red oak

[ceeya]

i am going to start my first intarsia project. is red oak considered light, medium or dark wood? the judy gale roberts book i have says i needed a medium wood....so i picked up the red oak...hope its considered medium...thanks joe

[Forester21]

I would consider it a medium colored wood.
Theresa

[lucky788scroller]

Well, thats a tough question. It is light compared to walnut, and dark compared to maple.But if you were using red oak, cherry, and walnut, i would call it a light wood, and if your using it with maple,pine,and poplar, I would call it a dark wood. I say just go with it, worst case scenario, you would have to stain it, which is no biggie, and cheaper then you going back to the lumber supplier! dale

[workin for wood]

I was going to call it medium, but you make a good argument dale.

[Neal Moore]

Dale's right. It's all relative to the types of wood you intend to use in the piece. You might want to look at some Western Red Cedar boards. You can often get all the colors you need from the same board due to the difference in shades between the heartwood and sapwood. You could also use poplar and then stain the segments after they have been cut, shaped and sanded to get the colors you need. I know the intarsia purists frown on that approach but if you're just getting started in intarsia as I am and don't have a selection of hardwoods readily available it's a good alternative. I had intended on buying some nice boards for intarsia this month but decided to get a small dust collector for my basement shop instead. The furnace pulls some sawdust upstairs in the winter and Betty says I'll have to do the dusting if I don't put a stop to it. The wood will have to wait 'till next month!!!

[Minnesota scroller]

The furnace pulls some sawdust upstairs in the winter and Betty says I'll have to do the dusting if I don't put a stop to it.

Whoops. I hope my wife doesn't notice. My saw is only about 4 feet from my furnace. I don't like to dust.

[workin for wood]

When I used to scroll in the basement I was beside the furnace too. I told my wife all the dust is from deteriorating insulation in the walls, and cheap carpeting. That worked for me

[Minnesota scroller]

Jeff, you sneaky devil you. I'm going to have to remember that. However, if I mentioned the cheap carpet, I'd be stuck buying new carpet. I think I'll just stick with the deteriorating insulation.

[Woodbutcher68]

So you're up for a re-insulation job!
Might be cheaper to buy a better dust collector.
Being single means I don't have to make excuses!

[will8989]

Gee, I hope none of you guys are sawing by a GAS furnace. I think you would have spontaneous combustion if there was dust blowing in the area of the pilot light when it fired up and BOOM! You would not only be replacing the rugs and insulation but the whole house from the basement up!! At least that's what my very safety minded hubby keeps telling me, sawdust can catch fire or blow up in the blink of an eye. Anyway, he scared me to the other side of the basement!! BE CAREFUL!!

Betty

[Minnesota scroller]

Gee Betty, I never thought about that. Considering my gas furnace is only 2 years old, I'd hate to have to replace it if it blew up. Heck, I don't even know where the pilot light is. Thanks for the warning.

[Neal Moore]

The dust just gets picked up in the return air vent in the basement and some of it gets past the filter and makes it's way topside. The air in the shop never gets saturated with enough dust to create an explosion. In my case it's just more of a nusiance than a safety issue but you make a great point for those who generate a lot of airborn dust particles. It will, in fact, explode with a vengence!!!! Another reason for grounding one's dust collection system to prevent a static spark from igniting the dust within the system!!!

[ceeya]

wow, good information! btw i am using the red oak with poplar so i guess it would be considered medium...thanks again joe

[Marcel in Longueuil]

There are opposite point of views on the need to ground a Dust Collection system. Some say that it is a risk, others say it isn't

Serious tests made have shown that the concentration of dust required for an explosion was never attained except in large industrial systems.

You can make your own queries on the net: there are many, many sites available on the subject.

But on the other hand a static electricity discharge is, to me anyways, always a very unpleasant experience (I hate shocks!) And a planer is sure to build a charge.

So you may want to ground the system just for that reason, if no other.

Me, I figure that no central vacuum systems are grounded and that dust is dust, and considering the amount some of those systems pick up, a few houses should have blown by now, and I've never heard of one.

But... you make up your own mind on your own convictions. I'm not making myself responsible for your choices


Regards,
Marcel

[workin for wood]

actually, a central vac system is grounded. You hook up the hose, and it hits a metal trigger which sends a signal to the vac to turn on. That trigger is also the ground for the system. It isn't necessary to have an exposed groundwire throughout the system, just at the point of entry is good enough.