A little pre-planning with lumber
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:01 pmA number of look-e-lews have been asking me the same type of question, and I thought I might share the answer with some potential teardrop/woodworker type builders. I know if I were to try brain surgery, it sure would be nice to get a few pointers from someone who has wielded a scaple to a skull before.
Folks have asked, "Where do you get such nice wood that is suitable to build with?" (Oops, I ended a sentence with a preposition) Come to find out, when they needed a 2x2 or 1x3, they would only buy the size needed to fit the bill. More often than not, this kind of selection will only net a weathered, crooked, rock-hard hunk of stuff that just came off of the woodpile, that is so wet, it may have floated down from the Northwest woods..
I have found, while strolling through Lowes or Home Depot, I usually check the lumber racks for fresh supplies of 1x12 pine boards or nice and clear, straight 2x4 eights. Weather I need them or not, I pick out what suits me, usually old growth, fairly knot-free white pine, even if it has a split or some bark at the end. Quarter-sawn pine is most favorable and when it arrives in my shop, it's placed on stickers to air-dry without cupping.
Later, whenever I need a certain size piece of lumber, I always cut it off of a large board, selecting the most desired area that suits me best. Rarely is any lumber wasted, since jigs, glue-blocks, spacers, drawer backs, and even wood-turnings may be a project in the future. The same goes for the 2x4s, since the trusty old table saw can deliver any size I ask it to cut. (Here's where my new surface planer sure comes in handy, making the freshly sawn lumber dead smooth and exactly the right size).
Anyway, if you haven't considered this type of lumber selection, you might want to give it a try. It sure is nice to have some stock ready and waiting for that perfect project you have in mind. Hope this helps someone, I'm sure many other woodworkers do the same. Now, what kind of knife do I use for brain surgery, again?
Roly, working with wood since 1948 and loving it.
Folks have asked, "Where do you get such nice wood that is suitable to build with?" (Oops, I ended a sentence with a preposition) Come to find out, when they needed a 2x2 or 1x3, they would only buy the size needed to fit the bill. More often than not, this kind of selection will only net a weathered, crooked, rock-hard hunk of stuff that just came off of the woodpile, that is so wet, it may have floated down from the Northwest woods..
I have found, while strolling through Lowes or Home Depot, I usually check the lumber racks for fresh supplies of 1x12 pine boards or nice and clear, straight 2x4 eights. Weather I need them or not, I pick out what suits me, usually old growth, fairly knot-free white pine, even if it has a split or some bark at the end. Quarter-sawn pine is most favorable and when it arrives in my shop, it's placed on stickers to air-dry without cupping.
Later, whenever I need a certain size piece of lumber, I always cut it off of a large board, selecting the most desired area that suits me best. Rarely is any lumber wasted, since jigs, glue-blocks, spacers, drawer backs, and even wood-turnings may be a project in the future. The same goes for the 2x4s, since the trusty old table saw can deliver any size I ask it to cut. (Here's where my new surface planer sure comes in handy, making the freshly sawn lumber dead smooth and exactly the right size).
Anyway, if you haven't considered this type of lumber selection, you might want to give it a try. It sure is nice to have some stock ready and waiting for that perfect project you have in mind. Hope this helps someone, I'm sure many other woodworkers do the same. Now, what kind of knife do I use for brain surgery, again?
Roly, working with wood since 1948 and loving it.
