 1/2 inch boards the panels will last about 15 years, a 3/4 in. fence I made is now 15 years old and looks to be good for another 15. For long life with the thicker pickets I recommend that you use PT Pine for the back rails. With cypress back rails you will have have significant decay where the picket is attached in 10 years or so.
   We don't quarter saw for fencing.
Good luck.
Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

Fla._Deadheader


  Ellmoe. I have a potential customer for fence boards. IM me some prices. Thanks
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

ellmoe

Harold,
   I wish I could take on new customers! Unfortunately, we've been hit by a "perfect storm". The hurricanes increased sales by a multiple of five. Meanwhile, the state has bought so much swampland that cypress logs are harder and harder to find. Additionally, two other mills that I bought fence pickets from have converted over to strictly making mulch (labor and worker's comp costs, drove them to this). So, in effect, I am a purchaser for fence pickets. Now, if you know anyone that wants to sell pickets, I'm all ears! :)
   Thanks for the consideration, though.
Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

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