Replies

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | May 10, 2001 06:37am | #1

   *
   Ian,

   FWIW, I very rarely order my stock rough. I order my hardwood stock 2S1E. Remember, when speaking about dimensions in hardwood, 4/4 stock surfaced on both sides will be from 13/16ths to 7/8ths in actual thickness, depending on the mill from which it comes from. That gives you anywhere from 1/16th to 1/8th to rid the piece of milling marks. So, if you are milling rough 4/4 stock through your planner down to 3/4" that is a considerable amount of waste in terms of material. As you are finding out, it is also not very cost efficient.

   A planer will not take the twist out of a board and in many cases won't take a cup out of one either. The only way to square a board is with a hand plane or very skillful use of the jointer.

   Since my supplier and I have a very good working relationship, I can order stock sight unseen with total confidence. I am a one man shop and space is at a premium so I don't carry any lumber inventory and can get anything I need within 2-3 days.

   Dano

1. 
   Ron_Brese | May 10, 2001 02:40pm | #2

   *b From the Workshop of Ron BreseIan, I order all my stock rough and I do spend a good bit of time processing stock as a result. I find that this is the only way I can get stock straight, flat and still have enough thickness to work with to produce the type parts I need for my pieces. I have found that most material that comes surfaced from the supplier still has the same twist and bows that were in the board to begin with. You could buy surfaced stock one size thicker than you need to allow for flattening and straight, however once you flatten and straighten it you then have to plane the opposing surface to maintain consistent thickness. By the time you do all this you may as well have started with rough stock. The other problem is that piece parts cut and ripped from boards hardly ever hold their original shape, in fact I usually give these parts at least over night to relax and come to their final shape before working them back to flat and straight, therefore I need the extra thickness to allow for this.Ron

1. 
   ian_cummins | May 11, 2001 02:09am | #3

   *Ron and Dano, Thanks for your thoughts on this. Dano, I'm guessing you live in Pennsylvania or NY or some other hardwood rich state? You're fortunate to have such a cooperative supplier. I can't imagine 2 day service. I live in the land of pulpwood trees (Georgia) where hardwood is a kin to gold. Select 4/4 cherry is $6.80 here so I've been ordering from N.Carolina @ $4.50. Even with shipping I think I'm better off ordering even though I don't get to pick it. I do see your point about having the mill remove some of waste but the boards I'm getting have special needs, i.e too much twist, too much sapwood so I guess I'll put up with the shavings. Ron, I have been jointing and planing in steps to let the wood relax a bit between beatings and yes I have noticed new cupping, bowing etc. even the next day. Glad to hear I'm not alone.

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | May 11, 2001 04:58am | #4

   *Ian,Actually, I live in Southern Oregon. But I have been lucky in finding a couple of good suppliers. About a month ago I ordered some Gaboon Ebony and got it the next day, I was surprised on that one.Dano

1. 
   Ron_Teti | May 18, 2001 04:35am | #5

   *I like Dano order my wood s2e1 like dano .i save a lot of time that way . i fourtunately have a few hardwood and hardware suppliers here with a great invetory. I get to search thru the stacks of lumber picking my own out. that really helps with matching grain and selecting the most ecomonical lumber:the widths/lengths I need so I dont have more than i need with minimal ripping and glue ups ect.

2. 
   Dan_Bloomer | Jul 25, 2001 09:49pm | #6

   *Depends on the job. My supplier in Boston uses a high tech Stratoplaner and mt'l comes through pretty well. But if straight and flat is the bottom line I do all my flattening and jointing myself. I regard a 12" jointer as a bottom line necessity. Don't forget that when you rip that piece of pre-milled mat'l with tension in it, you no longer have the extra thickness to work with to straighten it out again. Many situations require the mat'l to be rough sized to dimension plus 1/4" to 3/4" in order to be fairly sure of getting a straight piece at required size