Wood suggestions for outdoor furniture?

[Gator95]

Will be building some simple outdoor tables & benches. What common & reasonably economical woods work best for this? Economical to me means <$5/bf.

Would prefer to simply stain and apply protective coat- not planning on painting if that matters.

[poolhound]

Redwood and Cedar are good options I am doing exactly the same right now. These woods are both rot and insect resistant. Teak also fits the bill but not the price.

[SARGE..g-47]

I prefer cypress for outdoor. Redwood works, but cypress is a more or less local for me and not expensive really. I have seen cypress fence post and pier pilings submerged for years and still going strong. Lots of barns down south also.. especially Florida.

BTW.. I would not consider $5 a board foot reasonable for outdoor furniture wood. If you want to get fancy.. white oak will work as it it pretty rot resistant. The same "cannot" be said for red oak..

Good luck..

[Gator95]

I would not consider $5 a board foot reasonable for outdoor furniture wood.

Well, didn't want to get too cheap- but don't want to spend much more than I really need to either. Cypress sounds like a great idea- not too expensive and good for outdoors. Thanks.

Where do you usually get your wood? Peachstate in Kennesaw is on the way home from where I work- any other recommendations? I don't have a jointer or planer so I'd need to get at least S3S.

[poolhound]

I don't have a jointer or planer so I'd need to get at least S3S.

If you have a TS then you can easily make a jointing jig to get one straight edge, that way you can also look at S2S.

[drumpriest]

I was going to chime in with Lyptus, nice hardwood, can be a little splintery, but it's right around that 5$ a board foot area.

And here's (yet again) a link to the tutorial on edge jointing with a router....I'm surprised that our tutorials either just don't get read very much, or maybe people don't like the techniques?? Seems a lot like Loring's issue with noone reading the FAQ. Anyway, hope it helps...

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=27458

So S2S is certainly possible. But even if you buy s3s or s4s, by the time you work the stock, it'll need jointed anyway.

[Uncle Cracker]

I'll add a vote for cypress, if you can get it. Ages very nicely outdoors.

[Tom Slick]

anyone use Ipe for outdoor furniture? it's great for decking and it looks nice too.

[cabinetman]

I might opt for Redwood or Teak, just because they are awesome. For longevity, can't beat Ipe. Cypress or Cedar is more common and more likely in your budget. Just for S&G's figure pricing regular PT. It doesn't look that bad with translucent stain.
.

[bigstick509]

Red Cedar

These are going on 7 years of use with no problems at all.

[balzac.thegreat]

I'm surprised that our tutorials either just don't get read very much, or maybe people don't like the techniques?? Seems a lot like Loring's issue with noone reading the FAQ. Anyway, hope it helps...

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=27458

Sorry to chime in OT on the thread, but thought I had to throw some 0.02 cents on what drumpriest said...

The tutorials and articles are difficult to find. In the 2 main views I use this site (Home and the thread I choose to read from the Home view) they are not readily available at all. My other usage behaviour is also clicking directly into the forum from the Home view by clicking on the forum title in the far right column. Nowhere along those paths are the articles available. Nowhere in the main navigation are the articles available (In fact, the main nav is comprised of mostly useless links). I would bet some users have no idea articles even exist because they more often than not bypass the forum index. If a user even makes it to the forum index (and begins to scan the page as is likely to happen), because the articles are treated as a forum thread, users are more likely to ignore the threads with almost no activity relative to the other threads with lots of activity.

It took me a while to figure out 1. that there were articles in the first place and 2. where to find more. I suspect most users find out about articles from more senior users like you who post links to them in threads vs. discovering them from the FAQ or stumbling upon the article index.

And -- I design web products and web user interfaces for a living! So, I would expect the more novice users to miss the articles a pretty high % of the time.

[drumpriest]

Yep, I agree, the tutorials should be more visible. The faq is on the header bar, but the tutorials require going to a specific page to get access.

[cabinetman]

And here's (yet again) a link to the tutorial on edge jointing with a router....I'm surprised that our tutorials either just don't get read very much, or maybe people don't like the techniques?? Seems a lot like Loring's issue with noone reading the FAQ.

Kinda makes me wonder too. Either they don't get read, or there aren't any replies to speak of. Not even "pretty cool". Hopefully those that offer those tips keep on posting them.
.

[Woodshark]

Where do you usually get your wood? ....any other recommendations? I don't have a jointer or planer so I'd need to get at least S3S.

Suwanee Lumber is where I get mine. They usually have a good selection. It comes 1/1 (finished to 3/4) surfaced 2 sides with one ended ripped.

[SARGE..g-47]

Sorry Gator as I have been kind of busy and missed the question. Woodshark has given you my stomping grounds also with Suwanee Lumber. Been using them since about 78'. Was up there Saturday morning as they has some very nice cypress at the time. Most of the stock in the upper building is S3 or S4.. so with that being said....

I have purchased some from the Kennesaw location.. very nice exoctics. But its about a 40 minute drive for me as the Suwanee L would be for you. But... good to know the better sources local anyway for those times you are looking specific.