I am replicating a tall Arts & Crafts clock I saw in a home. It is basically 24 slats of wood and a thin panel.
4 – 2 7/8 x 68 x 3/4″ uprights
8 – 2 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 3/4″ rails for the sides. They will have tenons.
8 – 2 7/8 x 17 1/2 x 3/4 ” cross pieces for the front and rear uprights. They will be half, half laps (only the uprights will be notched – 1/4″.)
2 – 3/4 x 17 1/2x 1/4″ vertical slats on each side.
1 – 12″ x 12″ x 1/2″ panel for the face clock.
I am fairly new to woodworking and have not milled lumber for a project before. I’ve only used s4s until now. I’ve done some minor hand planing.
I plan on using quarter-sawn oak. What I’d like to do is get one piece of wood large enough to cut all these pieces from. I haven’t figured out exactly what size that needs to be yet, but I’m guessing it’s a reasonable size piece. There’s no reason for me to want to do this other than it would be cool to me to start with one slab of wood and create one piece of work from it.
So, a couple of questions:
1. Will buying a large, single piece be much more expensive than buying a few smaller pieces? Will the coolness I’m seeking be quite a bit more expensive?
2. By cutting many pieces out of a large piece, will warping and other wood movements be greater than using a few smaller pieces? I could see where some of the pieces, especially the 3/4 x 1/4 slats might be cut from wood never exposed to air.
I live in Los Angeles where the humidity is low.
Thanks in adavance for any thoughts, suggestion & recommendations
David Israel
Edited 7/8/2005 5:22 am ET by Cinescout
Replies
Most hardwood yards charge one price up to 8" in width,by the board foot. You only need one small piece that would be a preium price, the clock face panel.I would buy the 8" or narrower widths and glue up the 12x12x1/2" piece from the narrower widths.Milling from one large piece is fine, for the amount you need the costs aren't that much more.
mike
Two things are common with D4S stock, it isn't consistent in the thickness and one side is often planed against the grain leaving pock marks. When ripping wide stock into narrow pieces, there can be some dynamic tension in the stock, called reaction grain. This can often mean that the board will bow when ripped. This can lead to pinching on the blade and is one reason splitters are used to prevent kick back. Instead of looking for one or two wide boards for the job, I would look for some narrower ones that are cut in a sequence from the same log. It's not unusual to find several boards in a lumber stack that are stacked as they were cut from the log. If you choose to use some wide boards, just make sure you have some extra, just in case it goes south on you after ripping.
I taught adult woodworking classes for many years and the one thing that was common among my students, was not having enough wood for the project. They often figure their stock to the square inch and don't have enough extra to do set ups and practice cuts or a back up if a mistake is made or a piece reacts. Take the time at the lumber yard to select your wood carefully. Pull it out of the rack, sight down the length and check both faces. If you find a nice sequence of four or five boards and you only think you need three, get all of them.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hi Cinescout,
Other than the "can I do it" factor, I'd not try to use one board...expense, greater probability of warping, etc (in terms of how much jointing/planing that you'll have to do to get a wide, long board flat and square).
You also can't be sure that pieces from different parts of the same board will match...wood is wood.
I'd pick narrower pieces and carefully match them.
Aesthetically, I like some slight variation in color/grain..otherwise I'd work in plastic or some material taht was consistent.
Good luck, have fun and be safe!
lp
greater probability of warping, etc
Probability is about 98% bad cutting up a big slab..... I do that and it ALWAYS warps, twists or something...
Edited 7/8/2005 3:46 pm ET by Will George
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