rejuvinating dry wood

We've all seen it,- dry wood, so dry its like balsa.

Ive just made an oar from Merranti wood from the yard, its been rained on and stood in the 33 degree sun day after day. I glued it and sanded down a new oar but its so dry.

With what can I use to soak into it and rejuvinate it -- ie feed it.

I mean salt water, soapy water, diesel? Any suggestions.

Or is it even necessary?

 

Clean rag and rub in 3 coats, at least, of teak oil till it shines.

 

I was not really meaning a shine but more rejuvinating the cells of the celluloid make up of the fibres of the wood

 

If you don't like teak oil use linen oil with Stockholm tar and it's not necessary to rub it to shine.. or just start to use that oar as it is.. It will eventually get some moist

 

Teddy I live on an island in Malacca straits, I cant get teak oil let alone linen oil with Stockholm tar.

Yes it will get moist, ( its in the rain right now) but is that the same as natural wood sap? It just seems so dry--I don't want the oar to snap when im trolling for Baracuda.

 

Frosty, why don't you post what type of oils you can get where you are located. Many oils will work to re-generate and protect wood. I would avoid auto oil and diesel.
Oils used to protect leather will work.

 

dry wood is stronger than moist wood, as long as actual cells have not broken down. If the cell structure is damaged than there is nothing you can do to make it stronger (cover in fiberglass cloth and resin?).

You want some kind of finish on it to keep the moisture out, if the cells get saturated with moisture they will become weak. Any kind of sealing oil or even oil based paint should work fine.

 

Petros has touched on it. The bottom line is what has happened to the wood. Are the surface cells broken down from UV? Is it just a moisture content issue? What is the moisture content? What are your plans for this oar? By this I mean will it remain basically raw wood with possably a clear coat finish, such as oil or varnish, which will permit the wood to adjust to environmental changes? Or, will you be sealing (read encapsulating) the wood from the environment, to stabilize the moisture content?

Let's assume you want a regular oar, no encapsulation. The best thing you could do is check the moisture content, which I'll also assume is really low, possably with some surface cellular damage. I'd thin some tung oil (not linseed, unless you want it to darken) with spirits or turps, then warm it up to about 120 (49 C) degrees. Also warm the wood to a similar temperature. Move both the thinned oil and oar into a place where it's decidedly cooler and let them sit for 5 minutes, then apply the warmed, but now cooling oil.

This is the warm on warm technique. What will happen is the wood (that's cooling) and the oil (also cooling) will be drawn into the cellular structure of the wood. The spaces inside the wood, which have been contracting (cooling wood remember) will literally suck in the thinned oil. If possible make a bath of the oil, maybe a shallow tin foil or visqueen tray, filled with oil. The wood will suck in as much as it can.

You may need to do this a few times as the wood can only suck in so much before it stops from fiber saturation and the temperature drop. Wait until it cools and dries, they do it again. Eventually, you'll get to a point where the wood will no longer suck in any oil. At this point the wood will be as rejuvenated as it can be and you can finish as desired.

 

I was under the impression that all wood needed some water content. I seem to remember something like 15%. I saw a boat yard once running a hose pipe on some wood before they varnished it ( let the surface dry first).

This Merranti was lying in the sun in a wood yard and I choose it because it was the straightest. Are you familiar with Merranti or is it a local wood? I glued on two bits on the side as the paddle and thought that was Merranti too but its a total different colour.

I can get Palm oil, sunflower oil, olive (too expensive), cooking oils etc etc, salad cream hair cream , sun tan lotion and haemorrhoid cream.

 

I'm familiar with meranti (Shorea acuminata, though there are about 2 dozen different Shoreas). Maybe it would be better to call it wetness content, rather then water or moisture. Meranti is a moderately oily wood (not watery) and also has a moderately high silica content, which is what dulls tools. If you spray it with water, you'll help the surface, but deep down it'll be in the same condition. The oils in wood don't evaporate like moisture and help stabilize the internal cellular structures. With severe exposure, these oils will leach out, leaving you with likely what you have now.

Try soaking it in a bath tub for a few nights, if you must. You'll get plenty of moisture back into the wood.

 

My vote is to pull up a comfy chair spread an old towel across you lap, have iced rum close by and rub palm oil with a clean rag on the oar. I've spent hours and hours rubbing oils on wood and they all turn out just fine. You might try that unique tool we discussed a few years back to make it easier. Don't use the tool if you drink to much rum--stick to the rag. What a great tool that is. Wish I had two of them.

 

The thing about a tool like that is you only need one of them, bit like a beer glass that constantly re-fils itself. I found mine on the beach next to a Genies lamp.

Ive varnished it now with oily horrible stuff called --hang on--Jotun woodshield that some one had chucked in the garbage at the dock end.

It looks real good --you would never think I had made it. Im only going to use it to row with anyway.

 

The palm oil, sunflower oil. olive oil, cooking oil will stay "oily" and never harden like an oil finish should. Not a good idea to use them to finish wood, though olive oil will not go rancid, I do not know if it these type of food grade oil would attract pests.

Sounds like you found something that is more suited to finishing wood than food grade oil. IT also sounds like you shop in the same place I do to find boat building materials, it is amazing the stuff one can find in the marina dumpster.