Dimentioned Lumber, How far to go?

I think the problem is that you just have waaaay too much lumber.

but theoretically speaking – you could try to group together similar thickness boards for each project ,as to minimize the amount of planing down you’ll need to do. otherwise, if you’re not fancying resawing to save the material – the only other way is to plane it all down as waste.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Sharon: I know I have too much lumber, but I still want to save it all and not keep it for mulch.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

My wife likes to scrollsaw, so once I get my new bandsaw I’ll be resawing some of those 7/8” boards I have to 1/2” for me and 1/4” for her. Even if I didn’t have a use for it, I can’t bring myself to plane-away over 1/4” of wood if avoidable.

-- You're a unique and special person, just like everyone else.

That’s some of my feeling also Greg. I hate to keep running the board through a planer to get to an arbitrary number.

If I was into making chairs it would probably make a nice thick seat, or cut a curve for the back.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

its easier for me if my wood is 3/4…

you could solve this quandry by just giving it all to me…heheheh

Seriously though, I think you just need to take it on a project by project basis…you dont NEED to plane it down now, let it sit…let the project determine the thickness you need.

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

were you asking in general or for a specific purpose? some things it’s worth removing the extra material if the strength isn’t needed because it will lighten your project. While a dining room table may never move and extra thickness could be welcome, maybe a side table should stay light enough to carry by oneselfs. I don’t know why I’m giving you advice though. you know way more about this than me.

What I asking is really to try and determine if the design criteria of making everything 3/4 is what should be followed. I don’t want to require a moving van to come and visit, when my wife wants to rearrange the furniture, but I also know that once the board is used in a piece of furniture, does it make any difference to me if I used it at a 1” thickness or a 3/4” thickness with 1/4” of shavings (The board is still gone).

I guess if I was making Baroque furniture I’d glue two of them together.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I think it boils down to what the design calls for. if the piece looks better with a 1” board as opposed to a 3/4” board – I’d go with a 1” board… and vice versa, while keeping the structural strength of the piece in mind.

if the design calls for a 3/4” board, and you have a 1 3/8” rough – it’s either resawing and keeping that extra for other purposes -what those are, I’m not really sure though – scroll work was suggested, maybe something else? OR plane it down as waste. I think that is the real question here right ? what could the extra be used for instead of waste?

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Kind of my point. Should it be shavings or kept on the piece being made.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

One additional thought I would add to this is that dimensioning to a particular thickness, i.e. 3/4, adds consistency to your woodworking, which comes in handy if jigs and router bit heights are to be taken into consideration. But, like you, I do not like converting hardwood into mulch, especially if it has some nice grain or coloring to it. But in order to be consistent from one project to another I will normally dimension to 13/16ths.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I read someplace that older (read- antique) furniture was almost always thicker than 3/4”. I guess our ancestors didn’t like making shavings either- especially by hand. What they did do was devise ways to make the piece “look” lighter and more elegant. Tapered legs, chamfered edges and dadoed backs for raised panels all contributed to the look of thinness while still using thicker stock.

So I guess what I’m saying is maybe there isn’t really a true standard but rather it is what you want to make it.

Lew

Karson, she don madder none. just make it pretty.

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I hope I’m understanding your question. If I had your problem, I would not dimension any lumber only to put it back in storage. I would dimension it as I needed it for a project.

-- I'm a lumberjock and I'm ok, I sleep all night and I work all day!

Peter advised me not to machine my walnut, after much debate… question is/was similar to yours. Machine it to 3/4 for typical use and put it back into storage until I’m ready for it… or leave as is until project develops?? Then, do the project according to design plan… not to the size of lumber I happen to have available. Note that my question surrounds the fact that I don’t own a planer or jointer… or wide flat table sander… so I must go hunt a friend.

Having said that… Peter and I worked my first small box… stuck with simple design, and it is turning out real nice. For my next box, I may need some of that lumber your talking about after you resaw it to half-inch for me… uh, friend? !!

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

I only skip plane all of my lumber and always use the thickest board possible and the drum sand it.

I have read if the woodworker uses non standard thinkness’s , ie, 3/4 inch then it will stand out from the crowd.

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Karson…If too much lumber is a problem you could send it my way. Its a lumber desert here in CA

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

in general , rough lmb. is within 1/8” comercialy ,
if i had 300 sq,ft. of a given stock ,
maybe 5 % or 10 % might be 1 3/8” ,
te rest being maybe even 1 3/16” ?
i would resaw the thicker boards in half , for 1/2” box parts or even thin raised panels .
and plane the thinner ones for strucctural pieces .
how many 300 sq. ft. tables do you plan on making ?
aside from extra work , wasting good wood is not our goal .
if you are lucky enough to have your wood milled consistently ,
i can see that it might be a problem ,
but as different mills have diferent tollerances and different suppliers may bring the same wood from different mills ,
it’s really on a board by board call .
alot of the early remodles i did , the framing was all 2”x4 ” rough , but it was consistent .
modern rough can be up to 3/8” different .
frankly i wish i had that problem , all the wood around here is pine ,
and could be any size ,
regardless of what they call it at the mills .

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Hi Karson!!..
If you don’t mind..I will share what I have seen when visiting fellow woodworkers and even my deceased friend Sam Maloof.. I noticed when I was able to get down and look @ his furniture closely when it was in his shop..that I usually saw his cabinet partitions still 3/4” thick unless it was something specific.. But alot of his tops were 1” thick except on dressers,table tops or other tops.. But I noticed in his latter years he was using 1” thick stock more and more..I don’t know if that was because he had so much of it..or if he was just changing his designs.. I personally think it all boils down to personal.preference..if you have thick stock..and it looks good and is stable and true..why not..if it looks better with thinner stock..so be it..me..if I had thicker stock..I would try and use it for tops or other surfaces..but just on tops or legs..otherwise..I might end up with a two ton table..lol

That’s just my 2 cents worth..

-- Randall Child

I think a bunch of us LJ’s ougth to get together and raid Karson’s stash of wood. Then he wouldn’t have to ask questions like this….................LOL

Karson, I have to agree with some of the others. Let the project dictate the size of the wood.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

Bob #2 I’ve skipped planed some wood to see what it looks like and to free up some space in my wood rack. 1/8” off 20 boards high means you can put another couple of boards in the same compartment. Also trying to level stack wood when they are all different thicknesses is real hard.

I like thicker tops and if I’m maker a Shaker table then the edge bevel gives it thinness. I guess for aprons it doesn’t make a hill of beans except a 1” thick apron in a leg that is 1 1/4 square would not be practical. So the aprons have to be able to work with the leg squareness.

Al come over and we’ll see what I have that night fit your requirements. See you at the LumberJock / Mason Dixon Woodworkers picnic Sunday.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

“I don’t like making extra shavings if it’s not usually required.” At a certain level this statement is a bit nonsensical, by default if the shavings were ‘required’ (for whatever reason) they wouldn’t be ‘extra’. The proper formulation of the question is at least half the battle in determining the correct answer. Perhaps if you were to determine why you ‘don’t like making extra shavings’ you might be able to answer your own question.

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of a artistic work...

Karson,
IMHO, I wouldn’t touch the lumber before the needed project came along and then I’d leave all the lumber as thick as I could. By that I mean if 1 1/8” wasn’t overpowering for my table top, then that is where I’d stop milling (assuming it was flat and square of course). I don’t see anything wrong with 7/8” aprons either, nobody said the the tenons had to be centered on the boards thickness. They could be offset to allow an adequate reveal couldn’t they. I realize this offset requires additional steps when cutting the tenons, but at least all my time wasn’t spent creating mulch! Just my opinion! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Sincerely,
Ken McGinnis

-- woodbutcher north carolina

Karson, I should have said that I don’t use proportional “golden rule ” metrics until I have the project on paper. As long as the stock is thick enough I just bring it in from there.
I have worked with enough “marginal ” thcknesses to know it’s a real pain. You are a lucky little man to have that choice. – cherish it.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I have one board that was a 1 X 12 1” thick. It was cupped and I planed it to a 3/8” board to get rid of the cup.

I stated to myself Never again. If a board was cupped that much and I needed that board I would hope that it was wide enough to rip it flatten it, joint it and glue it to amke 1 board. Or get another board that didn’t have that problem.

I worked on that one oak board just to see what it would take to make it flat. It was an experiment which provided some greate details in future job planning.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Hi buddy,

You always have these difficult problems to deal with. In theory, 4/4” lumber should be able to be dressed out to a finished thickness of 3/4” and be nice and straight. That’s in a perfect world, so it doesn’t always work out that way.

Personally, I like the thickness of 7/8” for pretty much everything, sides, drawer rails, doors, etc… and thicker stock for tops, maybe 1” to 1 1/8”

It’s sad to waste that much wood in the sake of getting a nice flat piece, not to mention the time and wear on the planer.

Like Ken, I also don’t surface any lumber until I’m ready to use it. The reason for that is wood still moves, so if you surface it and bring it to final thickness, by the time you go to use it, it may have warped further, or changed in thickness a bit, so all of your lumber won’t be the exact same thickness. This could lead to a problem in some areas, like stiles and rails.

When we surface lumber, we bring it to within 1/16” of final desired thickness, then sticker it up and leave it for a day or two, letting it acclimate to shop conditions.

Also, it’s best to remove approximately the same amount of lumber from both sides of the board, as the center will have a different moisture content.

I hope this helps out.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Thanks for the tips Lee. I’m not planning on doing anything to the wood now. I was just requesting info about living in a perfect woodworkers world. All boards are straight and true and they are perfectly matched for grain and color. So living in this perfect world means that I don’t have any defects that I need to cut around and I’m able to get perfectly correct width and length from all of my boards without having to visit my local lumberyard and waiting for 1 year per inch of wood to let it air dry to the correct moisture content.

So since everything is perfect and my teen aged son can bench press 300 lbs so he is able to help Mom to move her furniture around after I’ve built it with 1 1/8” tops and 7/8” drawer pieces.

I’m good with that. I like perfect worlds.

Every board in my shop with minor exceptions is all rough sawed, sawmill cut.The thickness is normally 5/4 and then possable dried to 1 1/8 or less. The stash that I was looking at is still 1 1/4 or thicker and it’s around 11% moisture going down. I’m blowing fans on it and it’s about 85 to 90 deg in the 2nd floor of my shop. So it will drop on MC some more. Most of the wood in the wood rack is between 7 to 9% MC. I’ve not noticed much wood movement in what I’ve used lately.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Karson I have 30 logs that I am going to get milled this summer and most of it is going to be 4/4. I am going to have some of the cherry and hard maple done to 5/4 and a little bit to 8/4. That way I will have some thicker stock to work with if I need it. The hemlock and poplar is all going to be 4/4 because it is good for inside use on cabinets. Most of the mills here when they cut for 4/4 normal cut it at 1 1/8 so when it drys you still have 1 inch.

Henry

-- alaskan79, Michigan

Karson, Why not resaw anything that produces 3/8 or better? I’m sure you could sell or gift it if you don’t need the thin stuff.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Don’t ask me I’m just lurking, reading the blogs. Good luck Karson ole buddy. Me, I luv thick wood of any kind.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

I take 4/4 to 3/4 calculation with a grain of salt. The idea of 3/4 comes from taking an entire palletload of 4/4 stock and choosing a size that all of the wood will be able to get to by tossing it piece by piece into a machine that will joint, plane, and square the stock. Your 4/4 rough cut is going to vary anywhere between 13/16 to 5/4 by the time you sort through a big batch.

Generally, I mill as thick as I can mill and still maintain 2 flat and parallel sides, embracing the extra as ‘free wood’. There are 4 reasons:

Post-Milling wood movement. The more wood you take off a board, especially if you can’t take it off perfectly evenly, the more opportunity for movement. If you have a 4/4 board that dresses out to 15/16th or 1” (it happens!) by only skimming the sides, you’ve reduced the risk of post-mill movement drastically.

There’s no reason to put the extra wear and tear on the planer. If you get to S2S and you’re still at 15/16” and you take off 1/16th per pass, you’re looking at tripling the board foot number that passes through your planer. Thats 1/3rd of the life of your blades!

Thicker stock generally makes for a strong project. This can be very useful to have in structural pieces. Thick sidewalls on shelves, chests, and thicker tops and aprons on tables can all be very nice. Use it when it adds to the appearance.

When I need precisely 3/4 stock, i’ll resaw off the spare lumber and keep it for a future project. (Makes neat veneer for drawer fronts on your shop tools!)

Karson, I don’t remember if you’re woodworking commercially or as a hobby (or ultra-high end commercial), but if it’s the latter, then I think that a lot of what I bring to the projects I build is a willingness to allow the wood to dictate the project, and to pick wood specific to places in the project.

I’m not all that prolific, and I still end up doing a lot of sorting and sifting to make sure that, of the stock I’ve got, the grain I’m putting in a particular place makes sense, and sometimes I’ll change a dimension so that I can show off a pattern that’s a little wider or narrower than it’d be if I were building every cabinet or shelf to exactly the same width, so if I’ve got stock of different thicknesses, why wouldn’t I do the same for that?

There’s places where that extra quarter of an inch could make a great subtle curve, or, as others have pointed out, a thicker top, and I believe that getting outside of that “everything must be 3/4” thick” feeling helps make it plain that this isn’t just veneered particle board from Ikea, it’s a one-off piece created in collaboration with the particular materials I chose to make it out of.

Yeah, that means that jigs and setups don’t always work without modification, that I have to be more careful with measuring, and that sometimes I get forgetful and have to make further refinements as the project comes along because it doesn’t quite fit where I’d planned it to, but that’s why I’m making it myself, and not just buying it from someone who’s got their process wired and is turning out a gazillion identical pieces day after day.

And for that cupped 12×1, rather than shaving it ‘til it got flat, I’d be looking at places where I could use the cup as a design element. Build a jig so that the tenons cut in the end are flat and square to the piece you’re joining to, and let the shape of the wood have its own say.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke