Beech wood?

[SunnyAlberta]

Because my construction skills are limited, I'm going to try repurposing a piece of furniture. I've found an armoire-style entertainment stand that is listed as "all wood". It looks like beech to me. How does that weather in the cold? Isn't beech extremely hard? Might I have difficulty cutting it? Thanks in advance. My other option, not nearly as handsome, is pine furniture.

 

[Tweakster]

While beech is classified as a hardwood, it is not all that "hard." While it is denser, it is not that much denser than pine, certainly much less "hard" than oak, but beech does have a very uniform grain that makes it easy to work. It doesn't split out as easily as pine.

Also, be very careful of the "all wood" moniker. Press board covered with a veneer can be classified as "all wood" and press board falls apart when it gets wet. Take a close look at the back side of the case. If you can find a true edge grain on the back side then it is probably not press board as they don't go the the effort to conceal those edges.

Whether pine or beech, it will need a good coat of paint or marine grade varnish to protect it from both the weather and UV radiation from the sun.

Good Luck!

 

[Habibs Hens]

beach is the standard wood as well as pine here in UK

beach yes is very sof but good in rain and if you paint it should be ok

The only problem i see with beach is if not painted or varnished it will split down it grain very easy from weathering but rotting wise its pretty good for that

my coop that im building now is all beach wood and i've used beach for many years

and if you know UK then you know the weather is rubbish here

completely unreliable and more rain and frost and snow then you can swing a dead cat at

 

[SunnyAlberta]

Thanks Tweakster and Silverfox. I'll have a closer look at the piece before making the time investment. By the way, Silverfox, I'm in Canada and I'm pretty sure I get more frost and snow than you do in London, but you'll win in the rain department. My area is semi-desert.

 

[Habibs Hens]

yes canada has more snow

infact here in UK us Brits always talk about Canadians when it comes to snow, when it snows here the whole country comes to a standstill litrally

schools close, trains stop running etc etc etc

and we always say whats the matter with britain, in canada it snows all the time yet they dont let it stop day to day life

AS for rain well we got rain all week and next and it rained last week

i'm a bit peeved as i cant finish my coop eill it clears now

luckily i got half the built coop in the shed so its free from rain till i varnish it