# Tongue and groove pine boards for shop walls



## tullochmurray (Feb 5, 2014)

I am in the process of milling some 1" rough cut pine boards to be used as the interior walls of my garage workshop. My current plan is to yield as much width as each board will allow and have boards of varying widths - some as wide as 8"+. i originally intended to go with board and batten, but am now considering tongue and groove because I think the varying widths will look better as t&g. And it should help ensure the wider boards stay flat.

I had planned to mill the t&g on the table saw with a dado stack and add a "v" (or maybe a bead) to the profile with a router. I already own the required equipment, blades and bits to complete the milling this way.

I am looking for suggestions of alternative methods that will reduce the number of passes required and / or simplify the milling process. I briefly considered a t&g router bit set, but don't want to spend $100+ and I'm not sure if it would save a great deal of time over my current plan.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Edit: much of the lumber has been thicknessed to 3/4"


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

tullochmurray said:


> I am looking for suggestions of alternative methods that will reduce the number of passes required and / or simplify the milling process. I briefly considered a t&g router bit set, but don't want to spend $100+ and I'm not sure if it would save a great deal of time over my current plan.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
> 
> Edit: much of the lumber has been thicknessed to 3/4"


Welcome to the forum John...

spline them instead...
faster...
better accuracy and fit...
no guess work...
no muss, no fuss and a lot less waste...
collective higher yield...

an arbor and a 3 or 4 wing slot cutter is all you need...
rip your waste and drops into splines...

Freud Tools

mark the faces of the boards w/ chalk...
route from the faces to make everything the same...
walk the router down one edge, around the end grain and then back down the other side...
if you spline the end grain, where the butts break in your wall won't matter in the least.. less waste here too...


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum John. Follow Stick's advice and you won't go wrong.


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## tullochmurray (Feb 5, 2014)

I like that idea a lot. One reference surface, fewer passes and ripping strips on the table saw is much simpler than setting up for a tongue. And a slot cutting set is on my list of bits I'd like to have - much more versitile than a t&g set.

A spline hadn't occured to me. I had decided on traditional t&g and was trying to figure the easiest way to skin that cat. Never thought about trying another cat.

Thanks for your input.
John


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

G'day John, welcome to the forum.

One thing to consider is what to use for the spline and how to cut it...

Some use 1/4" ply.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

tullochmurray said:


> I like that idea a lot. One reference surface, fewer passes and ripping strips on the table saw is much simpler than setting up for a tongue. And a slot cutting set is on my list of bits I'd like to have - much more versatile than a t&g set.
> 
> A spline hadn't occurred to me. I had decided on traditional t&g and was trying to figure the easiest way to skin that cat. Never thought about trying another cat.
> 
> ...


you still can blind nail if you wish...
no need for glue either...
as wide as your planks are, I wouldn't...
make the splines fit the slot snugly but mot tight...
make the splines ¼'' think and you should be golden...
perpendicular the spline grain to the planks grain....
length of spline isn't critical and if you use a lot of short one in one slot leave a little space between splines...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

jw2170 said:


> G'day John, welcome to the forum.
> 
> One thing to consider is what to use for the spline and how to cut it...
> 
> Some use 1/4" ply.


John should have lots of rips abd drops from his original material to make splines w/....


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

John,

Welcome to the forum.

One thing you didn't mention is where the material is coming from. Is it seasoned? Since you mention it will be various widths, then I'm assuming that it is from logs that you are running through a mill, then stacking and drying, or buying rough cut. 

Pine can be problematic as it is susceptible to greater expansion and contractions then some other woods; it will move. If it is not well seasoned and you don't properly acclimate it to the shop it will shrink and open gaps after it is installed. 

Another method you might consider is to use a ship lap joint. If the wood moves it won't be a noticeable gap like a T & G.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, John; welcome!
The shiplap sound like less work, but not as secure in place. You will see the nails, another consideration. Mind you, if you air nail with 18ga or 23 ga they'll not even be noticeable.
On the wide boards at least, you might consider making shallow cuts lengthwise to relieve the cupping tendency (same as flooring and trim).


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

105 siding is what I put on a garage when i built it in 1973. 'Course that was the outside walls. But like Dan said, it was shiplap.

It seems it would be easier to mill into a final product. Lap joints with maybe a slight chamfer to ease the edges.

Try a couple of different styles on some scrap to see what will work for you, both in ability to mill and final look of the pieces attached.

Good luck. Post some pics. We like pics.


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## tullochmurray (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks all. The lumber was a gift from my f.i.l. (his neighbor has a saw mill in the back yard). It has been stacked and stickered in a dry barn for over 10 years. Local white pine - very pretty once it's planned and finished. I have used some of it for other smaller projects but still have a sizable amount left. The original stack was about 4' wide, over 3' high with lengths up to 12'. Many boards are over 12" wide with some 15".

I had considered shiplap as well as board and batten. But once i started planning the material, I decided i couldn't bear to rip the beautiful wide boards more than absolutely necessary. So I figured i'd better go with t&g in hopes it would help keep things flat.

Any thoughts on finish?


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

"Any thoughts on finish?"

A shame to paint, but that would probably be the cheapest. Paint will show up all the cracks,and blemishes. If you go natural I don't think oils would be too good as sawdust would cling to it. Would take a lot of Polyurethane,and expensive too. 

Maybe Shellac would do, it would show case the grain.

Hmmmmmmm.............................Stick will know.

Herb


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

John; another consideration...if you're applying it vertically, you'll need horizontal battens as nailers. Remember to take that into account when you install your electrical outlet boxes! You're probably looking at setting them *1 1/2"* out from your stud faces.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> "Any thoughts on finish?"
> 
> Hmmmmmmm.............................*Stick will know.*
> 
> Herb


no he won't...
I refuse to get involved in any kind of finishing...
don't know anything about it...
don't how to...
you can't make me do any...
your pocket books aren't deep enough either...
it you don't do it or it doesn't get subbed out... 
it *WILL NOT* get done...
and there is nothing you can do to get me involved...
you will get hurt trying...

so take your finishing and stuff it...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Maybe just a coat of semi-transparent exterior deck stain? It ain't a piano, as I used to say...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> Maybe just a coat of semi-transparent exterior deck stain? It ain't a piano, as I used to say...


untinted paint base...
a lot of them dry clear...
good stuff for outdoor furniture...


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

Stick486 said:


> no he won't...
> I refuse to get involved in any kind of finishing...
> don't know anything about it...
> don't how to...
> ...


Stick,

I take it that you don't like to finish, or is it my imagination?

Bill


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> no he won't...
> I refuse to get involved in any kind of finishing...
> don't know anything about it...
> don't how to...
> ...


Is it safe to say you are finished with finishing????


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

schnewj said:


> Stick,
> 
> I take it that you don't like to finish, or is it my imagination?
> 
> Bill


must be...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> no he won't...
> I refuse to get involved in any kind of finishing...
> don't know anything about it...
> don't how to...
> ...


a ***** in the armor?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

vchiarelli said:


> Is it safe to say you are finished with finishing????


not even going to start let alone finish...


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## tullochmurray (Feb 5, 2014)

*Update:tongue and groove for shop wall*

Many will not believe I haven't finished this yet - three kids - lots of interruptions. And about 6 months ago my middle guy came in and reminded me I promised to build him a bookshelf. I had most of the pine for the wall ready for grooving and the majority of it went to the bookshelf. But he loves it and that's the important part.

So had to plane more pine and trim to width. Start grooves last week and I thought I'd post some pix.

I had to make an edge guide for the frued - and I taped a flashlight to it for my old eyes. Clamped the boards to the apron on my bench, routed the groove and then the 45% on the edge with the porter cable. And the third router was a given to me by my father in law. At one point I was considering a bead on one edge and the old porter cable would have been perfect for the job. But I decided a bead was too fancy for the shop. 

I actually hope to get this stuff up before the snow flies, so will hopefully have pix of the I stall action soon.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions Stay tuned.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

I used just plain ol' cheap, thin OSB. My shop is a corner of the basement. I built the walls as I got tired of sawdust getting all over everything. I might even get ambitious and paint the wood and one concrete block wall.


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