suitable spar material

[type82e]

I have a heap of framing pine which i was hoping to use for the spars
its 1 1/2" *3" if I cut that in half would it be strong enough, I'm using 3/4 ply for the sides
also is the pine hard enough? the screws wont come loose?
I glued and screwed some test pieces the other day which seemed very solid I used constuction adhesive and a nail through the ply to stop the spar moving when I clamped it then I put 2 2" decking screws on an angle through the pine into the ply sort of like a pocket screw and i cant move the by hand is that enough?
marcel

[Boodro]

Hey Marcel, the issue with pine spars I think is that smaller pine boards are not stable enough. They tend to warp easier than other woods. I used poplar for my spars, as it is a pretty tight grain & less likely to warp. When I attached the spars to my 1/2 inch walls I drilled thru the wall into the spars ,used 2 inch screws , with Gorrilla glue on the ends of the spars. ( Rock solid!) Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

[SteveH]

Marcel,

I used 2 X 2 pine for my spars and it's working great. With an outside "skin" of 1/4" plywood and an inside ceiling of 3/16" wood paneling, it's solid as a rock. Look in my gallery and you will see how I attached them. I used triangle pine blocks at every juction so I would not have to put screws into the end grain of the spars. IMHO screws into the end grain of wood is the worst way to attach anything. Used all angle screws attachment with glue.