Did my wood get old?

[tp4tissue]

So I had to build a thing recently..

When I checked the 2by4s for linearity they're all curved slightly...


They've been in the garage for a long time..   


so the question is, did they get old and curved,  or are they normally like this..




These are all 96" 2b4s...

[paicrai]

try viagra
oops

[katushkin]

Is your garage dry? And by dry I don't mean free of leaks, I mean like dry air dry.

[Kayla]

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/why-wood-warps

Warp is natural. Dry air creates dry warp.

[tp4tissue]

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/why-wood-warps

Warp is natural. Dry air creates dry warp.

tx for the article Kayla...

it seems like I should probably cover my wood,  though the garage doesn't Leak, it's not humidity controlled..

[fohat.digs]

Great thread title!

I work in a carpentry-related industry. Wood comes from trees, living things that are all different, like people.

Trees are naturally flexible so that they can sway in the wind. They do not like to be flat rectangles, that is an unnatural state. Flat-sawn lumber (grain more parallel to the flat face) is more likely to twist than quarter-sawn (grain more perpendicular to the flat face), so look at the ends of the boards when you buy them.

The rule of thumb for something like a deck, that is always outside, is that the wood will be generally stabilized in its comfortable state after passing through all 4 seasons. That is, if it has not twisted after a year, it probably won't. If it is going to, it will likely do so sometime during the first year.

[Malphas]

Wood warps, yes. Once you bang a few nails into it to make it conform to whatever it is you're putting together, it'll be irrelevant though.

[tp4tissue]

Great thread title!

I work in a carpentry-related industry. Wood comes from trees, living things that are all different, like people.

Trees are naturally flexible so that they can sway in the wind. They do not like to be flat rectangles, that is an unnatural state. Flat-sawn lumber (grain more parallel to the flat face) is more likely to twist than quarter-sawn (grain more perpendicular to the flat face), so look at the ends of the boards when you buy them.

The rule of thumb for something like a deck, that is always outside, is that the wood will be generally stabilized in its comfortable state after passing through all 4 seasons. That is, if it has not twisted after a year, it probably won't. If it is going to, it will likely do so sometime during the first year.

is there a place to buy really straight wood,  pre-aged/ pre-conditioned against warppage?

perhaps particle board?.   are there particle board 2b4s with similar strength ?

[Malphas]

Particle board is utter crap. You could buy engineered wood or aged wood such as railway sleepers that you could then get cut, both are complete overkill though. Hardwoods like teak and oak are less likely to warp, but are expensive and unnecessary. The wood you have is pine, I assume, and is pretty malleable, so like I said once you nail it into whatever structure you're putting together it'll conform to that shape and the warping won't be an issue.

[vun]

it seems like I should probably cover my wood

Good advice for any situation.

[paicrai]

penis.

[The_Beast]

That's because they're cheap 2x4s. Kiln dried wood tends to warp less

Also, the way you store it matters