making balusters

[slieber967]

i need 20 balusters, 36 long by 1.25 square, i thought to cut them out of five quarters oak and sand or plane the cut sides. is it worth the effort or should i order them for 8 bucks a piece. will this tax the saw?

thanks again to bobsch for the blade guard for the saw i got off craigs list.

kc
slieber967@aol.com

[JR]

The saw can handle the problem. So the real question is whether you can get 6/4 oak for less than the $8 baluster.

JR

[LarryG]

JR took my answer.

Let's see ... a baluster 1.25" square by 36" long nets out to 0.39 board feet. Even at 100% waste, you're still comfortably under a board foot per piece. So unless you have to pay a truly gun-in-your-face price for oak in your area, the numbers are on your side for making this a DIY job.

[Tom Miller]

Even at 100% waste...

Yeah, I've had a few projects like that....




Regards,
Tom
...and I've had a few posts like that, too!

[LCHIEN]

JR took my answer.

Let's see ... a baluster 1.25" square by 36" long nets out to 0.39 board feet. Even at 100% waste, you're still comfortably under a board foot per piece. So unless you have to pay a truly gun-in-your-face price for oak in your area, the numbers are on your side for making this a DIY job.

I suppose they're just square balusters.
In addition to the cost of wood there's a time factor. but it wouldn't take much labor time.

Also if its a BT, it has a universal motor, Might be safest to use a 50% rip, 50% cool time do you cuts in 4-5 batches with some cool down in between.

[cabinetman]

I can only see two advantages to buying them. One is they don't have to be made, which is a little labor intensive and presents the possibility of having an accident. The other is that all straight ones can be picked out. Ripping those sizes can produce the twisties.
.

[slieber967]

balusters

thanks for the replies,as per lchien i will keep the duty cycle down and just try cutting a few. if they twist i'll try and figure out what percentage is wasted and whether it is worth it. thanks all for the advice i will let you know how it turns out.

kc
slieber967@aol.com

[Tom Miller]

If it sounds like fun to do it yourself, then jump right in. Few of us do what we do because it's the financially prudent thing to do, so asking if "it's worth it" can mean a lot of different things. If they come out looking great, and every time you walk by you rub the smooth finish...that might be worth way more than $8 a baluster. Not to mention pointing them out to every last soul that stops by....

And, I wouldn't worry one bit about taxing the saw -- you won't be able to keep the stock coming fast enough and long enough to pose a threat.

Regards,
Tom (trying to make up for my less than useful post above)

[LarryG]

Yeah, I've had a few projects like that....

Heh ... yeah. I hear that.

I guess everyone figured out that by "100% waste," what I meant was buying 100% more material than is theoretically needed, as opposed to the more usual 20-30% or so. In part I was making an extreme example. But I was also thinking about how many times I've milled up 4/4 rough lumber and just barely managed to get 3/4" finished material. As JR mentioned, 6/4 material should yield a 1.25" finished piece, but one might have to start with 8/4 -- and of course that increases the waste factor.

[Tom Miller]

...what I meant was...

Just because we knew what you meant, doesn't mean we aren't going to misconstrue it for our own enjoyment!

But I was also thinking about how many times I've milled up 4/4 rough lumber and just barely managed to get 3/4" finished material. As JR mentioned, 6/4 material should yield a 1.25" finished piece, but one might have to start with 8/4 -- and of course that increases the waste factor.

Yeah, I've really changed my milling practices, as I learn more. On a project like this, for instance, I might have milled a ~6" wide piece to final thickness, planning to rip each piece off at final width. But, that doesn't leave any margin for correcting the inevitable twist or bow. Now, I'm more likely to rough out each blank, then square them up and final-size them individually.

Regards,
Tom