Last day of the year!

I have another 5 posts cut to length (I cut them to 98 inches long) and ready to soak.  I counted the posts I have still in the pile and am pretty sure I have about 17 in total.  There are 2 that are 4.5x4.5 inches, I will probably use these as the arbor posts.  I am considering using 3 posts per corner of the grape fenced region.  I will need one (or two) for the gate.  So I will need 17 JUST for the fence!  I need 2 more 5x5s.  I might actually have them in the barn.  I have to look over the lumber stacks.

4 posts done!  5th one is in the trough soaking.  Interesting how the color varies depending on the type of wood.  I think I have basswood, red oak, and white oak here.

Considering how much I splash out, I am glad that I decided to do the soaking out in the barn and not in my shop!

Lumber weather treatment

Apple leather done

This all amounted to almost 3 lbs of leather - 2 lb 10 oz.  Not bad.  Space saving is remarkable!  This is equivalent to about 8 quarts of applesauce, or about 1/2 bushel of apples!

Chemical treatment trough

I desire to do a really good job at treating this wood so as not to have to replace these posts very soon.  Therefore, I decided that instead of painting the CuNap solution onto the wood posts, I would instead soak the posts.  I used some of the scrap lumber to make a wooden trough which I then lined with heavy PVC sheeting.  I used hot glue to attach the PVC to the wood.

I dry-fit a post inside to be sure that there was clearance.  I used some old antenna wire to raise and lower the post in the trough.

The trough is about 100 inches long (needed it to accommodate an 8 ft tall post).  The height of the walls and the distance between the walls is about 6 inches to allow room for a 5x5 inch post.

This shows a bit of the process I used to place a post into the trough.  I first move the post onto a couple of strips above the trough to align it with the trough.  Then i place the wires around the post.  After that, I go to one end and lift the wire and the post, then remove the wood strip and lower the post.  I repeat for the other end.  Then I add the chemical solution to fill the trough.

I bought 5 gallons of the cuNap (88%)  chemical from Poles, Inc.

In the cold, this stuff flows like molasses!  What a mess!  I mixed 1/2 gal of this compound with 4 gallons of diesel fuel to make the treatment solution.