Tips for Maintaining Your Century Home - Woodworking

1. Use heartwood. Heartwood is always the most disease-resistant. Sapwood of most species should never be used.

2. Rift or quarter-grain cuts are best. These cuts are the most stable. Flat grain often expands and contracts seasonally at twice the rate of quartered stock.

3. Install plain sawn lumber with the heart side up. Flat lumber will wear better with the heart facing up. If there’s cupping, the edges will stay flat, and only the center will hump slightly.

4. Learn to use hand tools. Most historic woodwork was produced by hand tools, and most machine-made millwork (late 19th century and after) was installed with them. Historic woodwork finishes produced with hand planes can’t be reproduced by modern machines like sanders.

5. Use traditional joinery. Component repairs should be made using traditional joinery instead of non-historic methods like a wholesale epoxy casting of a missing part.