# Low Budget Quarter Sawn Out Of Construction Lumber At The Box Store



## Chocdog

I have done the same thing for some shop carts. Although I do buy mine at a lumber yard in Ann Arbor.
The selection has proved better than the BORG. Their lumber is stored outside under cover, so it seems to be less wet and I have not had any noticeable moves like I did with the stuff at the BORG. With a little planning you can definitely get some nice straight grained and clear pieces from their 2 X 12's


----------



## TObenhuber

Thanks for reading my post and commenting. I appreciate it.


----------



## rhybeka

Great post, Kurt! Being that the big blue BORG is closest to me, I have fairly decent luck with their 2x. Not so much a fan of their 1x just because of price but it's not bad either.


----------



## eruby

I second your "wife proofing" sketchup recommendation.
Also if your local BORG has maple boards it may be worth scanning the pile for figured or birds eye boards.


----------



## TObenhuber

Blue BORG, Orange BORG or Harbor Freight. You just have to know where to find the Gems.

eruby, maybe if I start feeling more adventurous I will take your Maple recommendation but for now I feel luck to be able take a bump up to the 2×12 rack. 

Thanks for reading guys & gals.


----------



## TheGreatJon

Wife proofing is essential for anything that will be used in our house. You don't need to be a beginning to get good use out of construction lumber. My wife wanted our daughters room done "shabby chic" so it was all going to be painted. Therefore, there's nothing but construction lumber, MDF, and plywood in that room, and it looks fantastic.

I keep a little stockpile of straightish construction lumber right next to my hardwoods. It all gets used eventually.


----------



## TObenhuber

> You don t need to be a beginning to get good use out of construction lumber. My wife wanted our daughters room done "shabby chic" so it was all going to be painted. Therefore, there s nothing but construction lumber, MDF, and plywood in that room, and it looks fantastic.


I 100% agree its not only for beginners. Stuff is great especially at that price. Cleans up very well, with the right finish can be very nice and from what I have done so far 2x material can be very strong. 2x's can also last through some tough abuse with some decent construction.

I was simply stating that for the price it can be a great low cost step up for those on a tight budget. Like me and others new to woodworking trying to get their feet wet.

Thanks for reading Jon. I really appreciate the insight.


----------



## davidrvanallen

Simple and functional. Thank you!
you can read about safe tip for drill press


----------



## dakotawood

I'm right there with you in regards to Sketchup and getting the boss lady's approval! It's the only way I can truly show her what's in my head for ideas. And, it really is like building a mock up, without building a mock up. You can totally see the dimensionality (is that a word?!) of the whole project.

And I too scored some nice doug fir from HD for some of my shop furniture. Cheap, straight, and actually pretty once I put a wiping varnish on.


----------



## TObenhuber

dakotawood, thanks for the comments.

I laughed at your probably more accurate description.


> the boss lady s approval!


----------



## jonah

While you can make decent stuff out of construction lumber from big box stores, none of the pieces you picture are quarter-sawn. One of them looks like it has the pith in it.

I've found local lumberyards to be much better sources for construction lumber, with mostly equivalent prices to the big box places. Lots of them will even load stuff up for you.


----------



## jar944

> none of the pieces you picture are quarter-sawn. One of them looks like it has the pith in it.
> 
> - jonah


The bottom board in the 2nd pic will be QS/rift once ripped along the pith. IMHO for this technique to yield QS (or in this case vertical grain) you want to only choose boards containing the pith, ideally in the center.


----------



## TObenhuber

> While you can make decent stuff out of construction lumber from big box stores, none of the pieces you picture are quarter-sawn. One of them looks like it has the pith in it.
> 
> I ve found local lumberyards to be much better sources for construction lumber, with mostly equivalent prices to the big box places. Lots of them will even load stuff up for you.


While there is no disagreeing with you that industrial lumber yards are not taking the time to Quarter saw anything. That simply wouldn't make economic sense when there are computers attached to lumber mills calculating the highest efficiency to minimize waste. There its all about making money.

The part I disagree with is saying that there are no quarter sawn sections or pieces.



> Lets start with a definition, quarter sawn lumber is the angle that the annular growth rings intersect the face of the board. However there is little agreement what exactly that angle is. Most define it as between 60 - 90 degrees, although others define it as between 75 - 90 degrees or 45 - 90 degrees. When cutting this lumber at the sawmill, each log is sawed at a radial angle into four quarters, hence the name.


Credit to Hardwood Distributor's Association Website for the quote.

If you look in the middle of that picture. I simply cut the pith out. That means that the 2 or 3 inches around the pith you are seeing in my picture are counted as waist. I have cut that part out as you can see in my laminated table top. Except the far right of the picture, the predominated portion of the top is for all intensive purposes quarter sawn. It displays a straight grain pattern and has all of the characteristics of Quarter Sawn without having wasted the rest of the tree.










Looking at the diagram. The two cuts that would intersect the pith would be essentially the same as the 2×12 material from the BORG. Except, I have to manually cut the pith out and it doesn't come that way from the store. I guess some sacrifices must my made to be obtainable on a budget like mine. If you know lower cost alternative, I am always looking and have open ears.

Interesting point about the lumber yard. I still need to find one close to me. It's just so convenient having a BORG less than a mile away and never having to get on any major road. Not taking any major roads is important in my case since I use my wife's roof rack as a make shift pickup truck.

Thanks for your comments Jonah. I appreciate the dialogue.


----------



## TObenhuber

One more note: If the boards still have the pith they could still be at least Rift Sawn according to this diagram as well. I mean, still the lumber yard didn't intentionally do any of these waist full techniques but it did wind up producing a few boards with similar traits. You just have to be picky.












> The bottom board in the 2nd pic will be QS/rift once ripped along the pith. IMHO for this technique to yield QS (or in this case vertical grain) you want to only choose boards containing the pith, ideally in the center.
> 
> - jar944


Great point jar944, I need to next time be pickier and choose the ones that are as centered as possible. This batch all were just maybe an inch or two off center making the milling process marginally trickier.

Cheers all and thanks for the interesting comments.


----------



## Ocelot

I remember about 15 years ago, when I didn't have a truck, I used to stick my lumber out the sun roof and down into the passenger's side wheel well. I was building a large wall unit (12.5' wide by 8' tall) and had build a base for it (which would not be seen) out of construction lumber. I couldn't find a 14' 2×4 that would lay flat on the floor. I went back and bought a carefully selected 14' 2×10 (which you can imagine sticking out of my sun roof). I ripped 2 2×4s out of it which had no knots at all and were perfectly flat and straight. We don't get fir much over here in the southland, so I think it was SYP.

-Paul


----------



## Thuzmund

Matthias Wandel (of interweb fame) says that buying wider boards and cutting 2×4s out of them will result in straighter lumber. Probably because you are essentially milling the wood again. But of course it makes sense that a big board is more likely to include the pith, and so is more likely to include quartersawn sections like the OP is talking about here.

I think the bib box stores have quartersawn boards only by accident-they are plain-sawing logs, which results in one or two boards from the middle of the log being quartersawn. So it is worth the time to pick the boards that won this lottery!


----------



## TObenhuber

Agreed. I am a huge fan of Matthias and his crazy contraptions. Especially the baby related ones of late.

This method does cause a lot of waist but the outside 4 or 5 inches have been great for me so far. I do need to learn to let it dry a bit before trying to do anything serious though. I have seen some slight movement with the stuff straight from the store.


----------



## Tugboater78

Would love to have DF 2×6-12. Iike the look of it over SYP but i live in a SYP dominated area. Though closest HD carries DF 2×4s and 4×4s. i have amazingly found lots of good 1/4 and rift sawn of those, always pick up a few whether i need or not if i am there in the truck.

Stock is way better overall compared to the blue box, which is 15 miles closer..


----------



## TObenhuber

I did recently move from the Pacific Northwest to the DC area. I was very nicely surprised to see the same stock. Having seen the DF in real life, I was definitely incline to use it.

Do any of the SYP in your area have the quarter sawn or rift sawn material mentioned above? I have used the white wood in a similar fashion and it looked great with a good finish.

Thanks for your comment Tugboater78.


----------



## Powertools

Thank you for your good contribution. I have learned a lot. 
You can read about safe tip for router table


----------



## TObenhuber

Thanks dude!!!


----------

