Wood (not that kind, sickos!)

[Pelado]

There are a few wood-adjacent threads in the Fuse Box, but I figure this is probably more of a Back Fence topic.

I recently acquired some free cherry wood that had been cut down within one week. I rough cut it down to 5/4 on the band saw to better facilitate stacking and drying it.

The general rule of thumb I've heard is that it takes a year to properly air dry 1-inch thick lumber before use in furniture or other woodworking projects. I'm impatient and don't want to wait that long. I'm considering making a small wood-drying kiln for in the garage.

Anyone have any experience with air-drying an/or kiln-drying wood? Please let us bask in your wisdom.

Moliere (and anyone else for whom this might apply) - what are your typical sources for hardwood?

[Bo Diddley]

[Shaka]

If it's something I cut then I air dry for at least six months. I tend to just buy my blanks kiln dried.

[Moliere]

I’m no expert in air drying wood. I’ve got two different stacks in my garage and am giving them two years to dry. They were from trunks given to me by ward members and I plan to make boxes out of them to give back to those members.

I buy my wood from a guy that runs his business out of a self storage place. He’s local and his prices are low. He advertises only on Facebook. It sounds shady but his wood is kiln dried and if I get there right after he gets a fresh delivery I can get some great boards. There are several big lumber yards that sell hardwood to hobbyists but their prices are outrageous so I only use them if I need something a bit exotic.

[Pelado]

If it's something I cut then I air dry for at least six months. I tend to just buy my blanks kiln dried.

I’m no expert in air drying wood. I’ve got two different stacks in my garage and am giving them two years to dry. They were from trunks given to me by ward members and I plan to make boxes out of them to give back to those members.

I buy my wood from a guy that runs his business out of a self storage place. He’s local and his prices are low. He advertises only on Facebook. It sounds shady but his wood is kiln dried and if I get there right after he gets a fresh delivery I can get some great boards. There are several big lumber yards that sell hardwood to hobbyists but their prices are outrageous so I only use them if I need something a bit exotic.

How thick are the boards that you're typically working with?

I'm aware of a couple hardwood dealers locally. One (very near my house) sells S3S hardwood (and some softwoods). The other is considerably further from my house and, iirc, the wood was more expensive per board foot and was only S2S.

So of course I bought from the place much further away, that was more expensive, and that required milling I couldn't do at the time. Afterwards, I found out about the place near my house. Haven't bought much from them yet.

[Shaka]

I tend to buy whatever billet they have over 1.75" thick and then have them plane it down to whatever I need. I also buy maple blanks that will work for fender style guitar necks. There's a good dealer for these kinds of woods in Salt Lake City. There are also some good dealers that sell the blanks already sized to my needs.

[Moliere]

How thick are the boards that you're typically working with?

I'm aware of a couple hardwood dealers locally. One (very near my house) sells S3S hardwood (and some softwoods). The other is considerably further from my house and, iirc, the wood was more expensive per board foot and was only S2S.

So of course I bought from the place much further away, that was more expensive, and that required milling I couldn't do at the time. Afterwards, I found out about the place near my house. Haven't bought much from them yet.

It obviously depends on the project, but I mostly by 8/4 boards since I have the tools (8" jointer, planer and 14" band saw) to mill them down and resaw them how I want. The guy I buy from sells them s3s but any premilled board is going to need so final milling since they move as they acclimate.

The key for me is to buy a lot of extra wood when my guy gets in a shipment. If I really need wood and he hasn't had a shipment recently, his pickings are slim and I may end up at the bigger hardwood store, which is probably 30% more expensive.

Right now I can buy 8/4 walnut from my guy for around $11/bf but the bigger hardwood places are more like $15-$18/bf and I've had some really good luck with the cheaper stuff. I just make sure it's fully dried (which it always has been) by using a moisture meter.

[Pelado]

It obviously depends on the project, but I mostly by 8/4 boards since I have the tools (8" jointer, planer and 14" band saw) to mill them down and resaw them how I want. The guy I buy from sells them s3s but any premilled board is going to need so final milling since they move as they acclimate.

The key for me is to buy a lot of extra wood when my guy gets in a shipment. If I really need wood and he hasn't had a shipment recently, his pickings are slim and I may end up at the bigger hardwood store, which is probably 30% more expensive.

Right now I can buy 8/4 walnut from my guy for around $11/bf but the bigger hardwood places are more like $15-$18/bf and I've had some really good luck with the cheaper stuff. I just make sure it's fully dried (which it always has been) by using a moisture meter.

I just acquired a moisture meter. The cherry wood was largely showing as being in excess of 50%.

How wide is your planer? My jointer (Porter Cable) is just 6" and planer (DeWalt) is 12.5".

My band saw is an old 12" Craftsman (manufactured in October 1978) and is what I used to cut the cherry down to 5/4. I think its specifications call for a maximum 6" cutting height. It struggled quite a bit with the cherry, which ranged between around 3" and 5.5" (and very green). I made some adjustments, though, that made it work much better. I was thinking of getting a more powerful motor for it, stepping up from the stock 1/2 HP motor.

[Moliere]

I just acquired a moisture meter. The cherry wood was largely showing as being in excess of 50%.

How wide is your planer? My jointer (Porter Cable) is just 6" and planer (DeWalt) is 12.5".

My band saw is an old 12" Craftsman (manufactured in October 1978) and is what I used to cut the cherry down to 5/4. I think its specifications call for a maximum 6" cutting height. It struggled quite a bit with the cherry, which ranged between around 3" and 5.5" (and very green). I made some adjustments, though, that made it work much better. I was thi king of getting a more powerful motor for it, stepping up from the stock 1/2 HP motor.

My jointer is 8" and my planer is 13". I upgraded the jointer last year and basically bought what should be the last jointer I need ever. But I need to upgrade my planer since it's a Dewalt that I've modified with a helical head. It works alright but I could really use a 20" planer, which I'll likely get in the next year or two.

I love my bandsaw and highly suggest getting a bigger one. MIne's a 220v motor and it does fine resawing large boards, even maple. I also have a resaw king blade on it, which is worth the cost. My only issue is that it's not well dialed in on resawing so I can get some cuts that are a bit wavy, but nothing that a couple passes through the planer won't fix.

But my next purchase will be a SawStop table saw. I currently have a Ridgid brand I bought at Home Depot about a decade ago. It works and I've dialed it in so it's pretty much perfectly square, but the motor is very weak and the top is small. I also like the safety aspect of the SawStop as well as the dust collection arm.

[Pelado]

My jointer is 8" and my planer is 13". I upgraded the jointer last year and basically bought what should be the last jointer I need ever. But I need to upgrade my planer since it's a Dewalt that I've modified with a helical head. It works alright but I could really use a 20" planer, which I'll likely get in the next year or two.

I love my bandsaw and highly suggest getting a bigger one. MIne's a 220v motor and it does fine resawing large boards, even maple. I also have a resaw king blade on it, which is worth the cost. My only issue is that it's not well dialed in on resawing so I can get some cuts that are a bit wavy, but nothing that a couple passes through the planer won't fix.

But my next purchase will be a SawStop table saw. I currently have a Ridgid brand I bought at Home Depot about a decade ago. It works and I've dialed it in so it's pretty much perfectly square, but the motor is very weak and the top is small. I also like the safety aspect of the SawStop as well as the dust collection arm.

I have thought about getting an additional bandsaw and keeping a 1/8" blade on the Craftsman for curvy cuts. But then I bought a 3 TPI carbide-tooth blade for the Craftsman. I know it's a (perhaps foolish) sunk cost but that carbide-tooth blade still enters into my thoughts. That's part of why I've been considering upgrading the motor on the Craftsman instead of just getting a newer bandsaw with greater resaw capacity that just works better overall.

I've also considered upgrading to a SawStop table saw for similar reasons to you, though my current DeWalt is probably not dialed into square nearly as well as you've done with your Ridgid. What type of table saw is your Ridgid (jobsite/contractor/hybrid/cabinet)?

[Moliere]

I have thought about getting an additional bandsaw and keeping a 1/8" blade on the Craftsman for curvy cuts. But then I bought a 3 TPI carbide-tooth blade for the Craftsman. I know it's a (perhaps foolish) sunk cost but that carbide-tooth blade still enters into my thoughts. That's part of why I've been considering upgrading the motor on the Craftsman instead of just getting a newer bandsaw with greater resaw capacity that just works better overall.

I've also considered upgrading to a SawStop table saw for similar reasons to you, though my current DeWalt is probably not dialed into square nearly as well as you've done with your Ridgid. What type of table saw is your Ridgid (jobsite/contractor/hybrid/cabinet)?

I think I'd call it a contractor table saw. This is basically it although mine is much older: RIDGID 13 Amp 10 in. Professional Cast Iron Table Saw – XDC Depot

I've got gauges and tools to dial it in, which has been nice to never worry about it being square to the t-slots and fence. I've also got a large sled I made and dialed that in almost perfectly using the 5 cut method. With the sled, I haven't used a miter saw in over five years. I have a dewalt miter saw that sits collecting dust because it takes up too much room and I can easily do the same thing with the sled.

[Pelado]

I think I'd call it a contractor table saw. This is basically it although mine is much older: RIDGID 13 Amp 10 in. Professional Cast Iron Table Saw – XDC Depot

I've got gauges and tools to dial it in, which has been nice to never worry about it being square to the t-slots and fence. I've also got a large sled I made and dialed that in almost perfectly using the 5 cut method. With the sled, I haven't used a miter saw in over five years. I have a dewalt miter saw that sits collecting dust because it takes up too much room and I can easily do the same thing with the sled.

There was a sale on that Ridgid model not long ago and considered getting it. But then I didn't.

I recently made a sled that works well (3/4" MDF, dovetail groove on the interior fence face to accept Matchfit hardware for the stop block, measuring tape affixed to the top of the fence, etc.). i didn't use the 5-cut method but it's as close to square as I need for now.