I know this statement is usually based on the fact that we feel we don’t have the woodworking experience to warrant using expensive wood to build a project, that we may mess up and then we wasted a good piece of wood for nothing. I’ve seen this excuse used with woodworkers that have actually been building for awhile but still lack the confidence to spend some money to buy beautiful lumber instead of shelving boards to build a project.

So let me make something perfectly clear before continuing; there is no right or wrong answer for this, but there are definitely two totally different ways of thinking about choosing lumber for a project (especially in the beginning). I’ve always been on the opposite side of the fence with this one. I’ve always felt that if I allowed myself to think that way, then I was giving myself an excuse to fail or screw up.

This started very early for me, in fact when I was in 9th grade shop class. We were to design and draw a set of plans for a project we would build later in the school year in wood shop. I drew a set of plans for a shelf unit to hang on the wall with 3 small drawers along the bottom. Later when I started wood shop, my instructor ask me what type wood I was going to make it from. We had a choice of pine, poplar or a wood called obeece.(looks a lot like Mahogany). Most of the other students where building their projects with poplar because it was cheap and easy to work with. Nope, not me, I decided I wanted to work with the obeece. I really liked the looks of the wood and since nobody else was using it, I had the best selection to pick from. It was more expensive then either the pine or poplar and I believe my teacher even tried to talk me out of it since this was really my first serious woodworking project, but I had no intention of failing and I was going to give it my best shot not to mess up or ruin any of the wood.
Here’s the moral of the story; You can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear! The project turned out great because I took my time and made sure I thought out each process of building before I cut anything. At the end, I was very proud of my project and my Mom loved it.

Remember I said I built that project when I was in 9th grade, well I’m 63 years old now and when my Mom passed away this past October, I took that shelf down from her den and it’s now in my home. (and I’m still proud of it!).
I never regretted building it with expensive wood, but I would have kicked my ass if I had spent all that time and effort and built it with some cheap wood. I’m just saying…...Don’t let the lack of confidence make you choose what lumber you build a project with, but let it motivate you to do the very best you can and you’ll probably surprise yourself.

Over the years, I’ve realized there are a lot of reasons we may choose a certain wood for a particular project. It may be for strength, durability, color, beauty and yes, even the cost factor, but let’s hope that’s because of other reasons then just the lack of confidence in our abilities.

What else is important when choosing your lumber for a project? Selection, quality, variety and the ability to hand select my own lumber are all important factors for me. The big box stores don’t give you much choice when it comes to different species of hardwoods. Your hobbyist woodworker stores like Woodcraft may give you a little more variety of hardwoods, but your selection in each species is usually pretty limited and you do pay a premium for their lumber.

It will take some searching and time to find a real lumber yard that carries a good selection of hardwoods, exotic woods and sheet goods, but it’s well worth the effort. That’s why I’ve always enjoyed buying lumber from the Hardwood Store in Gibsonville, NC. When I first started woodworking, one of the hardest things I had to learn was where to buy lumber and supplies. Finding a reputable lumber dealer should be one of your first priorities if you plan on doing much woodworking at all, even as a hobbyist.

When I’m selecting lumber for a project, I’m looking for a number of things from each board. I want as much consistency in color from one board to the other, I’m looking at grain pattern and/or figure. I’m not real particular with width, as long as it’s not ridiculously narrow or way too wide. I’ll forgive a little warp, twist or bow if it’s got great color or grain pattern. It’s it’s not too bad, I’ve learned to work around some defects. Speaking of which, even if a board has a bad spot right in the middle of it, if the rest of the board has the color and grain I’m looking for I’ll consider it. One thing I’ve learned over the years is to buy a little more lumber then you might have figured in your plans. If I figured I need 90 to 100 bd. ft. of Cherry to build a project, I will probably pick out 115 to 125 bd ft. just to be on the safe side.

I would much rather have a little lumber left over at the end of a project, then have to try to squeeze some scrape lumber into my project to finish it or even worse, having to go get more lumber to even finish the project. If I have 10, 15 or even 25 bd ft. of lumber left over from one project, you can bet your bottom dollar it will get put to good use down the road. It’s always handy to have a piece or two of different hardwoods available at any given time.

Once I select my lumber and get it back to the shop, I start the selection process all over again. I like to lay out all my lumber so I can see all the boards at once and select which boards I’m going to use for each part of the project. For example; if my project has a lot of raised panel doors and drawer fronts like a set of kitchen cabinets or even a large wall unit or home entertainment center, I would pick out the lumber I want to use for the panels since that will be making the biggest statement when looking at the front of the project. I want the most consistent color and grain pattern for those so when everything is built the wood flows nicely from one door or drawer front to another and one cabinet to another. Next I’ll pick out the lumber for the stiles and rails for the doors trying to keep color as close as possible to the lumber I picked out for the panels and drawer fronts. The grain pattern won’t be quite as important for these since they will only be a few inches wide and usually have a profile around the edge, so the grain doesn’t show up as much. Next would be the stiles and rails for the cabinets and finally moldings, etc. I will even mark each board with chalk so I can keep track during the building process.
Another thing I will do and I’m sure a lot of shops won’t do because it’s not the most effective way to use your lumber, but if I find a board that I really like the grain pattern in the middle, but the rest of the board is just so so, I’ve been known to take that piece right out of the middle of a board so I can use it for a door panel or something that I feel the grain pattern will highlight the best. I can always use the rest of the board for something small and insuffinicant elsewhere. Sometimes not the best use of wood, but as long as I get the look I’m looking for, then it’s worth it. I don’t waste wood, just selectively use it elsewhere.

That brings me back to what I said earlier about sometimes buying a board that may be a little warped or twisted simply because the color and grain is what I’m looking for. If it’s not too bad, then a lot of times you can either straighten it out when you get to the shop or work around it. Example: I always cut my long stiles (whether it’s for a door or cabinet front) from the flattest, straightest boards I have. A lot of times, the rails are so short that you can work around a board that has a small amount of bow or warp to it. That’s why I like to select the different lengths because I would much rather work the bow or warp out of a shorter board then trying to work it out in a 8 or 10 ft. board first and then cut it down to shorter lengths anyway, besides, if the board has much bow or twist then you will end up having to take way too much off from a long board to get it flat.

Also going back to what I mentioned earlier about buying more lumber then the project may call for gives me a chance to pick out a board or two that is really different then anything else in the pile. I’ve found some really awesome boards in the middle of a bundle of lumber. There may be only one board like it, so it’s almost impossible to use it in a bigger project, but I love adding something like that to my order just to have for making a special box or an accent piece.( for the really fun projects).

I realize most of the projects I’ve built have been large and requires a larger quanity of lumber then maybe what you would normally use doing a project or two as a hobbyist, but I’ve also built hundreds of small projects and I like to be just as fussy about picking my lumber for those also.

I’ll finish by challenging you to try this if you are a beginning woodworker and have been a little intimidated by using more expensive lumber on a project. I would challenge you to pick a very small project (maybe a small box) and buy a really nice piece of lumber and build it for a friend or loved one. Take your time, keep it simple and let the beauty of the wood make the statement. It will make you feel good and I’ll guarantee they will love it.

Nothing like a “tailgate party” to get to meet new friends and talk woodworking.

Jerry (Cabinetmaster) cooked us up some hot dogs and hamburgers to go with the macoroni salad, baked beans, chips and I found out “after” we left, there was desert! Tracy informed me that after we ate, we got so involved in talking “woodworking” that none of us guys even notice the deserts. We seemed to be more interested in looking at the bowls and cutting boards that Jerry brought and talking woodworking then worrying about food. LOL

Check out these bowl that Jerry turned. He had a really cool collection, but I have to show you one of my favorites.

I brought a few small projects to show -n- tell, a couple band saw boxes and the steam engine I did for my Dad (posted some pictures of that a couple months ago). I also brought a few pieces of Wenge along that I had left over from the last project I did, to give anyone that might want to try some. Jerry brought two large drawer boxes full of turning blanks to give to anyone interested. Thanks Jerry!

Here’s our mug shot! left to right

Jerry (cabinetmaster), Bill (BHawk), Scotty (SgtSnafu), John (Huff) and Ken (Woodbutcher)

I’d like to give a special Thanks to Jerry and Bill for organizing such a great get-together. They really did a great job.

I also wanted to tell you a little about High Point, NC and also Valspar ( who was kind enough to allow us to have our picnic there and David King from Valspar taking the time to give us a tour and tell us a little history of the company and how they are involved in the global market today. Bill (BHawk) was our inside man getting this all organized (He works for Valspar)

I was told Valspar has been in business since 1806 making finishes (That’s right, over 200 years). High Point is known as the Furniture Capital of the World. It used to be because of all the furniture manufacturing that was done in High Point, but now it’s because of the International Furniture Market that shows twice a year. Manufacturers of furniture from all over the world showcase their new lines there and wholesale buyers from around the world come to High Point to make their purchases. Most of these manufacturers have showrooms in High Point year round.
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David was telling us that most of the Brand name furniture manufacturers we are familar with has moved their operations overseas, so for Valspar to continue making finishes for them, they have become a global Company, even though they still do their manufacturing here, they ship worldwide.

Anyway, all that being said, Tracy, Lauren and I did get a chance to go downtown for a little while and stroll thru a couple of the furniture stores. After only a couple stores and thousands of pieces of furniture, I realized there are hundreds and hundreds of these showrooms in High Point and had a hard time grasping the fact there is so much mass manufactured furniture out there. That’s why I enjoyed my day with the other LJer’s, simply knowing we do it one at a time!!!!!! and we do it for the love of Woodworking. We are a special breed…..and something to be proud of.

I would recomend that anyone that knows of a Lumber Jocks gathering near them, they should take the time to go and meet the other LJer’s. It was so nice to put a face to the names. Their post and projects are going to mean so much more to me now. Thanks again to Jerry and Bill. Well done!

First challenge was distance, thank goodness for the internet, fax machines, e-mails and unlimited long distance calling on my phone. No real problem there.

Second challenge was the designer gave the home owner and myself a simple hand sketch of what he wanted (no dimensions, no confirmed details, but was very adiment about how he wanted it to look) Here’s the finished project. The designer and the home owner love it (the home owners are so proud of the designer)

The next photo will show the Fire box in and the two cabinets that went above it. If you look closely, you can see the alcove and the false front I had to frame in to overlap the opening at the top. Also,the Firebox was not centered in the opening (designer decided it would line up better with the rest of the room if the Firebox was moved 4 1/2” off center) Remember…....Sanity! That was the real challenge.

Third challenge was when I went to the job site to get field measurements….. this was great. Let me quickly fill you in on what they wanted to accomplish and where they wanted it to go. They wanted to build in a fire box,with a huge Marble Mantle surround, with a 60”TV mounted above that with cabinets for stereo equipment, speakers and storage on each side with large columns to cap off each end. (All to fit in an alcove so it would fit flush with the wall) Sounded simple enough, right? Wrong!

Fourth challenge was with everything the designer drew, using the actual dimensions of the fire box, mantle,TV, stereo equipment, storage and the columns ended up being about 4 ft. wider and almost 2 ft. taller then the alcove itself. BTW, all the walls are concrete so no moving them (We’re at the coast, so not uncommon to have concrete construction).

Challenge five…...from that one sketch, it was up to me to make it work and look exactly the way he wanted. Are we having fun yet?

Challenge six…...Sanity! would I have any left by the time this is over?

I’m losing count of the challenges, but another factor I always have to deal with is, I’m a one man shop, so I try to engineer everything where I can handle and install pretty much by myself. I did get my neighbor to help me one day to set the larger upper sections, but other then that, All the woodwork was installed by myself.
I set the outer cabinets (minus doors) If you hadn’t noticed, the upper doors on the cabinets where 8 ft. tall with 3 sections of Antique Mirrors for inserts and large light fixtures mounted in the center section of each door. I actually needed help hanging the doors (7 hinges per door).

The left side of the unit was wide enough to handle the stereo equipment with plenty of storage above, but on the right side the cabinet was narrow, but did allow enough room for the sub-woofer and lots of CD storage above. You can see that the face of the cabinets where beginning to overlay the walls.

Now the Columns, Capitals, Crown and Base was all a false front but had to look like it was all part of the main unit. This was all built in my shop and installed on site.

Did I happen to mention, the designer is the homeowners son and he’s never been to design school, but trying to make it in New York City? How’s that for the Challenge of the day? All ended well and everyone is happy.

This was a challenging build and install, tested my patience and resolve, but I will have to admit, it was also a lot of fun.
The last couple notes of interest: I was not the first Company to start this project. The first Company tried working with the designer for a couple months trying to get detailed plans and finally gave up.

Lumber Jocks has become my quiet place of sanity. Love everyone’s projects and can’t believe all the talent that’s out there. Thanks for sharing.