Any woodworkers here?

[sharkattack]

I have a couple of nice Adirondak chairs that I made using cypress a couple of years ago and am finally getting around to painting them. They've weathered really well. All I needed to do before painting them was give them a quick sanding.

I'm planning on making some different type of patio furniture this fall (same style) and am having a hard time finding cypress. Supposedly one lumber place told me that since Katrina, a lot of the cypress is harder to get. They suggested poplar. It's readily available, and from what I can tell it is a nice strong wood that will take a coat of paint with no issues.

Do any of you guys out there do any woodworking? Have you ever used poplar before? What do you think of it? Should I keep looking for cypress?

If I make more furniture, I'll make sure to get it painted sooner and it will be either stored inside or underneath nice furniture covers during the winter, in order to keep it looking nice.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you guys can offer.

Scott

[CC dad]

I do a little wood work. Not as much as I'd like. Anyway Poplar is good stuff especially if you are going to paint it right away.

[Egham]

I enjoy working in my woodworking shop and have made a few outdoor furniture pieces. I've made most of mine out of pine...either treated or untreated, although I also built a small teak bench.

If you build out of popular, pine or just about any other native untreated wood except for cedar, redwood, cypress, black locust...., you really need to paint or stain right away. I much prefer stain since stain doesn't peel or chip and just seems to look good longer.

Another good practice is to be careful to avoid joints that will be prone to water infiltration if the furniture will be used out in an open, uncovered area. I built an outdoor Morris chair I found plans for in Popular Woodworking a few years ago out of untreated pine. Despite painting it with several coats of pricey oil-based paint, I was getting a lot of wood rot at many of the joints within 2 years. I built and stained a second last summer using treated lumber and redesigning it slightly to eliminate / protect the biggest problem areas.

[sharkattack]

Thanks guys. I'll stick with cypress. It's worked well for the first one I made, so I have some confidence in it. Plus, I found a local supplier as well.

After I get all of it made, I'll post up some pics of everything.

Thanks again guys,
Scott

[RobLL]

In my experience in painting things I made, I have found that buying paint at a specialty paint store from a salesperson who goes to workshops from time to time has saved me from lots of errors, and always produced good results.