Fence boards for woodworking


treesner

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What sort of fence boards? Something like the rough cedar pickets that many home centers sell?

They can be useful for some things, but are typically a bit thin. My local Lowes store sells them, and they are only 5/8" thick, rough on one side. I've used them for things like outdoor signs, but wood movement isn't an issue for an unrestrained panel like that. I do suggest using polyurathane glue, or epoxy, for such applications.

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4 hours ago, drzaius said:

The paint & stain of fence boards is very hard on cutting edges, so unless you have carbide knives on your planer...

Even running 2 or 3 boards through the planer will dull them badly. I know this.

ah didn't think of that. are the cedar/redwood stuff stained? I did see some pine boards that were obviously heavily stained 

6 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

What sort of fence boards? Something like the rough cedar pickets that many home centers sell?

They can be useful for some things, but are typically a bit thin. My local Lowes store sells them, and they are only 5/8" thick, rough on one side. I've used them for things like outdoor signs, but wood movement isn't an issue for an unrestrained panel like that. I do suggest using polyurathane glue, or epoxy, for such applications.

yeah those cedar or redwood boards. I guess they are a bit thin. was thinking I could laminate them together 

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27 minutes ago, treesner said:

ah didn't think of that. are the cedar/redwood stuff stained? I did see some pine boards that were obviously heavily stained 

Depends, every fence is different. If not stained or painted, then the wood will naturally weather & deteriorate faster (even cedar & redwood) so you will have to remove even more thickness to get to sound wood. Unless the wood is gray/silver & weathered looking, it's been painted or stained.

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Are you talking about going to the big box store and buying the boards to use? 

I wouldn’t bother buying them to use unless for a fence or maybe some ‘rustic’ decorative piece. By the time you dig through the stacks to find decent boards, dry them, resurface them, and potentially laminate them, are they really that much cheaper? I’d rather spend a little bit more on good quality pine or poplar or whatever hardwood is cheap in your region. 

If you came into a big stash of fence boards for free or dirt cheap from a fence that was removed or excess from installing a fence, might be worthwhile. 

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