Using "used" wood

[Steve_MA]

Well - thats an odd title - but am not quite sure what to say

I am planning to make some trim pieces from a piece of outdoor furniture that fell apart enough times that scrapped it. Its a chair thats about 10 years old and was left outside year round maybe half that time. It didnt get enough oil and the joints/connectors dried up and shrank and got too loose. I dont know what kind of wood it is....maybe cedar or cypress; not sure.

I just cut it up and put the wood to the side; i was going to build a planter or something else with it. Now I am thinking to cut some pieces to use as trim and cover with epoxy.

As long as the wood is solid and dry, is there anything that would cause me to rethink this?

Would it be helpful to post any pictures of it? Thanks

[MadRus]

The only thing I can think of is, if it had ever been treated with a linseed oil or some other rubbing oils, it might not adhere with epoxy.

[Steve_MA]

Well we did use linseed oil on it......but the stuff is pretty dry.

[MadRus]

Hmmm...I'd give it a shot with a couple small scraps before spending a lot of time and energy cuting, fitting, etc., but I say use it if it's pretty wood and it's not rotting and it will glue up nicely.

Another thing you can do is trim it up- taking off the outside 1/8" with a joiner or a plane or a table saw if you have anything that will work. This will get rid of the exterior faces that might still retain contaminants that would impact the bonding of epoxy.

-Dave

[attownsend]

Well we did use linseed oil on it......but the stuff is pretty dry.

Wipe it down with denatured alcohol and you'll be fine.Evild.