Outdoor timber

athlone M

Hi all,
I want to make a cross and an engraved plaque for a grave anyone have any recommendations on what timber to use obviously it needs to be long lasting, i noticed a lot of crosses are made from iroko but id like to use a more eye catching timber?

galwaydude18

How about Ash, oak, mahogony,walnut?

wayoutwest

I wouldent be using ash-it rots quickly.Oak would be a good oudoor choice but only use solid brass screws as it contains tannic acid which causes steel ones to rust very quickly

ennisa

Teak seems to be long accepted as the outdoor winner. Especially if any part of it is going to be in soil. However it is very hard to work, expensive and hard to find. Cedar is often used outdoors. But it is soft. I would be inclined to go with oak, white oak would be slightly preferable over red oak as it is slightly more durable. Only slightly though. Whatever the chosen wood, the portion that is going to be submerged, I would give plenty of extra coats of a very hard wearing varnish if it is going to be there for a long time while waiting for a headstone or permanently there. Or maybe work out some kind of metal post holder for it that can be disguised somehow or sit just below the surface.

Hope this helps.