samson post replacement

[burleigh66]

short story. I need to replace my Samson posts. I Live in Australia and not sure what the best timber to use. looking for advice. Cheers

[slug]

Don’t know what wood you have in your neighborhood

When I was s kid boats used black locust ...rot resistant , straight clear grain and hard

What type of wood do farmers in Australia use for Fence posts ?

To make posts last longer put a cap on them to protect the end grain

[Wotname]

Wandoo is ideal but sometimes hard to source. Usually found in timber recycling yards, more often in WA or SA but maybe you can get lucky in NSW. AFAIK, very little is milled today.

Tough and durable but hard to work because it is so very dense (sinks in water). It was used for bridges and such like; tough as old boots.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus_wandoo

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by burleigh66

short story. I need to replace my Samson posts. I Live in Australia and not sure what the best timber to use. looking for advice. Cheers

A visit to a couple of building recyclers that specialise in old timbers will yield a lot of good information and possibly some good OLD timbers that will meet your requirements.

[burleigh66]

Got some Tallowwood (Australian hardwood) and made my samson posts.
Now what to do, the old ones were painted above the deck and stained below the deck. I am think of painting above and below deck as there in no other surfaces stained below deck.
When installing them should I leave one side below the deck unpainted? This one side I will be using an appoxy glue and bolts to attach them to the bulkhead.
Which is better to leave it unpainted or to paint with a primer and 2 pack paint?

[Wotname]

Good choice

IMO, painting would only be required for decorative reasons, the Tallowwood is very durable and needs no weather protection.

Of course the paint will wear in the areas where the line(s) rub so you could leave that area unpainted and paint the rest.

You may already seen this link https://ironwood.com.au/tallowwood-technical-specs/

[burleigh66]

Thanks for your advice. I may just oil it for a protection above deck and also to bring out the grain/texture.

[thereefgeek]

I used sapele for our sampsons on out Tayana 37. I put Starbrite Natural teak sealer on it and it's pretty close to the same color as the 45 year old teak trim. The posts are epoxy-laminated 2"X4" lumber and each is about 4.5' long, through-bolted to the chain locker bulkhead.

Here's the first part of the build: https://svrambleon.com/got-clamps-bowsprit-part-1/