Buying pre-milled wood, need advice

[Rob Horton]

Hey all,

My with a shop and no jointer. That's my basic dilemma. For right now, I was considering buying premilled stock and was wondering if anyone has any experience doing that.

Questions:
1. Do you recommend any place in particular to order wood from?
2. In ordering wood premilled, can you truly get the wood where one face is already flat so that all it needs is to be put through the planer?

I'm trying to avoid the cost of the jointer for right now. I've also considered using hand planes to flatten lumber until I can afford a jointer.

Please help! Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks all,

[Jim Becker]

Rob, most S3S and S4S lumber is not jointed flat...it's just planed to some thickness and gang-ripped/S-L ripped to width. If you have a planer (and from inference it seems you do) you can use it creatively to flatten boards using a sled or very light cuts for things that are almost flat. Using a hand plane to flatten rough stock isn't a horrible idea, either, given it's a useful skill that you will likely continue to enjoy even after you have a jointer in your shop. Some folks also use a suspended router setup to flatten wide stock...

There are lots of ways to do what needs done!

[Steve Roxberg]

The premilled lumber I've purchased was never truly flat, and I didn't have much wood left over to work with. You will save some money by buying rough lumber which can be put into a piggy bank for the jointer.

Until you get the jointer I would recommend building the planner sled in the recent Fine Woodworking, some one on this board I believe made one you may be able to search and find it. It basically supports the board in it's current curved state not allowing the rollers to press it flat, After a few trips you have one flat side and you can then use it as a reference for the other sides.

Reasons to do this:

1. You rarely will purchase flat s4s lumber.
2. The sled can be as wide as your planner which will probably be wider than your first jointer, so it will have a life after the intial use for every board.
3. You will immediately save money on lumber which will help you buy the jointer.
4. You'll end up with truly flat boards, which are a joy to work with. You can't believe how many of my early mistakes could have been traced back to stock that was less than square.

Just my opinion for what it's worth. ;)

[Scott Banbury]

I often mill cutlists for hobbyists in my area. Often, these are retired individuals who still own a good compliment of handtools but no space for machinery.

They come pick out the wood and we discuss the design while chalking out parts on the rough lumber. I call 'em a couple days later to pick up their bundle of dimensioned parts. They go home and cut the joints.

Oft'times I get a call a couple days later to make a couple replacements :rolleyes: but I always keep a copy of the original list for just such occasions.

All my machine-deprived clients seem to be more than happy with the arrangement. :cool:

[Rob Horton]

Thanks for the advice guys. I actually have the plans for that sled you're talking about and had also heard of the router technique just recently. I was just lookin for the lazy way out I suppose :D

I think I'll start looking to build that sled. I also saw a video of that on Taunton Press' website in the section where they sell their DVDs I think.

Thanks again for keeping me on the straight, square and narrow.

[Alan Turner]

I used a sled for years before I had a wide jointer, and my planer is still wider than my jointer so still use one occassionally. The one in FWW was a bit elaborate, IMHO. All you need is a piece of MDF (becuase of its price and flatness) and some wedges, and then some hot glue or a nail gun. Put the stock on the mdf (which needs to be on a flat surface to start with), insert wedges where there are gaps, and plane till level. It does not take that long.
If you buy premilled stock, it will move in your own shop anyway, even if it was true and flat from the mill.
Alan

[Doug Shepard]

The two local hardwood suppliers that I deal with the most have full complements of large jointers, planers, wide-belt sanders, etc. After picking out the boards they want, a large portion of the folks I see buying wood there pay the extra milling fee to have stuff jointed or thickness planed/sanded. I normally just buy it rough and do that stuff at home so I'm not sure of the cost, but I think it's pretty cheap. I've got an upcoming project needing 8" to 10" boards - wider than my 6" jointer will accomodate. I plan on having them joint one face. I can take care of the rest with my home tools. I don't really want to use glued up panels, and it just seems a lot simpler to have them do it.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I have used the "take very light cuts" method with sucess. Just take off 1/32" or less each time that you run the board through the planer, until all the "roughness" is out of the board. Use a straight edge to check that it is flat, then proceed as normal.

[Michael Stafford]

Heritage Building Specialties in Fergus Falls, MN will sell you a variety of thicknesses from 1/8 to 3/4, flat straight premium stock in a variety of domestics and exotics at a very premium price. Their material is excellent but continued use will make you run to the store to buy jointers, planers and saws needed to prepare your own stock...

[Rob Horton]

I used a sled for years before I had a wide jointer, and my planer is still wider than my jointer so still use one occassionally. The one in FWW was a bit elaborate, IMHO. All you need is a piece of MDF (becuase of its price and flatness) and some wedges, and then some hot glue or a nail gun. Put the stock on the mdf (which needs to be on a flat surface to start with), insert wedges where there are gaps, and plane till level. It does not take that long.
If you buy premilled stock, it will move in your own shop anyway, even if it was true and flat from the mill.
Alan

Thanks for the advice Alan. I too, thought that sled was a bit much. I'm gonna try the sled method for sure. I mean hey, I fell into one of those Delta planers being clearanced from Lowes not long ago - so I could really get some use out of that thing this way.

And I think it's always better if you can have a single tool that easily does multiple jobs. If I can make a jig or two that completely replaces a $700 tool (or higher) I think the ROI looks pretty darn good.

Thanks again to everyone!

[Jim Becker]

Rob, the sled is definitely worth the effort to make and use, but in the long term it does not replace a jointer when you truly want to mill lumber flat. Some of that has to do with setup time since each board you want to process with the sled requires time and effort to shim and prepare for even the first pass through the machine. That's certainly time well spent for wide boards that exceed the capacity of a jointer, but can become cumbersome when you start to flatten and straighten more and more lumber for a project. Don't misunderstand me...I'm only saying that ultimately, you'll want a jointer in your shop. Do it when you can and in the mean time, take advantage of all the kewel methods available to work with wide lumber.

[Alan Turner]

That 12" Delta is what I had for years. Make sure you put a stop on the front of the sled. As to wedges, I like hardwood since it will not easily crush. A hot glue gun can be used for the attachment, or just shoot 18 ga. nails into the wedges and sled, and then remove them. YOu might want to keep a few different rips of mdf around, of diff. lengths, as weight is an issue, and not all the boards you need to flatten will be 8 ft. Heck, I rarely surface a board that long as in my furniture, a 6 ft. bd. is a long one.
Alan

[Rob Horton]

Rob, the sled is definitely worth the effort to make and use, but in the long term it does not replace a jointer when you truly want to mill lumber flat. Some of that has to do with setup time since each board you want to process with the sled requires time and effort to shim and prepare for even the first pass through the machine. That's certainly time well spent for wide boards that exceed the capacity of a jointer, but can become cumbersome when you start to flatten and straighten more and more lumber for a project. Don't misunderstand me...I'm only saying that ultimately, you'll want a jointer in your shop. Do it when you can and in the mean time, take advantage of all the kewel methods available to work with wide lumber.

Jim,

I read ya loud and clear :D Far be it from me to completely eliminate the possibility of buying a new tool in the future. The sled will "lessen the sting" of not being able to afford one now though :)

Thanks again,