Any wood will do provided it meets the strength requirements of the original specified wood. Thus you must know the strength of the wood that you want to use. Do not use parts that contain pitch pockets. large loose knots etc. The grain should be similar to spruce in direction etc. I bought mine at a lumber yard. They let me pick it over. I bought 2 x 8 x 10' . I bought more than I needed. Now comes the interesting part. You must test for hidden defects.Realize that trees subjected to violent wind during their life history can have fractures in the wood . Similarly when they are cut down and fall to the ground they may be subject to internal damage. Cut off a strip down the length of one side, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide. Bend this strip. It should be quite flexible. Break it.Look at the break if it is a clean break ( a flaw) mark with a felt pen the location on the same spot on the main plank.The break should be rough and splintery to be ok. Now cut a similar strip off the other side of the board and subject it to the same test. Mark easy or smooth breaks on the main board. If there is a mark opposite each other on the main board you may be assured that all the wood in between contains the same flaw.Run it through the saw and cut out this section , about 2 inches on either side of the flaw. The rest of the wood is good. It may be too short for your purposes but remember that a good scarf joint made with epoxy glue will give you a piece of wood that is stronger that an unscarfed one. Of the 8 planks that I bought , only one was flawless. Thus I have a scarf joint out near the tip on one wing. I have a beautiful piece of Douglas Fir that was hand picked out for me by a mill inspector. It came along after much of the woodwork was done. Too bad. I have also some white pine (eastern) of excellent quality in some places. I can stand on the trailing edge of my wing stubs because I had a couple of pieces if hard mahogany that ended up there. Regards Harold Woods Orillia, ON Can. L3V2G6
haroldwo...@rogers.com
