Chris wrote:

Subject pretty much says it.

I still use this term and it dawned on me that I have no clue what it refers
to. Nor do I know where I picked it up. I must of picked it up in the 60s
or 70s.

I do remember it being used to refer to oak used in pallets, were I still
use the term today.


Thanks in advance,
Chris



I too have heard this term used many times when I lived in New England
and it was as you say, in reference to pallet oak which is basically any
species of low grade oak (any log without two clean faces). We own a
small saw mill and have sawn and dried thousands of feet of oak and
smelled the "****" smell through the drying stage of all oaks, red,
white, chestnut, and so on. I have a feeling there must be a stage in
the drying where the wood produces ammonia or something which smells
like ammonia. I would imagine its more common in air drying perhaps
where the slower drying causes some sort of fermentation within the
wood. Maybe this is why pallet oak (wet/damp alot?) got this reputation.

Interestingly a couple years ago we had sawn a few thousand feet of
white and chestnut oak for a friends case and base in his home. He air
dried it for a couple years (no cats peeing on it) and when I installed
it the rooms smelled of what seemed like dog pee for several days. It
was to the extent that his wife would tell any visitors "thats not pee
really, really, its the wood" (eyes all darting around thinking guest
would think she was dirty or something heheh).

A good place to ask for more info on this would be the sawing and drying
forum at www.woodweb.com . Gene Wengert (sp) is a professor who
moderates the sawing and drying forum and is a wealth of knowledge and
would surely be able to shine a light on it for you.

Good luck,
Mark