Woodworking @lemmy.ca Today @lemmy.world 1 wk. ago

Pecan for outdoor furniture?

I got a good deal on some pecan and i was planning to use it to build patio furniture. I don't know much about pecan and I'm having trouble finding much info about it. Is this a good wood for outdoor use or should i find an indoor project for it?

7 comments

Pecan is pretty dense so it will stand up to the elements better than most woods. It will require a good moisture barrier that should be regularly reapplied because water is outdoor wood's biggest weakness and if you use something with a UV protection added that will help.

I wouldn't use Pecan for outdoor furniture. No wood will stand up to the elements in the long term and you'll be doing lots of refinishing which is easier with a less dense wood. I like cedar or a furniture grade pine for outdoor projects. Cedar is exceptional at resisting moisture damage and they are both relatively cheap and easy to sand and refinish. Plus they are lighter and outdoor furniture gets moved around more. I save better woods and especially visually interesting woods like pecan for projects that I will give to someone or that I can pass down.

Edit: somehow moisture became moisturizer in the second sentence, edited to fix that.
- Yup.
  
  Also, for OP, pecan is basically interchangeable with hickory. They’re extremely close as trees and similar as lumber.
  
  Thanks. I saw that in a couple of articles - said they were indistinguishable but also said pecan was bad for outdoor but hickory was good. That's why i reached out to you guys.
  
  Pecan is literally a hickory, carya Illinoinensis, the Illinois hickory.
- Thanks. I made Adirondack chairs s few years ago from cedar and they have held up well with UV oil. They sit out in the yard in the sun/weather most of the time. The patio is covered but open on two sides, so there's minimal sun and only blowing rain. The pecan is so pretty but i guess I'll have to think about doing something else with it.
Me: imagines very tiny patio furniture carved from nuts
I wouldn’t use it outdoor. It makes a beautiful desk or other indoor furniture

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