First rough sawn purchase-now what

[Russel De Arman]

I spotted an ad on CL the other day for 'wood' -$40. Curious, I asked for details; short story: 4 pieces if I wanted all four $35.
1. 18x18x10 block of spalted maple
2. 4.5"x16x44 bass wood
3. 4"x15x40 curly maple
4. 3.5x18x36 pecan

So, obviously I'm not planning on making a dresser out of these, but was thinking about some nice, small boxes etc. I can resaw (14" jet bandsaw) and have a jointer and planer, I understand the 'steps' to cut the pieces, but do I need to let them (the newly cut pieces) sit before actually using them?
The wood is dry, no moisture meter but the ends are checked and the seller told me he got them from a friend from Michigan 2 years ago.
Thanks,
Russ

[Scott Brandstetter]

A couple thoughts on your post. I would leave the wood in it's current state until you decide to make a box. I buy a lot of rough lumber and keep it stored that way until I'm in need for a dresser or table. I would also suggest getting a moisture meter. Great to have in the shop and you will find yourself using it and wondering how you got by without it.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Interesting article on making band-sawn boxes in latest issue of Fine Woodworking.

[Robert Engel]

Nice haul!!
Wood this thick pretty good chance of big discrepancy in MC once you get inside.
The wood will tell you something coming out of the resawing but I would sticker and let acclimate.

I would save the pecan for last it may cost you a resaw blade depending on how hard it is.

[Earl McLain]

If you would have gotten only the curly maple for $35--it works out to $2.10/board foot. Without doing the rest of the math--i'm guessing you're in for about $0.50/bf!! Excellent score.

Okay, i had to do it with a calculator--if my math is right, $0.46/bf. Any single piece of that was worth $35. Nicely done!!

earl

[bill tindall]

As a matter of fact the moisture content is unknown, but at least well on its way to dry enough. Presuming you live somewhere where the house will be heated, and therefore lower humidity, if you get the pieces in a warm dry environment they will continue to dry toward the goal of dry enough. Under a bed or behind a couch is a dandy place to dry short lumber. Chunks this thick and short are likely to dry out the ends as fast, or faster than through the sides and it might take weeks to months to get equilibrated to where ever they are stored. The hickory/pecan will dry the slowest (it is most likely hickory which can become "pecan" once sawed..)

If you intend to use the lumber as thinner boards I would resaw the piece some weeks before use and then store in the warmest driest place you can find with good uniform air circulation on all sides(critical requirement). Depending on how the lumber was originally stored there may be some residual tension and the reawed lumber could cup some, so saw over sized.

Personally I regard a moisture meter a waste of money. People have them because they have gotten cheap. "Somehow" we survived with out this aid years ago. We sold hardwood lumber for 30+ years an didn't have any customer that saw a need to own a moister meter. A novice is more apt to be misled by owning one than enlightened.

[Allan Speers]

Russ,


If it were me, I'd probably resaw all of that into 4/4 (1" thick, or a hair over where possible) as most of it would end up at 3/4" later on. (If you are making boxes, then maybe resaw to 3/4" for a later 1/2")

This will help the wood stabilize, not because of moisture so much but due to the release of internal stresses.

Only the basswood would be kept thick (in my shop) as one might want to carve it later, plus basswood is not very prone to movement.

Another reason to do some kind of mild milling would be if the surfaces are extremely rough, in which case a light "skip planing" helps you see the grain. This is obviously important when starting your final layouts.

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm a long "flat-work" woodworker trying to have more time doing round things (woodturner). These pieces you have gloated here could be best used as turning stock - so please wait till you cut them up.


Mike

[Jim Becker]

I tend to at least skim rough board on my jointer/planer so I can better see what's there, but do not dimension until I'm ready to use. At that point, I typically will mark out oversize components with chalk, flatten and thickness, rip one side to an orientation that optimizes the grain for the intended use (I have a slider so I don't care about the original edge; just the cut line I want) and then rip to width from there. Cleaning things up a little as in the first step also makes stacking and organization easier, IMHO.

That said, I have a lot of rough-rough in my pile, too, primarily poplar because I have so much that the time spent to do that post-buy prep would be large.

[John K Jordan]

Russ,
Thick slabs and blocks can be wet on the inside even after air drying for years. Even a moisture meter won't be able to measure deep into the wood. If you are going to slice them up for smaller projects I would suggest borrowing or buying a moisture meter (very handy to have one!) and if not dry all the way through sticker the boards under pressure until dry. If there is internal moisture it will vary widely inside and some boards will probably warp significantly if unrestrained.

When I get wood like that with end checks and I want to save it for future use as is, I like to cut some off the ends to evaluate the checking. Depending on what I see, I might cut back and remove all checking then coat the ends with AnchorSeal to minimize more checking. (If I decide to leave a few visible checks, for example if they go deep but might be worked around later, I mark them with a fat red Sharpie before coating.)

I personally would save most in the slab and block form to give the most flexibility for future use. It would be a shame to cut into 4/4 then wish you had some 2" stock!

Some of your pieces would be valuable to woodturners if you decide to sell. Some people sell USPS flat rate boxes packed full of turning blanks since the shipping is cheap. And you might be surprised what you can get for the wood as is.

Where are you in the country? If you decide to sell I might be interested in some. I just had some 3" and 4" thick slabs of basswood shipped here to TN from Wisconsin to make wood turnings for chip carving. (Your basswood might be a risk if you don't know where it originated - most "southern" basswood is not good for chip carving.) The other species should be perfect and valuable to any wood turners unless full of checks and splits.

JKJ