Replies

1. 
   bigfootnampa | Nov 23, 2008 05:25pm | #1

   Well a straight end to end butt joint would be useless.  You could scarf shorter boards to get longer ones (it's done all the time in boat shops).  I'd say it's an extreme measure though... it would be far easier to buy more lumber... especially considering that you are not already posessed of the skills and tooling required.

1. 
   firecook | Nov 25, 2008 05:45pm | #5

   Thank you for your time and advise....this seems like the right thing to is buy more lumber and learn off my mistakes.....roug unmilled lumber is above my skills now....to much waste..I'll leave it to the woodwright on tv....thanks again

1. 
   bigfootnampa | Nov 26, 2008 03:15am | #6

   Great but don't toss what you've got out.  Just use it for smaller projects.  It sounds to me like your biggest problem was selection, not neccessarily the work up into S4S stock.

2. 
   Dave45 | Nov 23, 2008 06:13pm | #2

   Butt joining the ends of boards isn't very strong, and you'll probably still need to dress the edges to get them straight. You'll almost certainly see the joints unless you're using an opaque stain/finish, or paint.

   If this is for a stained & finished table top, I would just get enough eight foot pieces of dried, dimensioned, lumber to make up my top by edge gluing them together.

   Saw mill lumber isn't always the bargain it seems to be. It usually has to be stacked, stickered, and dried (which can take months), then it has to be milled to the "finished" dimensions. That can also take quite a bit of time since the lumber may need to "rest" between milling operations while machining stresses relieve and the newly exposed surfaces dry some more.

   Depending on the wood species, and how it's handled, it's easy to lose 25% - 30% of your lumber during the milling process.

1. 
   firecook | Nov 25, 2008 05:29pm | #3

   Thank you so much....yes I see going to a lumber yard for cut and (some what) even boards are the best deal. Raw lumber is above my skills now. Thanks again

1. 
   sykesville | Nov 25, 2008 05:39pm | #4

   The best wood I get is from a saw mill. However, the owner dries it in a kiln and sets it aside in a sales room separate from the green stuff. The quality and prices far exceed anything you get from a lumber yard. Lumber yard wood is normally intended for construction/framing and is wet and usually a bit twisted for the most part. At the saw mill, if you're buying green wood straight from the saw or wood which hasn't yet been adequately dried, that's not what you're looking for either. Hope this helps.

3. 
   kreuzie | Nov 26, 2008 06:59am | #7

   I'm like sykesville...I buy kiln dried hardwoods from a local sawmill.

   Don't try to work green wood if you're just starting out.

   My sawmill has about twenty species, as opposed to the two or three you'll find at the big box.

   kreuzie

    

1. 
   Yettiman | Dec 01, 2008 01:14am | #8

   Don'y Give up on Saw lumber too soon.

   No help to this project but I find it quite exciting to go from a rough board to a finished item.

   Just remember the advice.

   Dimention it at least 20% - 25% wider (across thew grain)than you need and at laest 12% longer (with the grain) After rough dimentioning. Then leave it too settle for several weeks (months if you have the time). Depending of the mosture content. I then plane it to a rough size and leave again for several weeks.

   Sounds wasteful, but I use the Waney offcuts for smaller projects and jigs, so not too bad.

   Hope this helps