# wood dowel that will support lots of weight



## swimmer_spe (Sep 9, 2017)

I have a few projects I want to do. One of them involves hanging a sizable weight from a wooden dowel. Does anyone know where I can find a chart that shows how much weight one can support? 
I also want to build something where the weight will be on the end.


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## Snoonyb (Sep 9, 2017)

What you are asking requires a whole lot more detail.


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## bud16415 (Sep 10, 2017)

I agree with the above post but here is what you will need to know. 

The compression strength of air-dry wood is about half of the corresponding tensilestrength. The shearing strength of wood is 10-15% of its tensile strength in the direction of the grain. Shearing strength is weakened by knots and faults and cracks that appear in the wood.

http://www.engineersedge.com/lumber.htm


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## swimmer_spe (Sep 10, 2017)

Ok. I want to hang some weight in the middle of it, about 200--300 lbs. I want it to be 8 feet long of a span.

For the other thing, supporting about the same weight.


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## Snoonyb (Sep 10, 2017)

You'll be better off wrapping a 1" or 1-1/2" piece of pipe in a phenolic material, than a 3 to 4" fence rail.

I need a better description of the other thing.


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## bud16415 (Sep 10, 2017)

Go out in the woods and cut down a 2-2.5&#8221; dia white oak sapling about 6 inches longer than you need. Bring it back to your work shop and carefully take the bark off with a draw knife. Apply wax to both cut ends and tuck it up in the rafters of the shop for a couple years to slowly dry. Take it down and remove some from each end to get the length you need and then apply raw linseed oil over a period of a few weeks so it soaks well into the wood. Hang it up and put your load on it. Simple as that. Every year I would give it a rub down with more linseed oil and it should last several hundred years.


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## slownsteady (Sep 10, 2017)

...or you could choose a material besides wood that might have better strength over that span.


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## jessesandy (Sep 10, 2017)

If you really want/have to use wood, make sure the grain runs vertically (when looking at the end grain).  A 2x6 (edge down) should hold.  2x8 even better.  If it has to be round, use a telephone pole.  If you use a telephone pole, you can orient the grain any way you like.  

PS: No guarantees.  But, I use 2x3 boards on edge (approx 7 ft long) across the ceiling of the garage to lift the rear hatch off of the car.  (150 lbs ?)


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## swimmer_spe (Sep 10, 2017)

slownsteady said:


> ...or you could choose a material besides wood that might have better strength over that span.



I know what metal I could use, but I would rather use wood.


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