Any thoughts about using Mahogany for decking on a 60 ton tilt deck trailer?? Thanks!
It's good and beautiful wood but I would think very expensive.
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Apitong or purple heart, but bring money.
cottonwood. once dry, makes excellent lowboy decking &dump box side boards
I wouldn't have ever known about cottonwood. I've had it for fire wood and it turned concky before it ever dried and was soft as cork. It there some way to dry it that it stays solid?
Years ago I was given some short pieces of mahogany 4x4s and thought they would make good blocking. But they are to hard and end up breaking/chipping when a load is put on them. Like was said above, you need a softer wood like cottonwood ect. for a trailer deck.
I need to find out what we use for blocking. It's one of the many species of local hardwood and all I know is that it's darned heavy. A 4ft length of 8" x 8" blocking needs 2 guys to lift it. I never knew what purpleheart was either until I came down here. Apparently it has a dried density of somewhere over 50 lbs/cubic foot ........
If you can find anyone to cut it Sycamore, never really dries out, grabs water like a sponge but cross grained like a Hemp Rope and hard to tear up.
Different Strength Woods / U.S. Forest Products Laboratory http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood-strength-table/
I don't know what kind of cottonwood you have but the stuff we have around here is half dead while it is still standing and once it hits the ground rots faster than you can cut it. We cut them down and let 'em rot just to keep them from falling on us. Total garbage. It is heavy but around here a lot of white oak for trailer decks. Red oak checks too much. If you can find it and keep it straight I would think hickory with its spiral grain would make a tough deck.
Cottonwood will rot for most of the country unless you keep it indoors, I wonder why it works in WESTERN Washington? It is quite tough for it's weight, you just need much thicker planks than other woods. Take a look at the drop numbers on the Forest Products labratory table, certain varieties of Ash, Hickory and Elm do well. Black Locust does well also, and is the most durable wood for not rotting.
The only thing I can think of here is that we are talking two different types of tree with the same name. The tree I'm familiar with is like what Ct. Farmer is talking about. It grows big fast, drops that cotton looking crap in the spring and the big limbs drop off in a wet breeze taking out power and phone lines pretty regular. I had to cut up a wind fall on my mother's property years ago that had exploded about three feet off the ground after a freeze and then a wind storm. The chain saw was throwing out a fog from all the water the tree had in it. Stuff was so soft I had to hold back on the chain saw or it would pack the sprocket and jamb the chain.
I think we're talking about the same cottonwood, it does make nice planks when it's dry. A rough sawn cottonwood plank on a scaffold will be lighter and stiffer than southern yellow pine or hem/fir. The cottonwood will be 2"+ and the others will be finished 1 1/2". The stiffness is from the thickness. Cottonwood will also be tougher because it's a hardwood (though softer) and the unique grain of cottonwood, vs Ash that would like to split like Douglas fir. That's why I'd like to say Elm, it will stand up to a beating better than Oak, Ash, Hickory, but it's not rot resistant like white oak or black locust.
Cottonwood and sycamore here are tough to find anyone that will mill down, cross grained, generally wet and swells with heat of cutting. Once cut and installed on a trailer is some tough stuff especially if treat with linseed oil or even waste motor oil. So long as does not make direct earth contact to draw moisture from below and rot will last a good long time, grousers do get a grip on cottonwood where slip on oak. I have Black and Honey Locust on the farm, Honey will rot once dropped, Black is a great deal slower but will eventually pith up on the edges.
Well it appears that somehow cottonwood might actually have a use. I sure would like to find one as some of these are 2' or more in diameter and being cheap I hate to waste it. Clearing for our new pond soon and will likely try to get some of milled. Google tells me it is good for trailer decks, animal stalls, fence, even siding. Who woulda guessed it. From what I read you need a blade with a lot of set and lots of rakers. Mill it green I assume, dry it and oil.
Check with the local mills, sawyers are generally apprehensive as to cutting Cottonwood as noted.
Just FYI - there’s lumber mill in Stockton AL ( don’t remember name if it right now ) that supplies some imported wood species for decking instead of Redwood to military.
Well the county did deck the whole thing with Mahogany... It's hard as a rock, and the excavator doesn't grip it whatsoever- to the point of being dangerously "slick" Soooooo now we've covered it with old screen belting.
OWIEE!!!
One of the reasons quit using White Oak, hard as rock, swamp oak is similar to Cottonwood but never dries out has similar grip-ability soft faced.
I used southern pine on my trailer. I got 12 years out of the first batch. I busted it up finally from hauling long knotty firewood logs on it. It was not rotted yet. I replaced it with the same although I will say the new does not look as knot free as the old even though it is select structural grade. Fairly reasonable. $580.00 delivered to my local lumber yard for 20 each 2" x 10" by 18 ft. and 10 each 2" x 10" X 12 ft. Got almost a year on the new. We will see.
Cottonwood. All I can say is ***? Over the last 5 years I've tipped over and burned over 100 of them, and this fall I had 5 that were probably 4' in diameter, and 60' tall. I know you could have cut 20' planks out of them. Only problem is I don't believe there is a sawmill within 300 miles of us.
What can I say, does work well Shimmy1. We have six sawmills around us, only one will cut cottonwood and then at their discretion or timing.
I thought the same about cottonwood but the mill here loves it says its one of the better woods to make pallets out of works quite well for sideboards doesnt get hard and crack like oak and has quite a bit of spring in it from all the mixed up grains Elm would be perfered but its hard to find a good one here anymore Usually use white oak for beds but i can see cottonwood working there also I only put drain oil on one bed and have forever regretted that slippery mess
Apitong is tough to beat if you are going to keep the the trailer for a long time. I have redecked a couple of trailers with it and it lasts. How many axles are under a 60 ton tilt deck trailer?
Just prefer local materials, Cottonwood lasts decently enough.
There’s a small mill about 15 miles from me. Couple years ago I was taking cottonwood logs from my place there. They were paying better for that than fir logs! Saved me having to burn or pay to dump. I think they cut some for dunnage and pallets. Hadn’t thought about decking. Darryl
2 axle. The trailer will be around for a long time.