This is all so fascinating. The idea of using wood thousands of years old. The craft of the people doing it. The realization that there are colonies of trees still standing, yes still standing, that are hundreds of years old.
5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
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Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually it does. Consider "bribe" versus "campaign donor." "Execution" versus "murder". Many cases exist. But that is beside the point. Laws have to be specific, and that is the issue. If you can perform a minimal treatment to the object under the law, then it can be transmuted under the law and the spirit of the regulation is sidestepped.
A bribe is a donation made with an overt expectation of quid pro quo. A murder is an unlawful killing.
The points stand. Campaign donations can have undocumented quid pro quos. Legality is what we agree it is, so if some consider an execution unlawful then it is murder. Consider how many innocents given death penalty and exonerated earlier (for a simple case, Salem witch trials).
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
For metric system folks: 129 lbs is roughly 58.5 kg of mass per person to lift.
Metric system conversion should not be difficult, however, I recently learned it has been made convoluted. Attempting to find out the per gram price of something bought in a kilogram bundle, I simply divided the kilo price by 1000. This is where it got confusing. I was told there are only 985 grams in a kilo. Me: huh?? It's literally the definition of the word kilogram, 1000 grams. Fucked up maths: 1kilo = 2.2lbs * 1…
Who told you this? I can't find anything talking about 985 grams.
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#84So, how do we find out when they put it on display at Ely Cathedral?
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#85Can someone explain how all the planks of the bog oak fit together so perfectly? The article says go to their instagram for details but I'm not really getting a whole lot when I click on individual photos.
The project site has a page on the process, not quite a step-by-step guide, but probably enough to satisfy curiosity. https://www.thefenlandblackoakproject.co.uk/the-table-top
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#86Anyone with any knowledge know if bog wood like this oak has been used as a tone wood? Really interesting read I didn't expect to see this morning.
I've used bog oak for a bunch of things, it behaves about the same as white oak to me - so I doubt it would be great for tone wood uses.
Thanks for the behaviour note—it sent me on a hunt! Of course, before I'd asked I hadn't searched up whether or not it's been used in instruments.
Seems like the consensus is mixed. It might be a sleeper tone wood for a specifically-tuned instrument?
Either way, the results can be quite pretty...
https://www.brentrup.com/page2/page2.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/21176740531/in/album-...
https://reverb.com/item/9428705-brand-new-avalon-a1-oak-cara...
One of the criticisms leveed against it was in line with your dismissal of white oak—because of it's structure there's more damping than a rosewood but it's otherwise bright just with a fast decay. So I suppose that lends itself well to specific playing styles. Not a standout (aside from maybe looks and rarity), but not useless either.
Found a clip: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/21176740531/in/album-...
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
While we on this: I noticed lots of interior design projects, where old pallets are used( Euro Pallet being the most popular). They are all treated with chemicals to withstand harsh environments and definetly shouldn't be used indoors.
This isn't true. Most pallets are heat treated now and can be distinguished by "HT" on the side. You should still be careful about selecting and working with pallet wood. They can be subject to hazardous spills and can have random debris embedded in them that will damage blades.
I think this site was on HN a few days/weeks ago: https://www.1001pallets.com/pallet-safety/
I checked a few of the pallets where I work; they're heat treated, no chemical treatment. But! While I'd feel safe using the pallets used to ship corrugate bundles, the pallets used to ship the sketchy drums of mystery chemicals look identical and end up in the same trailers headed off to some pallet recycler.
I keep forgetting to check the CHEP pallets.
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't true. Most pallets are heat treated now and can be distinguished by "HT" on the side. You should still be careful about selecting and working with pallet wood. They can be subject to hazardous spills and can have random debris embedded in them that will damage blades.
I think this site was on HN a few days/weeks ago: https://www.1001pallets.com/pallet-safety/ I checked a few of the pallets where I work; they're heat treated, no chemical treatment. But! While I'd feel safe using the pallets used to ship corrugate bundles, the pallets used to ship the sketchy drums of mystery chemicals look identical and end up in the same trailers headed off to some pallet recycler. I keep forgetti…
Also, dust from certain species of wood can be quite bad for you. If I didn't know the origin and history of a piece of wood, I'd likely avoid working with it.
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was watching that show called Antique Archeology. It’s basically two grifters from Iowa who take the good stuff from hoarders, and collectors. This one guy (Jersey John) pull out a 1886 Windsor chair, and acting like he’s doing the owner a favor by offered the guy $25. The owner shot back with, “I can get $40 at a yard sale?” Anyhoo—it just reminded me how far we have gotten away from buying beautiful handmade thin…
People have different tastes. Just because something is old or handmade, that doesn't make it desirable. Plus, 140 year old furniture takes specialized maintenance if you want them to last. It's kind of expensive to properly maintain or refinish antique furniture. Chairs, especially, need proper maintenance, they experience much more wear than something like a chest, and an improper fix can destroy it.
Older furniture can be much easier to repair its just a shame that the knowledge is somewhat less commanplace than it once was. Shellac finishes are a known quantity, easy to touch up or remove an re-apply. The animal glues used in woodwork of the past also allows joints to be easily disassembled for repair and often you can just reactivate the existing glue with some moisture and heat.
Re: 5k Year Old Bog Oak Table: Digging up 4k-year-old trees for furniture
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quality IKEA furniture is made of solid fir/pine/spruce and is finished with a resin paint that resists scratching pretty (though, pine is still soft and dents easily). If you put it together using some wood glue, it will hold up for years. IKEA absolutely sells cheap furniture made of laminated MDF, and it's often half the price of the quality stuff. And it's not fair to lambast IKEA for sacrificing quality to hit a…
Half the time it's not even MDF anymore, it's just laminated reinforced cardboard with chunks of MDF here and there for screw points. What I find really sad is how a lot of expensive furniture also uses MDF.
Solid wood is expensive and it does have a lot of seasonal movement. I do some furniture building and there's something to be said for how workable MDF is. It doesn't warp, it's dead simple to cut through, it's pretty light, and it's cheap.
If it's used correctly, MDF is a fine material for furniture. The key to quality pieces with it seems to be in the finish. A piece that's primed, painted with high quality, durable paint, then sealed/lacquered will last a good long while.