Shopsmith Forums

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Steve, those are some mighty fine-looking doors … a most ambitious woodworking project!

Regarding the rot resistance of SYP, I think you may be confusing it with antique heart pine. Although the species may be the same, the heartwood of old-growth pine had qualities that are not to be found in the young, commercially-available yellow pine. The rot resistance of the antique stuff was comparable to modern pressure-treated wood. But these days, real heart pine is generally available only from resawn antique beams, or antique “sinker logs”. Both command very high prices.

For physical properties of woods, wood-database.com is an invaluable resource. The link below has a good overview of the various pine species.

https://www.wood-database.com/pine-wood ... all-guide/

For more details on any of the pine species, click on the links therein. The rot resistance of the various southern yellow pines are generally rated as moderate to low. Unfortunately, the SPF species are mostly just rated as low.

As Ed from RI mentioned, cedar could be a good wood choice for garage doors. Western cedar is ight, rot-resistant, and relatively affordable. It’s also fairly soft, but a good finish can make the surface much tougher.

I was looking for the link I posted with the two girls building their off grid house and the wood finish they used , I followed their journey until they recently lost their land lease , when they left , their tables and such still looked pretty good , I did find the finish they used and posted a link but I dont believe it is available state side , this is too bad because it would be good for things like your door . We have a porch swing that has sat out in the weather now for two years , made of red cedar and coated with clear poly , it is starting to peel . The only thing that I could recommend is refinish the door before winter and again in the spring with a good sealer , possibly with a oil base like they use on million dollar log cabins , jmo . https://woodworkingclarity.com/best-log ... bin-stain/

The Wood Whisperer gives his take on outdoor finishes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD9WstyGg-s The short answer is that he doesn't recommend film finishes.

I've been dreaming about building old-school swinging garage doors, perhaps from straight-grained, clear fir. I'm afraid to price out that much wood, though, only to end up planing it down like you had to.

Nice job with your doors. The journey is more important than the destination. At least that's what I keep telling myself.