Angelium: Infrequently Asked Questions

Charles mentions to me the other day, “when you’re doing one of your blogs, you might want to do something on Asswood.” Naturally, I’m now looking into such a fine sounding product. First step, a Google search: “Asswood red angelium” No results. Hmmm. Second search: “ass wood red angelium” The results bring back some guy whose blog title is “Old Man Eats S**t.” So, we’re getting closer. But nothing in The Wood Database, or a number of other directories I’d checked out pertaining to the offensive odor.

In an informal survey, four out of five Santa Monica carnival workers preferred Asswood over Greenheart.

Third Google attempt: “red angelium” provides a number of porn links on the first page. So, I’m starting to think this is a put-on. But one of the links appears to be a legitimate building product touting the use of French Oak and Red Angelium. This is progress…

Charles was talking with a client who had come across a great deal on some angelium. The price was great, but the client brought up the fact that he couldn’t stand to work the stuff because of the highly offensive stench. “Yeah,” Charles tells the guy, “we used to call that red angelium ‘asswood.’ It stinks!” So, I guess we have two votes against. I’ve never been around the stuff…I think I’ll take their words. We don’t offer the stuff, because we don’t like fielding complaints about the stink of wood.

But nothing truly valuable has come of this search. At this writing, it is simply CC telling me that he has smelled the red angelium, and it is quite unpleasant. I’ve heard others say the same thing about Spanish Cedar, but I’ve worked it and found it no more objectionable than Ipe…but I’m biased…horribly allergic to the Ipe. Another tale for another day…

Brazil's First World Play

Evidence is mounting that Brazil’s days as a second-tier world player are numbered. In addition to sporting South America’s most robust economy, the wealth is also spreading now within the country’s poorest areas.

I will provide an additional bit of update when I have time…

Responsible Forestry Via Digital Imaging

There’s a stunning set of images associated with a great article by Michael Lemonick in the May Issue of National Geographic. This image produced from the Society’s website does absolutely no justice to the quality of the content in the magazine, but I guess that’s why we subscribe?

The use of technology to map the carbon emissions in forests is vital to rainforest survival. Images can be provided in real time to assess the current conditions in many underdeveloped areas straight from space. The imagery in the magazine was provided courtesy of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, Carnegie Institution for Science. I’d say they’re holding up their end of the bargain with this one.

Incentives for carbon storage in the canopy are suggested as an economic carrot to prospective slash and burners. If it somehow becomes beneficial for corporations and individuals to protect their renewable resources, everyone benefits.

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the lumber industry. If the trees are gone, you see…we have no product. But…we have the ability to create more product. That’s exactly what’s been happening, especially over the last twenty years or so of much more advanced and increasingly responsible forestry.

My Introduction to Padauk

I visit frequently with my dad. When we visit, and he’s about to brace me for something about to cost me money (buying his old cars, etc.), he introduces the proposition with: “Okay. Here’s the deal.” I don’t have any position in the world to complain about this arrangement, and I’ve become quite used to it. I’m scared to death of the next “deal”, because I’m getting to a place in life to have a great many more upcoming “deals.”

A Burmese, or Andaman Padauk. (Pterocarpus dalbergloides) With a little work, a guitar or two.

That being said, I had an inquiry today about the availability of Padauk. We don’t list the product in our price listings, but it is among a great many specialty items like greenheart, teak, and many others we are able to acquire. But here’s the deal:

It’s available by the bunk. The arrangement is such because furniture manufacturers shop in such a manner for that lumber. Rough widths, rough lengths. Random. That’s just how that “deal” goes. So…if you have any interest in about 300 board feet or so of Padauk, I can sure look into it for you.

The African Padauk (Pterocarpus soyanxii) is most widely available here to US woodworkers. The padauks and rosewoods are pretty similar woods in appearance, but the padauks generally have a coarser texture. Eric Meier's Wood Database has much more on the specifics and workability of Padauk, along with many, many other specialty species. It's a great resource.

Postpaid Freight

I use the United States Postal Service quite a bit. Probably 90% of the financial transactions I conduct are reliant on this service. Recently, the USPS announced a $2.2 billion loss for the first quarter of the year. Not good. This Weekend Journal’s primary editorial calls it like they see it—the bailout is coming.

A photographic representation of the currently negotiated USPS labor deal.

The questions Americans should be asking are obvious—Why can’t we treat the Post Office more like a private company? For starters, despite the failures of pension structure and wage scaling within their newly negotiated contracts, the system works. I say this only based on my experiences of sending and receiving mail. Very low failure rate there.

We ship our parcels generally through other service providers. Most packages are samples received from our suppliers and provided to our clients. The main reason we elect these services are the much lower associated costs with using FedEx or UPS. USPS isn’t set up quite the same. My rural carrier, for instance, drives around in a compact Subaru wagon. Not much pickup and dropoff capabilities in that thing, but there generally isn’t much need for it.

I’m not sure we have a good idea how much any bailouts are even going to cost anymore. This is some bickering over semantics, but WSJ is wondering in a roundabout way the same thing. All the while, the Federal Government is effectively out of money, and the trickle down eventually hits everyone. There are too many currently working in government positions and fulfilling government contracts, and one weak link in the system affects many far down the line.

If the United States gets serious about itself in the coming decade, we will be fine. The uncontrolled public-sector spending and unfunded private mandates will have to be reigned in soon. James Freeman’s Weekend Interview with Stanley Druckenmiller inspects this issue’s ramifications. The question, as always, is: Will we ever learn?

Canada, China, People, Oil, and Trees

Resource management will be a crucial factor guiding the success or failure of independent nations, and of the whole world in the coming decades. For starters, there are too many people running around this rock. We are able to feed what we’ve got right now…kind of…but one wonders how localized events could shape policy decisions among the world’s policy makers. And how long is our system sustainable?

Recent developments in Canada have the locals all fired up.

Healthy economies need growth. Growth presumes additional human and raw resources to fuel the system. Recent Chinese census results have policymakers across the Pacific wondering about the nations’ long-standing one-child policy. In China, like everywhere else in the world, the aging population needs eventual care, and when the demography shifts disproportionally away from the working age population…

Population density in China is already pretty high. China is still a fairly massive land, but many of its territories simply aren’t the most hospitable for human population. I won’t get into any sort of “Free Tibet” argument here—Every map I’ve seen printed for a very long time contains this patch of Himalaya within Chinese jurisdiction. The point here is that even though it’s a massive amount of territory, much of it remains to this day completely undeveloped.

So where will the Chinese, and other developing nations to obtain their raw materials and building supplies if their resources become tapped? Over this century, the strain on worldwide resources will necessarily become an increasing topic of international mandate and policy. Nations will remain autonomous, I’m sure, but who is currently well positioned?

I look North. Canada’s Provincial Governments are taking steps toward management of timber and oil reserves across its massive boreal forest. The oil is important, to be sure, but the responsible management of the timber reserves is at least as great a long-term international concern. At a moment in time where the Canadian Dollar is swapping close to straight-up with the US Dollar, we need to start asking ourselves about our own positioning for the decades to come.

Furthermore, liberal governance in Canada has been pushed aside for the moment at the Federal level. We will see over the coming months and years just what they might have in mind, and if it has anything to do with autonomy of local government.

America's Persistent Debt Issue

It’s more than a little disconcerting that the United States Government seems indifferent toward a practical and workable solution to our current public debt situation. Perhaps the timetable isn’t what the public would like, but it is what The Market is now commanding.

This pic was taken during one of Mr. Heston's meditations with The Market. The tablets, translated loosely, read: "Pay down your debts, Charlton."

Somewhere a long way from here, where it is blazingly torrid and parched, a man is staggering dazedly down a mountain slope. He’s been hit with a meteorite. The Market’s message to that guy was probably to do something about the debt issue, and to bring a GPS with him when he’s wandering around in strange lands…

There was a good editorial in the May 23 issue of Forbes by David Malpass. I hope you have better luck with the link than I am having. Their site, much like their magazine, has been wildly inconsistent for me. Here, at least, is a semi-serious starting point of conversation regarding the tipping point of the nation. I agree with Mr. Malpass—we’re not there yet—but it could happen with continued disregard of some rather serious issues.

One is the debt to GDP issue. If the damned Forbes link above would work, you could read about it. Or...If you have the misfortune of being a subscriber, you have probably already read it. I haven't even cracked my Weekend Journal yet, and this is the treatment... Figures range generally from 79-90% debt to GDP as a point of very serious concern, and it appears the United States is diligently stomping its way into the mid-eighties within a few years. The US appears to be well-positioned to handle such nonsense with a bit of responsible management. Japan has demonstrated it is possible through sound asset management. We’ll see if this happens at home.

Durability v. Cost: Ipe, Cumaru, Jatoba & Etc.

We received an inquiry this week in regards to comparative strengths and weaknesses among some of the products we sell. All hail Wikipedia! In short order, their "Janka Hardness Test" page was the best comparative chart I could find with easily accessible information on this topic.

A pretty nice Tigerwood deck. I've always had issues with the stair treatment here, but I've certainly done worse...

There are probably a number of silly things to be found on Wikipedia. My hope is that common sense will prevail for the moment, and prevent me from making embarrassing corrections to this post in the future. We will see. I imagine it’s pretty close, based on my personal experience.

A client called me a couple months ago, and asked about installing some ipe shiplap with a nail gun. It could just be me, but I’ve never been equipped with the required tool to get the job done properly. I would expect it would be a type of contraption that pre-drills a hole in your material with a laser followed up with one hell of a stiff fastener. If the US Patent Office wasn’t a couple of years behind, I might pursue something like that…

Another fellow asks about gluing ipe joints. “Get the stuff wet, and find the best marine epoxy you can find,” I believe is what I said. I say this because I’ve been that guy--you've seen him before!--gently, and with great difficulty, prying the poorly glued (via high-quality water-based glue, mind you) corner joints apart, and trying a different product. I know quite a bit more about what doesn’t work than what works.

Many of the imported species below face challenges when gluing in outdoor applications. The oil content and density of these species adds much durability and life to the product, especially when it’s not coerced to do things it doesn’t prefer to do. (Re: dry-glued with water-based wood glues!)

We’re able to get a number of the species listed on Wikipedia’s Hardness Test Page: (All average measures detailed on the site, measured in pounds-force)

Ipe (Brazilian Walnut): 4500
Massaranduba (Brazilian Redwood): 3190
Cumaru (Brazilian Teak, sometimes Brazilian Chestnut): 3540
Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry): 2350
Purpleheart: 1860
Caribbean Heart Pine: 1280
No Cypress listing that I see.

Lots of trade names mean virtually the same thing for similar species of wood. Once some of these species are cut down and milled, identification between subspecies can get to the point of nitpicking, so we’ll try to stick with the generality of the above comparison for a start. I’ll look into this a bit further. This is the type of thing that would make a good comparative chart. Many suppliers have pricing available on the webs, and we try to keep our listings as up to date as possible.

Hopefully, I'll have a little time to follow up on this soon.

End Cuts, Sealants, and Finishes

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve now been asked twice about the most effective method of sealing end grain of ipe. There is considerable discussion in online forums regarding this matter, and I have to admit I cannot yet make an authoritative decision regarding this matter. That will change soon. Hopefully by the end of the month I will have some sort of start.

My initial hypothesis is that Anchor Seal, when properly installed, will be the equal to other sealers available on the market. I have no factual basis—just a lot of what I’ve already heard among those in the industry. I’d like to see how it measures up against the two-part epoxies, and some of the synthetics. There are A TON of products out there for this type of application.

Same with stains and finish sealants. This testing business could end up being pretty expensive. Just running some basic numbers through my head, the investment of wood, finishes, and sealants will exceed $1000 just to get started with a reasonable sample. And this will be just to see how quickly I can destroy the product…

I’d been planning on a study of various types of lumber available for exterior application. The first question I’d been asked was in reference to the finish application of the product. Again, there is a lot of disagreement among installers. Each individual has their own experiences with various products, and I’ll be conducting a survey quite soon from contractors throughout the country. If I can get them to respond to the survey…

See, here’s the thing about finishes…You generally get what you pay for. Last spring and fall, I was painting a wooden fence on the family farm. It needed it. Looked terrible. I scraped the hell out of the thing, repaired various splitting boards and such, and used a water-based primer on the stuff. This was done out of expedience, not because I’m clever.

I’m not clever. That thing looks like hell already, because a section of it blew over, and I got pissed I hadn’t sealed the thing in a proper oil-base before winter hit. And it was a hell of a winter here. So I get to not only rebuild the fence this year, I will also have the pleasure of painting it for a second consecutive year. I just ran out of time…

It looks to me that a separate test for end grain sealing and surface finishing should be performed. Here in Kansas, the weather is about as severe toward hot and cold extremes as anyplace I’ve looked up besides maybe Moscow. So, by exposing some sections to one coat, some to two, and some to three, we’ll be able to see some weathered results over time. The one coat application around here will be a tremendous failure, I’m sure. It will be interesting to see how quickly the samples deteriorate.

Maybe I’ll throw a sprinkler on them this summer when it gets up around 110F. Two or three times a day. This will be fun. I’ll admit right now I don’t know enough about this subject, but I’m looking forward to learning a little something new.

Infrastructure, The World Cup, and Brasil

This week, The Economist has an interesting article on the progress of infrastructure development in Brazil. There have been numerous delays in the construction of several of the stadia to be used in the upcoming World Cup 2014 Competition.

Pele celebrating an occupancy permit for the 2014 World Cup in Manaus.

Brazil probably isn’t fundamentally different than a whole lot of other places inasmuch as once government gets too greatly involved, processes can grind down to unacceptable speeds. The whole of the country is very much on the clock right now, and there have already been concessions that venues may have to be changed due to the readiness of the facilities in which they were scheduled to be played.

These concessions don’t even address the problems potential visitors are facing once they arrive for the matches in Brazil. The Economist reports a somewhat woeful inadequacy in the nations’ current ability to effectively navigate its own infrastructure. Many needed airport upgrades are yet needed. (At 3.29 million square miles, Brazil's area is larger than the contiguous 48 states) Efficiency in transportation is logistically necessary because the sites are spread out all over this vast land.

Massive government spending is assured in Brazil in the coming years, and for the moment, their economy is relatively robust. By the end of this decade, chances are Brazil will be much closer to a mature world economy than one that is emerging.

And in the end, I’ll bet FIFA ends up playing a whole lot of futebol in a few years. And I’ll bet the Brazilians will throw a hell of a party, even if a contest or two turns into a pelada.

Wood Identification and Attribution

The diversity of wood is a continuing appeal as a design feature in construction. For form, durability, and function, there are few products available that provide the flexibility of lumber and wood products. Modern polymers, plastics, and even concrete and steel offer relative strengths and weaknesses architects, designers, and builders must weigh to maximize the utility of each design element.

After looking around a bit, I ran into a fantastic site by Eric Meier called The Wood Database. I think it’s great. There is a good mix of scanned images of various species and their relative strengths and weaknesses. I refer to this site often these days. I was looking for a database for some time combining each of these aspects of woodworking and design.

He’s got periodic updates via articles and recent additions to the database. This Wood Database has proved to be quite helpful to me to gain a greater understanding of the variations between species in the lumber market. Here are some samples of his work on Lignum Vitae, Purpleheart, and Spanish Cedar. Lots of differently named lumber products are actually quite similar, and may be effectively identical products, depending on the site specs and demands to be made of the building materials.

Mr. Meier provides information about strength, shrinkage of tested materials, source of origin, scientific name, etc. etc. etc. I can’t say enough about the value of this resource if you wish to gain a good fundamental understanding of these diverse building materials. I can spend hours on this site. This won't interest everyone, but The Wood Database does a very good job concentrating a tremendous amount of information.

Underemployment, Continued...

This is something of a continuation of the previous post. The latest United States unemployment numbers came out last week, and the news is mixed. An editorial in the Weekend Wall Street Journal provides a brief analysis of the figures’ current relevance.

Some good news, some bad. There are individual sector reports which are promising, and just looking around the landscape here in Kansas, things seem to be picking up a bit. I’m noticing some filling of commercial vacancies, and there seems to be a little less reluctance to get something up and going around here.

In the end, we will see. I remain hopeful that Americans will innovate and eventually excel, despite some of the current systemic barriers. This doesn’t seem to affect the upper-end markets at first glance, but there is indeed some trickle-down effect in economic activities. Hopefully, increased capital investment in new ventures will continue to spur a little growth in North America.

Ignoring Underemployment in America

Occasionally, it appears the United States is not committed to a full economic recovery.  Perhaps there are elements within our nation’s makeup that preclude its occasion.  There are a number of systemic barriers which prevent the US from taking advantage of its entire workforce.  The current unemployment figures, for instance, indicate that we’re doing better on this front.  Employment figures are derived from government sources, typically.  Also, unemployment figures do not reflect those out of work that have simply stopped looking for a job.  America is becoming a world leader in dropouts.

Furthermore, these are somewhat lagging indicators.  This is kind of a chicken versus egg issue to me.  An argument could be made either way, but intuitively, an employer needs to generate business before taking on additional labor.

The opposite can play out, to be sure.  A firm could elect to drive revenues from newly employed sources.  This takes capital investment.  So again, we’re in a circle here.  I’m a very big fan of “The Economist.”  It’s quite British, but there seems to be a greater ability to agree to disagree over issues of relevance across the pond.  It’s the best periodical available for reasoned and practical analysis of world issues.  As the world becomes increasingly interconnected (and at more rapid speeds), this magazine is essential to me in harnessing a greater understanding of the world around us.

I’ve said for a long time that consumer confidence was the only real microeconomic indicator that meant much of anything to me.  I still believe it is the number one collective factor driving consumer purchasing decisions.  Lack of confidence virtually always brings with it quite dire consequences to practical business and social activities.  When a society operates out of fear, there are limiting effects on the progression of society as a whole.

This forum is not meant at all to be a social rant, and I don’t have the answers to much of anything, but there is a fantastic read in the latest Economist in part about America’s relentlessness in incarcerating young black men.  It’s pretty hard for a society to operate in a highly efficient manner when the society spends an immense amount of resources cordoning off a large segment of the general population.

Immigration haters are entirely missing the point on this one.  We have done very little as a country over the past 30 years to address the educational quality and underemployment of our current citizens, and the socio-economic reasons that fuel this vortex.  We simply sweep the problem under the rug.  Government can regain trust and consumer confidence by operating at a very low level of functionality these days.  If a governmental agency can simply demonstrate the ability to do something right, they will get something of a nod of reward from its people.

When the bar has been lowered to the point where communities take a great measure of pride in the size and quality of its jail, perhaps the focus is a little skewed.

A Day Without Gribbles...

It’s a little more challenging than I’d expected to find decent and widely available and accepted standards for measuring the effectiveness of wood products.  It is relatively easy to find specific information on a subject, such as how individual species perform against each other in controlled metrics.  A comprehensive view is more difficult, due to the wide arrays of properties demonstrated by lumber opposed to other building materials, such as concrete and steel. 

Mathematical strength ratings are much more easily achieved with steel, for instance, because there is a highly predictable and consistent cellular nature of the raw materials.  Wood grows in the ground.  Funny things happen in the forest.  Branches, though they seem to follow a more specific fractal nature than previously believed, sometimes arrive in unexpected places.

The samples of specific studies can expose localized weakness in selection materials, different studies necessarily have different moisture content—in short, the number of variables found in organic materials selected from vast geographic locations makes any study’s reliability a statement of the study itself.

I didn’t start the day thinking about gribbles.

I hope I can sleep tonight without man-sized gribbles taking me on…Good thing to live in a stone house, occasionally.  These gribbles and their buddies the shipworms appear to give marine pilings serious structural issues.  TRADA (TimberResearch and Development Association) is an UK outfit that considers matters such as dumping various underused species of wood in some harsh salt water, having the sea do some kick-started sandblasting on the samples, and seeing what might happen.  The British, and some Americans, (don't buy into the plastic decking in that article.  That is a non-biodegradable problem of its own creation) have been concerned with the overexploitation of Ekki and Greenheart,  and are pursuing the consideration of a number of species for future commercial and common use.

Better managed and more responsible forestry is the counter to the rush for plastic building materials.  Emerging markets aside, the world will be required to manage its resources responsibly.  The market, over time, will see to this. 

Pretty interesting results in this nine page download by John Williams PhD, for TRADA Technology found: here.   Tali and Garapa held their own.  For those concerned with specific methodology of the study, the TRADA download is available here:   It’s an 160 page programme.

Why is the Rain Screen So Effective?

The Pressure-equalized rain screen system is the best insurance policy available to designers, builders, and homeowners facing elemental extremes.  This cladding design has been tested to the extent that Scandanavian buildings dating back over 500 years are still used.  They must be doing something right.

Like every siding application, some maintenance over time will be required.  The rain screen system provides a confidence in the future that other systems simply cannot match.  By equal distribution of pressure throughout the building envelope, the screen and its associated spacing and venting bear the brunt of nature’s burden.

A very good, though somewhat technical explanation, is available here.  A study performed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in association with the Ontario Association of Architects identifies the forces involved in envelope penetration and the effective means to combat that inevitability.  With any wooden cladding system, deterioration over time is an issue.  The rainscreen is an effective preventative measure available to the conscientious builder.  

I've found another interesting write-up that differentiates rainscreen systems from the Metal Construction Association.  It's not quite as in-depth as the CMHC issue, but it is a very good eleven-page pdf that defines specific differences between pressure-equalized systems and closed systems.  It's pretty concise, and much less technical.   

Rainscreen siding is green building at its finest.  By selecting a wonderfully durable species such as Massaranduba, Garapa, or a domestic gem such as Cypress, your design or home will serve a much longer useful life than conventional construction.  Less maintenance and a longer durable life make the rain screen envelope in premium lumber an investment worthy of desirable properties across the country.

The aesthetic value of siding your home in Brazilian Hardwood is striking.  For homeowners seeking a measurable investment quality the value added in a tropical lumber home can be immense.  Stone, conventional siding, and brick are everywhere.  A home polished in Ipe is one to be remembered.  The State of Oregon recently sought the longer-term green benefits of a separate water-permeable envelope by requiring it on new construction effective January 1, 2010.  This won’t be the last outpost in the United States that will shift to this type of design in the future, as commodities will be unable to keep pace with the planet’s occupants quite as well…

If you're interested in coming trends, and green building developments, please check out some of the information linked above.  At Specialty Lumber Solutions, we provide the Vanish ™ Rainscreen Clip.  This system affords designers the ability to incorporate a hidden fastening system, eliminating the need for pre-drilling and plugging.  Woods such as ipe are exceptionally hard, and I’ve been known to show up with a handful of bits just to get through a day on a drill job.  As much as the drilling can be avoided, it should, and these clips do a fine job to snug the siding to battens.   It’s a pretty slick application, I think.

A Real Dilemma for the Dollar

There was an interesting article written by John Lyons in the weekend Wall Street Jornal about inflation in Brazil.  It's worth a look for those with interest in the coming domestic pricing for products such as ipe.  As the dollar continues its global and local slide, the opposite is true in South America's top economic power. 

There's no shortage of spending in Brazil these days.  Major infrastructure projects are well underway in preparation for the coming 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games  The Brazilian Real climbed to 1.57 per US dollar last week, and the immediate future seems bright for our neighbors to the south.  I'm not sure the Brazilians can even put a price tag on the expenditures for the next five years' events, but it's going to be quite a sum of a lot of US dollars.

Or Real.  At the moment, I'd have to say the Brazilians are fairly well situated on the homefront.  The question, for those in the exotic import markets, is what will this do to domestic pricing?  In the short run, the dollar will continue to buy a little less and less overseas, which leads to the inevitable inflation at home.

Curious an American now has some concerns over foreign economic events.  The domestic markets were so fired up during the first decade of this century that it may well take the US a decade to fully recover.  There will be growth, to be sure, but have we Americans learned our lesson yet?  The land bubble may yet arrive here.  Farmland seems to be begging for a healthy burst soon.  I think the farmers are better prepared at this point than the bankers...