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I have a pair of cast iron park bench ends and want to put the best wood on them. thinking 5/4 maple or oak. it will be kept outside~~thanks
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In order of durability and appearance, best to OK :
Ipe
Osage Orange. if you can get it
Black locust
white oak /Cyperus etc. Will need to be finished and maintained.
The first woods you can finish or just let go brown /grey.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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Welcome aboard -- lots of experience here and some good folks to enjoy.
Where are you located? If we knew that we could be a little more specific about what local woods might work and what's suitable for your weather conditions.
I agree on Ipe but around here (Kentucky) I'd go with White Oak from a local mill.
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Or we could stop by and try it out when it's done.
Welcome to the horde.
-Al (wood2woodknot)
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I was just given some cast iron ends also.
I was going to use some white oak I have laying around that was left over from doing an old Chevy pickup bed.
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White oak sounds sufficient, not maple or red oak. About a decade ago the wood deteriorated from a bench like that we have, and I replaced it with thicker cedar, rabbeted to fit into the metal at the ends.
At the time I made sure it would drain well, with no place water could accumulate. I stained the wood before assembly, including inside the bolt holes.
I just went out and looked at it: the finish is pretty much gone and the wood is silvery and rough to touch, but it's still solid with no apparent deterioration beyond the surface appearance.
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JR1 said:
In order of durability and appearance, best to OK :
Ipe
Osage Orange. if you can get it
Black locust
white oak /Cyperus etc. Will need to be finished and maintained.
The first woods you can finish or just let go brown /grey.
Depending on your location, you might also add to the list:
cedar
redwood
teak
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White oak will be stained by being in contact with iron The tannin in white oak will stain the wood whenever it gets wet..
Howie.........
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I tend to forget about mesquete as I can't get it here.
That's. A good point about the white oak. If it's going to be in contact with iron and moisture it really must be finished.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
