Likewise, I have done some work using spruce that was at least 20 years old, stored in a hangar all that time, and was fine. I have some spruce-stick-built ribs that are possibly as old as Sid's spruce, never varnished but kept dry and they are perfectly airworthy. I know some people who ripped capstrip out of old Stearman spars and though there was some evidence of rot on parts of the spar due to the old-time varnish cracking, those portions were discarded and the rest was used on an aerobatic airplane that has gotten plenty of hard use for decades. Wood airplanes are generally pretty robust.
If you want to get your metal A/C building friends worked up, bend over and look real close at their airplane's skin and say "Wow! Looks like the start of filiform corrosion!" Chris On 1/16/2015 12:40 PM, Sid Wood via KRnet wrote: > I have pieces of 5/8" spruce from a project that were given to me. > That project was started in 1979 and never finished. The spruce has > no coating, has been kept dry and looks like the spruce you would get > from AC Spruce today. Keep it dry or coat all surfaces exposed to air > (including bolt and staple holes) with epoxy and the spruce will last > your lifetime and then some. > > Sid Wood > Tri-gear KR-2 N6242 > Mechanicsville, MD, USA > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > ... an A&P friend of mine (and aluminum experimental builder), > mentioned some spruce fungus issue that if not caught can be > disastrous. Is this an issue with the materials, and if so how to > inspect/avoid/prevent? > Thanks > > ------------------------------ > > At the risk of making a fool of myself, I bet he's confusing diseases of > living trees with lumber/wood preservation and protection. > Fungus can attack most any unprotected or ignored wood or wooden > product, so some sort of protection is required for longevity. Varnish > was the old standby but now there are a variety of synthetic finishes > which can do the job. AND keeping wooden aircraft structure dry, of > course. > > Maybe some really qualified person will chime in? > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://tugantek.com/archmailv2-kr/search. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to KRnet-leave at list.krnet.org > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to > change options > >
