Wood Basics

[ssmith1627]

Is there a good site to review wood types ? Or a book ?

I'm trying to just spend some time walking around Lowes and HD to see the various types and get accustomed to them. As well as learn the plywood terminology and that sort of thing. Forget building anything, I need to learn about wood first !

Just bought my BT3100 a month ago and I'm ready to get to work on a good bench but still trying to learn some of the basics in THEORY first before putting any into practice. Somehow my dad didn't teach me any of this....lol

Are larger pieces not available ? 4x4 and such ? Other than pressure treated.....I haven't seen anything.

Does 84 Lumber carry a larger assortment than a Lowes or HD ? Worth the trip ? One not too far from me here in Knoxville, TN....I'll drive the extra 10 miles if it's worth it.

Thanks for any feedback !

Steve S.

[MilDoc]

"Understanding Wood" by R. Bruce Hoadley

will tell you more about wood than you'll ever want to know. Check your library.

[ssmith1627]

Thanks much. I see they have it on Amazon for $23.

Steve

[JR]

Hi Steve,

I'll let others with good ideas help with the references to learning lumber.

Yes, it is probably worth walking around in 84 lumber, and especially talking to the counter guys. They will have a large selection of plywood, a good selection of moldings, and a probably a small selection of hardwoods. Oh yeah, they'll have loads of dimensional lumber for construction.

It would probably be helpful to have a couple of project ideas in mind. Nothing formal, just an end table or a shop cabinet concept. Talk it over briefly with a counter guy and he'll tell you what the prices are for your lumber/plywood choices. It's very educational.

JR

[LarryG]

Although I've not bought it yet, I've had my eye on "Woodworker's Guide To Wood" by Rick Peters for some time now. Main reason I've not bought it is because it contains a fair amount of basic information that I already know. For you, it might be perfect. $13.57 at amazon.com.

You don't buy woodworking materials at Lowe's and Home Depot. You buy construction materials at Lowe's and Home Depot. (Seriously, they do have a FEW things ... red oak and poplar at sky-high prices, MDF, two or three semi-decent kinds of plywood; but that's about it.)

[Tom Miller]

To take Larry's comment (don't look in HD/Lowes for your wood) one step further: first, find a hardwood supplier in the area. Before reading from alder to zebrawood, go see what's available, what's reasonably priced, and get some idea of what you like.

There's plenty of on-line resources, also, to learn about the properties of different wood species. For instance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_woods

Regards,
Tom

[LCHIEN]

The quick quide to lumber is that
HD and Lowes and their ilk have stocks of softwood pine for general purpose construction. Pressure treated is pine that has been saturated with chemicals to inhibit rot and insects, that is used for exposed outdoor construction and not furniture. They also have a short half of one side of one aisle with oak, and poplar which are hardwoods, and sometimes a cedar section.
Oak is a nice and common hardwood. Poplar is about half the price of oak and is much less desirable for the standpoint of color and stainability, so fine furniture is seldom made of poplar, but if you're going to paint it, you're OK to use this. Cedar is sued mostly for outdoor projects as its naturally resistant to water and insects.
The oak, poplar hardwoods are usually clear and planed 4 sides and fully dimensioned in limited sizes. WHile those are desirable, That makes it the most expensive way to buy wood and the prices reflect that. Often they are straight and flat but you have to beware of crooked pieces.

More experienced woodworkers buy hardwood from either woodworking specialty stores (like Rockler or Woodcraft) or hardwood lumber stores (look in the yellow pages under lumber and look for the key word "hardwoods" in the listing.)

Rockler and woodcraft have limited quantities and selection but maybe 20 or 30 types of wood. Its also usually planed 2 sides. The prices are debateable, sometimes they have monethly sales but usually its on the high side. Being planed its easy to see what you are buying.

Hardwood lumber stores vary. they often have large quantities of many types of wood, mostly rough cut and randowm widths and lengths which means you have to plane it and joint it yourself. Cheapest price and biggest selection but you have to do more work. Sometimes they do have a section with most popular woods planed 4S and dimensioned but this wood will carry a premium price.

I have also ordered wood by internet and eBay but the shipping costs usually equaled the price of the wood, and of course, you don't get to touch teh wood youself before getting it.

I know you asked for a book or reference, and maybe I'm one step ahead of you.
It would be worth a visit to these places to see whats available in addition to your book learnings. IT seemed your "sources" were limited.

[ssmith1627]

Thanks for everyone's feedback and the quick responses. It truly is appreciated.

Loring -- yes, my sources were very limited. As I'm sure is obvious, I'm totally new to all this. My journey began....(I'll try to keep it short! haha)....with getting married and moving into a 43 year old ranch home that needed a lot of work. I started with paying someone to do work that I had no idea how to do and in that process over the past year I've gotten bolder and bolder in what I'm willing to try. A large part of that has been on the electrical side with replacing most of my home's wiring. A little plumbing. Rebuilding my deck from the joists up. Etc.

I certainly haven't built anything that I'd want displayed inside the home...but I'm trying to acquire some knowledge and tools along the way. Talking here is a great help. But as you say, walking around and seeing these things first hand adds quite a bit to the understanding. I have my BT3100 now, a miter saw, a small compressor, a finish nailer, a brad nailer.

My first idea is to work on framing out the windows in my home...they're installed but just don't have that finished look to them and that's something I can tackle and have the tools to tackle. I also want to build a workbench so I look at all the different ideas on those constantly.

A true newbie.....so thanks for the hand holding. I can use it !

Steve

[JimD]

Steve,

A few ideas on your workbench. First, mine is built like Norm (New Yankee workshop) uses. It has casters that you engage by lifting up on the bench and dis-engage by pulling a short piece of rope. It works but I don't move the bench as much as I thought I would. If you have to move it much, it would be an idea.

My workbench is 1/4 inch shorter than the BT3100 by design. I put it behind the BT3100 and use it as an outfeed table when cutting up sheet goods. This works well. I do not have space for both an outfeed support and a workbench but get both functions out of the workbench. If you are similarly short on space, it is a good way to go. Even better would be to put the workbench on adjustable feet and make it exactly the same height as the BT3100.

Last thought. I have a subscription to FWW and their latest Shops issue is out. It has a workbench that is totally built of plywood. Most of the stuff in FWW may be more than you want to take on at the moment but this workbench looks like a beginner level project. You would only need birch veneer plywood from Lowes or Home Depot and some screws. It looks pretty simple but still sturdy.

Another comment is that a mobile base is a good early project for a BT3100 owner. It makes the saw even more useful. There are several ideas in the Articles part of this website.

Jim

[AAJIII]

For some insight into the number of different wood types out there take a look at this site.

WARNING IF YOU HAVE SLOW INTERNET CONNECTION IT WILL TAKE FOREVER TO LOAD



http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...al.htm#letterZ

[monte]

quote:Originally posted by AAJIII

For some insight into the number of different wood types out there take a look at this site.

WARNING IF YOU HAVE SLOW INTERNET CONNECTION IT WILL TAKE FOREVER TO LOAD



http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...al.htm#letterZ

That's an excellent site Al.

[RayintheUK]

Steve,

You might try this one. This one is good for reference. HTH

Ray.

[Jim-Iowa]

Steve: You have a great journey ahead, don`t plan to race through life. Enjoy the journey!
I have spent a lifetime trying to learn about wood and woodworking.
And ask a lot of questions here because I don`t know much.
You have gotten some great advice.

To a degree, I agree with Lowes, Menards or HD not being the place to buy project lumber. However wood grading allows a percentage of wood of poor grade and a percentage of better grade wood in a bundle.
Careful shopping can sometimes net you a Gem in the bargain pile.
I also often buy the cheap material if I see wood I like and can cut out the knots and imperfections and still get useable parts, at a lower cost.

On the other side of the coin, Shopping in more woodworking specific yards can also save you money.
An Example would be, here in Des Moines at the Woodsmith store.
This store is run by the publishers of Woodsmith Magazine and Shop Notes. They carry all the finest tools and high quality woods including lots of exotics.
I was amazed to discover I could buy Hickory for almost a Dollar less per board ft, than I could buy #2 pine. And Maple for a few cents more per board ft. than pine.

I almost forgot, one of your questions was about 4X4 lumber not pressure treated. Here in Des Moines it is possible to find 4x4 douglass fir in Lowes or Menards. However it is often to your advantage to laminate 2X material to get your 4X material.
Often there will be less warp and better quality.

[JimD]

I agree with everybody suggesting you find a hardwood dealer. You do not want to buy much if any hardwood from Lowes or Home Depot unless you like wasting a lot of money. On the other hand, I have built a lot of furniture we still use out of pine shelving boards from the lumber yard. The clear stuff is more expensive than poplar from the local dealer but the stuff whith knots - #2 is pretty cheap. It is not straight or flat enough to try to execute fancy joints and tight clearances but I did not used to be able to execute these things regardless of the wood I used. You can still make servicable pieces and it is a relatively cheap way to get started making something. My kids beds and my sons dresser are pieces I made years ago out of shelving boards, for instance. They are not as nice as our bedroom set I made more recently out of oak but they do the job just fine. If you want to start making stuff and want to minimize your investment in materials, shelving boards can be a reasonable way to go. Lowes and Home Depot are also a good source of birch or oak (rotary cut) plywood. For some stuff, in other words, they are the best choice just not for hardwood (including poplar).

Jim

[leehljp]

Two things that are often overlooked by the inexperienced:

1. In your early learning period, look at jointery and how different joints work and particularily why. Fine furniture is known by how it is put together as much as the exterior design, wood and finish. The wrong joints can cause splits, cracks and weak joints.

2. Finish. The finish is what really makes something look attractive and is the factor for making people want to touch or feel it. Sometimes Oil finishes show off things better, sometimes urethane, shelac, sometimes laquer. Most of us have our favorite finishes that we use most of the time.

2b. A good finish often requires 25% to 30% of the project time. This too is often overlooked by the beginner, and experienced person also. Ignore the desire to hurry and do a quick finishing on the project once the construction has been done.