# Yikes!!! Is That Sap Oozing From My Table?!?!?!



## Wood4Brains (Jul 25, 2012)

Hi there, everyone:

Ok, stupid question, but here goes...

What the heck are all those drops of sap looking stuff oozing out of my newly made table?

They look like sticky, gooey drops of water, but smaller, and sort of an amber color.

Is it sap? If so, why?

I bought some relatively inexpensive 2 X 12 from the lumber yard. Were they not dried properly? (Or maybe not dried at all?)

Or did I do something wrong with the finish? I used minwax oil based prestain, then a minwax oil based stain, then the recommended minwax poly.

Once again, I am clueless...


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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

Probably softwood pitch or "pine gum". Many softwood trees especially spruce trees that a lot of construction wood is cut from have pockets if pitch in them that bleeds out from cuts in the pitch pockets.
If it is sticky, smells like a softwood Forrest and dissolves in varsol/mineral spirits that's it.
Best to avoid that wood for furniture building. It can take years to "harden" . You can seal in small amounts with shellac but it is like turpentine and will bleed through most finishes.
Take a few pictures; maybe it's something else.


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## Wood4Brains (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks for the reply.

I will try to take some photos next Sunday, when I am at my wife's office (where the table is at).

It is douglass fir, and the stuff does smell like a wet forest.

If you don't mind, I have a couple of follow up questions:

1) Is that kind of wood dangerous to cut with a circular saw? If you hit a pitch picket, will it increase the chances of a kickback?

2) How do I avoid lumber like that in the first place? Do I need to ask for a special grade of wood?

3) Where should I go to buy wood? Are there stores that only carry furniture grade wood? If so, what are they called?

The guys at the local lumber yard are pretty smart, and maybe they thought I was smarter than I am. They may have figured I knew what I was doing (and what I was getting myself into) when I asked them to pull me some 2 X 12 X 8 foot stock, because most of the people who sop there are professionals.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Yea, you got sap. It's possible you may have to fight with it for some time to come. You might get a little more sap out of it if you would heat the area with a hair dryer before you try to wash it off.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Wood4Brains said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> It is douglass fir, and the stuff does smell like a wet forest.
> 
> ...


If you bought dimensional lumber, it is probably graded "SPRUCE/HEM/FIR" which means it can be any of these.
They are all softwoods (coniferous species) and resin / pitch can be a problem. I have normally seen this around the knots.

The resin / pitch will not immediately cause a kickback, but it will build up on any blade, router bit, etc. and then can cause burning in later cuts in other areas, or other boards.

When you get the table saw, also buy some blade cleaner. Even the best blade and best wood species will result in some build up on the teeth over time. Cheaper to clean a blade than have it re-sharpened.

Hardwoods (non coniferous species) have fewer issues with resin / pitch, but some can be oily, which can cause similar issues with build up on the blade teeth.

The most common hardwood you will find is oak, either white or red.

You do not state where you are purchasing the wood. If a big box store, the selection of hardwoods will be limited. Likely red oak, perhaps some soft maple.

Look for a lumber yard and you should find better selection.

Lumber comes in many grades. What you are calling "furniture" grade is likely "Select" which means fewer knots.

Get thee to a library to look up references on the grading of wood.

Here is a short reference.
http://www.thewoodco.com/Wood/Grading.htm

If you work with an oily hardwood like teak, then it will be oily for all grades.

If you are working with softwoods, then look for boards with few knots and small knots. Still can have the risk of a "pitch pocket". I have run into some myself in the past. Looked like a small curved line, about 1 - 2in long. As I cut into it there was an increasing gap and the resin you observed.

For the present table, clean up with mineral spirits, and eventually it will dry out.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

Wood4Brains said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> I will try to take some photos next Sunday, when I am at my wife's office (where the table is at).
> 
> ...


That is pitch in the wood. That probly never all come out. I don't use any of that type of wood. Poplar wood is good to use it so far will not have sap. Here is a link on setting pitch. This will not help you now but you will know about pitchl 
​*The Great "Mystery" of Setting Pitch in Douglas-fir and Pine the link http://www.bcwood.com/wp-content/up...tery-of-Setting-Pitch-in-Douglas-Fir-Pine.pdf
*


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## Wood4Brains (Jul 25, 2012)

*@ Dave Paine*

Thanks so much for the post!



> When you get the table saw, also buy some blade cleaner.


Thanks! Will get some.

Also, I have heard of people "oiling" there blades, such as simply coating their blade lightly with vegetable oil. Is this a good idea, too?

*@ del schisler*



> Poplar wood is good to use it so far will not have sap.


Thanks for the tip. I will see if my local yard has poplar.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Wood4Brains said:


> Also, I have heard of people "oiling" there blades, such as simply coating their blade lightly with vegetable oil. Is this a good idea, too?


The only reason to put anything on a blade, is if your local conditions cause the steel on the blade to begin to rust. This will not be sufficient rust to damage the blade, but if left unattended, it could carry into the wood and cause issues with finishing, perhaps gluing.

I use Boeshield on my cast iron and steel surfaces to minimize rust.


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## Wood4Brains (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks again, Dave!

You hear all kinds of bizarre advice across the internet 9are you listening, ehow?), so I am happy that the people on this forum can clarify it for us who might otherwise be led astray.


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## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

It sounds like you bought construction grade lumber. Construction grade is not dried to the same low moisture point as lumber intended for furniture. When lumber is dried for furniture it is heated more and the liquid sap is crystallized and hardened so is will not be runny like it would in construction lumber.

The only real way to deal with it is to have it dried at some place local that has a kiln.


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## Wood4Brains (Jul 25, 2012)

thanks so much, Howie:

when looking for lumber for furniture, what sort of vocabulary should I look for? And does it vary for different species?

For instance, I think they say that doug fir is "clear" (or maybe it was clean). Do they use clear / clean for other woods as well? Or is that specific to doug fir?

I have finally figured out what grn means (green, at least I HOPE that is what it means), and d.k. ("dry kiln" again fingers crossed).

Are there any other words I need to familiarize myself with in order to ensure I am getting furniture grade wood?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I have seen "K.D." for kiln dried, but not "D.K.". Perhaps a bit of dyslexia. 

Try searching for terms used to grade lumber.

One such site.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Lingo...nding-Hardwood-Lumber-Grading-Terms&id=726956

Construction grades of lumber are sold in "thickness x width" increments, the old "2x4" or "2x6". These are normally sold by the piece.

Hardwoods are sold in increments of quarters of an inch.
The link will show 4/4 is 4 quarter lumber, namely 1in before planing. These are normally sold by the board foot (1in x 1ft x 1ft).

The hardwood boards are measured for the width at the mill, and the total board feet calculated.

I am not sure where you are buying your wood.

At a big box store, this is mostly construction lumber, and the "mill work" section or whatever they call it, may have pine, oak, poplar and perhaps maple. These will be S4S (square 4 sides) and normally priced by the piece.

If you want to make furniture, it is better to find a local lumber mill where you will have the best selection. Most mills will plane for you and a small fee.

If you want to find sources of mills, ask around, or start with this site
http://www.woodfinder.com


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Yep that's pitch in your pine... Just call it a rustic feature and move on... 

More seriously. Yes, a LOT of construction grade lumber does have pitch / resin in it still and will for a long time to come.

You want to see a good example of this? Go into the attic of a 1980s built home that used pine / fir construction lumber. You should see glittery stuff all over the framing. That's the pitch that wept out of it and crystallized...

Some construction grade stuff doesn't do that, but a lot does. Enough to make you want to stick with hardwoods for everything except shop projects.. 

For what it's worth, if you can, you need to buy your lumber at a hardwood dealer / true lumber yard, not a home improvement center. Check out woodfinder, or better yet, post your location (not specifics, just your area, whatever city you are close to...) so folks can point you to their favorite lumber yard / hardwood dealer or lumber mill in your area...


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You really don't need to change the wood you are working with. You just need to be a little more selective in picking out the boards. Normally a board that reeks with pitch is heavier than the rest of the boards so they should be avoided. Also if you cut around sap pocket like in the picture there shouldn't be any substantial place for the sap to ooze.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> You really don't need to change the wood you are working with. You just need to be a little more selective in picking out the boards. Normally a board that reeks with pitch is heavier than the rest of the boards so they should be avoided. Also if you cut around sap pocket like in the picture there shouldn't be any substantial place for the sap to ooze.


Steve, that is an excellent picture of a board with potential pitch pocket. This is what I had in mind for this discussion. I can recall using a pine board with what looked to me like a split or blemish, but later I found out the pitch issue.

That was decades ago. Not very experienced. Back then softwoods were the norm for my work.

These days I hate to work with softwoods. Too easily dinged as I knock into them while working.


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