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Advice for a noob

1K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  DanHigham 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey all,

My name is Dan and I am just starting out with woodworking. I have my shop set up now where I feel like I could confidently build something decent and structurally sound (I have built a few small projects for my shop). I decided to build an entryway bench that will also incorporate a couple of draws and I wanted to share the design and hopefully get some advice on whether I am planning this out the right way. This is my design so far.

Wood Rectangle Musical instrument Line Parallel


All the legs and spreaders would be joined with mortise and tenon joints and then I planned to dovetail the draws.

I guess my main questions are;

1) Does this look over-engineered?

2) The legs and spreaders are 8/4 and 6/4 respectively before planing down to thickness. I know a lot of lumber places will sell "project packs" of 4/4, do you think it's worth buying one of those and then just laminating or should I buy the actual dimensions?

3) Broad question, but, where do y'all buy lumber from? I'm in Oregon and I was looking at woodworkerssource.com because they deliver and I don't own a truck to go and hit up local lumber places.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, i'm chomping at the bit to get started but I want to make sure I get it done right!
 

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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello, DanHigham!

Over-engineered? NO, looks good to me. Project-Pack? NO … too much work. You'd be better off with 8/4 and 6/4 for the frame. Lumber? Hmmm … I'm in Georgia with a great little saw mill that delivers. Surely there is one of those in your area … look around! If you decide to go the Internet route … check out Badger Hardwoods in Wisconsin … great folks! They deliver through UPS … got a shipment a few years ago. They are very reasonable! Good luck.

Keep it up!
 
#5 ·
The structure is fine but you could park a car on that thing. It will be fine in a large space but might be overbearing in a average house.

- Rick M
Thanks for the comment Rick, that's my one concern is that it could look a little chunky but at the same time I don't feel confident building it any other way (at the moment). It's actually only 60" x 16".
 
#6 ·
Since your longest piece is looks to be less than 30", you might want to just carry a handsaw with you to the local yards. Then you can rough cut down the lumber to fit into your car. There is not a lot of lumber in you design and with some creative packing, I'm sure you could fit it into anything larger than a Smart Car.
 
#7 ·
Check Woodfinder.com Put in your zip code and the miles you're willing to travel and you'll find whatever local sources are available and also known to woodfinder. Your future path in this hobby though will lead you to prefer to get rough lumber and mill your own stock, which does begin to build the argument for a jointer and a planer. I know much can be done with handplanes but power is nice too. These tools would come out at the beginning of a project and then could be stored once you've done your final milling after acclimation, it is SO very much easier to work with the wood when you're not fighting the cups, twists, and bows from the S4S stock not being well stored or having it move once it's gotten used to the weather in your shop.
 
#8 ·
Ideally, I buy rough lumber direct from the sawmill (of course that won't work if you don't have a way to mill it). One huge advantage is the possibility of getting lumber that comes from the same tree.

Finding decent furniture grade lumber is a big challenge in my area (NE FL). Most all you find is surfaced lumber for cabinet makers for milling into moldings, face frames, etc. You have to be patient and find a place that will let you look through the lumber. Luckily I have a couple like that in my area. You also have to be patient and not be rushed. Many a time I have pawed through a whole lift of lumber and didn't find enough suitable material for a project.

Bottom line I think you have to be dedicated to finding quality suppliers and willing to travel. My next project is a trestle dining table of oak. I have located a sawmill in NC that quarter saws white oak in 5/4. I will have to make a 900 mile round trip to get it. I would never order lumber sight unseen except for veneer. I've not had any luck with woodfinder in finding any sawmills.

Overall the design looks good. What are you making the bench top of? If it is dimensional lumber you can't pin it between the leg tenons you have to allow for movement.
 
#9 ·
What are you making the bench top of? If it is dimensional lumber you can t pin it between the leg tenons you have to allow for movement.
Honestly I don't know what I am going to use for the top, if I could find some kind of slab for ok money, that would be pretty sweet. But right now, i'm not even sure what species to use for the frame drawers! I am going to leave a little room for movement around the tenons and then make up some cleats to hold it in place. I think I am slowly coming to the realization that rough lumber is the way to go and it's so much cheaper! I have a planer already but will probably get a bench top jointer too.
 
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