I’m going to buy wood from a local millworks for the first time. They offer, at a price, to mill the wood to thickness. I have a 6″ jointer and 12″ planer, but need wood wider than 6″. I figured on having them milling it to thickness. The question I have, will the wood cup or warp? The wood comes from unheated storage and will be stored in an unheated garage.
Any advise before I purchase the wood, would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
It's likely you'll experience movement as it comes into equilibrium with your shop. I doubt your mill will straighten the lumber before they plane it and they'll probably give you a 13/16" finish thickness on 4/4 lumber. By the time you go back and straighten, flatten and properly prepare your stock you'll be lucky if you end up working with 3/4" material. My advise is to get a bigger jointer or learn to prepare one face of your wider material with hand planes. The latter is pretty easy and quick for non-production settings.
Firewood, I'd agree with Larry's comments. Whether you buy stock rough or S2S is sort of a mixed bag. If it is milled S2S before you make the buy, it is easier (especially for beginning woodworkers) to spot serious defects and get a better feel for how much of each board will be usable for the project you have in mind.
On the other hand, because the stock will be experiencing change(s) in environment, it's always best to do the final milling after the wood has acclimated...and preferably just prior to assembly. The benefits are: 1) you have maximum thickness to work with, 2) there is less likelihood of the surface being damaged in storage and/or 3) all of the parts used in the piece will be starting off with their fresh cut appearance (pigmentation), rather than partially oxidized and on their way to their long term patina. This is especially important with some species, like cherry....not that the parts won't eventually attain long term patina, but that it is harder to match the parts for similar initial pigmentation, if the surfaces you are looking at are of varying levels in their patina development.
...So, I guess the moral here is, storing wood at its maximum thickness is always the best way to go, IF buying it in the rough doesn't; A) compromise making a good purchasing decision...and/or; B) you aren't limited in terms of the time and tools to do your own surfacing.
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