Wool Picker Wood or split resistant species

[Archengine]

Hey everybody! I have been building Wool Pickers for five years or so for a local company. Essentially, for those who don't know, they are an industrial strength wool carding machine. The 'carding' component is about 400 nails set into several boards. The issue I am having is with the wood selection for the nail plates. If you put 50 nails or so into a 3"x9"x3/4" plate of wood, it has a tendency to split along the grain. I pre-drill with the largest drill size I can while still holding the nails in securely. I can't 'orient' the nails any differently since the pattern is what does the carding. I started off using red oak five years back, then switched to hickory. Even with hickory, I still lose some plates due to splitting. Is there a commercially available wood that will be better suited to this use? I can't get elm on a regular basis, so its out. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!


Rob

[jteneyck]

I can't think of a better wood for the task than elm.  Are you sure you can't source it from somewhere, even if you have to buy in quantities larger than you'd like?

John

[daddo]

Would drilling the hole to just a "snug" fit, then using an epoxy to set the nails work?

Perhaps using two boards 1/2 the required thickness then gluing them together to make it much more resistant to splitting?

[TomFromStLouis]

I think any firewood guy would tell you that oak and hickory are excellent splitting woods so your experience so far is definitely at the wrong end of this spectrum. Ask that same guy which woods are terrible for splitting and you will get your answer. Elm, sycamore, maybe diffuse porous woods like maple, persimmon, sweetgum, cottonwood.

I suspect you are not trying hard enough if you cannot find elm. Try woodfinder.com

Does it have to be wood? A steel plate that size would never split. What is the traditional choice for wood carders?

[Ed in NC]

Maybe BB plywood and pre-drill to prevent splintering out the back?

[dlorenz]

Try using 2 3/8" pieces.  Drill the holes in one of the pieces so the nails just fit (don't need to be tight).  Glue the other board on top of the board with the nails with epoxy.

Hope this helps.

[Steve N]

I would go with hard Maple and predrill to almost exact size, and epoxy the nails in. But that is because I have a lot of hard maple


For parts on almost all of the wool working machines they made, the Shakers at Pleasant Hill Ky used Sycamore, they would have had an abundance of it nearby. The Ky river banks are crawling with it.

[FS7]

Plywood, especially baltic birch, should resist splitting very well since the grain is oriented orthogonally. It may not look as pretty, but it will work.

[atgcpaul]

My question, too, does it have to be wood? How about one of those plastic cutting boards? Drill to size or a smidge under, heat the nails in a fire and insert.

[Robert Adams]

Im thinking maybe give beech a try though its hard to get in the us.