Lumber Un-Gloat

[Andrew Yang]

Is there such a thing?

I picked up a large stack of maple off of Kijiji. For my first project, I had pretty good luck with the stock I milled. My current project is a small bookcase, and I'm finding that I'm only able to use 2/3 or so of most of the boards. There is checking/cracking that runs from the ends. Is it reasonable to rip the boards to a narrower widths? I don't feel like these are particularly wide boards to begin with. (7"-8")

[Lee Schierer]

Yes you can easily rip boards to narrower widths. I typically use 4-1/2 to 5-1/2" wide boards to glue up panels. You'll just need to make sure the edges are jointed properly and fit together with no gaps when you glue them up.

The checking or cracking is due to improper drying. On the rest of your material, seal the ends with sealcoat or just plain latex paint.