Rough lumber -- any way to check in the rough?

[Kenny Andersen]

A local supplier has some 8/4 Bubinga on closeout due to the boards being short (4-4 1/2'). I'm building a Maloof rocker, probably Hal Taylor's and think the bubinga would be great for that.

Plans are on there way. I need to make sure I have Bubinga boards that are long enough, and I'd like to get boards that have the most figuring on them.

The boards are rough and I would prefer to plane then myself so I can keep them as thick as possible. Is there a way to tell whether or not there is figuring without planning the boards down?

[Jim Becker]

Honestly, I skim-plain the faces of truly rough lumber exactly to understand what I have in a board. Skimming doesn't remove much material at all...it's only really the first one or two thin passes you'll do when you process the lumber eventually. You can sometimes, with supplier approval, use a small block plane to "sample" in a spot or three, and some people have a good eye for figure and color even with rough cut material.

[Lon Crosby]

Try spraying the surface with isopropyl alcohol. Approach used by e-bay sellers selling wood.

[Matt Day]

Or bring a block plane.

[Patrick Walsh]

Kenny,

Bubinga is pretty easy imop to pick. I actually just picked up three rather large slabs of it. If I have pictures I’ll attache. Those boards will be added to my collection of probably 700-1000 bf of various thickness and figure. I’m kinda obsessed with bubinga.

Figure is pretty easy even in the rough it can be seen when heavily figured be it bees wing, pomelle or waterfall.

Flatsawn boards are easily distinguishible with the chandelearing. Not to say flat sawn bubinga boards can not be highly figured but often it is the QS boards with the monst figure. The flatsawn boards imop are less desirable unless in slab form with QS on either side or just crazy figured.

Apart from figure you want boards that are a deep red. Look out for boards that are obviously brown as they can lack the bubinga look most are after. Also look for a deep contrast between the grain. Good boards will alternate from the token bubinga red to a very dark almost black red brown,

Laquer thinner or alchohol are your friend. I don’t know a single lumber yard that will let me touch their boards with a block plane or any kind of liquid.

[Patrick Walsh]

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1.75x16-24x13’

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2x21x155

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The seller has two more of these 2x20x155 boards left that are gonna find there way to me early next week.

I’ll get a picture of the boards wet tomorrow. They are at work at the moment..

[Andrew Hughes]

If you haven’t worked with bubinga might want to check that your not sensitive to the dust. For me it’s almost a death sentence. Maloof rockers with create a lot of dust.
Good Luck it would make a epic chair.

[Larry Frank]

Pretty lumber and will make an interesting chair.

I went thru this a year ago and was looking for plans for a Maloof style rocker. I actually bought the plans and manual from two people. One was Hal Taylor and the other Bill Kappel. I also watched video of both of them.

I finally decided on Bill Kappel. I went out and spent a week with him in Utah and got a start on it. Mine is made from Claro Walnut and has beautiful crazy grain. It was a great experience with a great teacher.

I finally am getting close to finishing it and am excited. This last week I attached the rockers and now have to complete the shaping and sanding on the legs and rockers. My wife has sat and rocked in it and loves it. This has been a great woodworking journey of learning and meeting a great teacher.

[Yonak Hawkins]

That's rough lumber ? Those look like some beautiful boards to me.

[Paul Girouard]

That's rough lumber ? Those look like some beautiful boards to me.

Rough sawn / have bandsaw fuzz on them/ not surfaced planed.

[Matt Day]

I don’t know a single lumber yard that will let me touch their boards with a block plane or any kind of liquid.

Funny, I’ve never been to a lumber yard that said no to a few strokes of a block plane. But, I’ve only done it few times.

[Patrick Walsh]

No those boards have clearly been sent through a sander..

I do have rough sawn I can snap pictures of later.

[John K Jordan]

Funny, I’ve never been to a lumber yard that said no to a few strokes of a block plane. But, I’ve only done it few times.

One dealer wouldn't even let me remove a tiny shaving near the checked end of a greying, rough-sawn 2x8 plank of Tarara, just to check the color of the wood. I had cash in hand but went elsewhere.

In the shop I use naphtha to get an idea of rough, unweathered boards. On planed/turned/smoothed wood wiping on a little can show closely what the color and figure will be with finish applied, and reveals scratches and other surface defects. Dries very quickly.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

If you haven’t worked with bubinga might want to check that your not sensitive to the dust. For me it’s almost a death sentence.
THIS!

I absolutely love the look of bubinga, but found I was extremely sensitive to the dust while turning a large platter years ago...I'd never experienced that kind of reaction before...or since.

[glenn bradley]

THIS!

I absolutely love the look of bubinga, but found I was extremely sensitive to the dust while turning a large platter years ago...I'd never experienced that kind of reaction before...or since.

Having heard this (thanks to the forum) I have always work a good respirator when working it. I react the same to cedar but, get through it without too much problem. On the other hand a scoop of ice cream could put me in the hospital so I know that allergic reactions come in a range of impacts.

[Jim Becker]

Glenn, I even had issue with my hands breaking out...I used a respirator while sanding, too.

[Patrick Walsh]

All three boards are rough sawn. No. Sanding no planing. As you can see the figure and grain show clearly.

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Now with laquer thinner..

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The group,

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[Prashun Patel]

I also echo the dust concern with the Maloof rocker. Especially if you are angle grinding the seat.

I would not worry so much about the face grain; if you buy extra, you will certainly find enough small sections to make up an attractive seat that matches. The head rest and arms also require only a small amount of good looking stock.

What you really have to watch for is grain direction on the spindles and the rear legs. I was cavalier about that but got lucky. You should not be. You can learn most of what you need to in this regard from the edges and ends of the boards. Shorts will have one end unsealed and possibly neatly cut, so look for that end. Bring a block plane to skip the edges to make sure the grain has minimal run out.

When making a rocking chair, my advice is to buy extra and don't be afraid to waste (which I like to call making a lot of extra stock for tool handles or bowls)

[Larry Frank]

Good advice about the dust. Using an angle grinder to shape the seat creates lots of dust. I did mine outside. I also setup the piping from my dust collector so I could be close to where I was shaping the chair parts. This along with a very good dust mask rated at N100.

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[Kenny Andersen]

Appreciate the responses. I've never worked with these guys before but I guess I can show up prepared and see what they will let me do. Bubinga, at least to me, tends to be one of those woods that can vary considerably. Some of it is crazy awesome and some a bit less so. At $6/bf I think the risk is on the low side. Plus I'll get enough wood for 3-4 chairs + so I should be able to sort through and get something nice for the seats and head rests.

What is the longest piece I would need to get out of the stock for the Hall Taylor or Bill Kappel chairs. Since they are 'shorts' I want to make sure some are as long as they will need to be!

[Kenny Andersen]

Nice wood Patrick! That's what I'm looking for!

[Patrick Walsh]

It better be...

It's wasn't even close to $6bf..

[Patrick Kane]

haha yeah, geez at $6 how picky can you be? Other than my wholesaler, everyone around here has walnut $6+.

My wholesaler doesnt even let me pick the boards, let alone go in there with planes and mineral spirits. I always laugh a little to myself when i see magazines and youtubers suggest planing all the boards on site. I imagine i would be escorted out along with a few "wtf" looks from everyone. With most woods, you just need to practice enough to see the grain and color in the rough. i know its not perfect, but that is why you buy extra. I almost exclusively buy whole packs anymore, which typically means im buying 1 or more whole logs. 9 times out of 10 boards from the same log should match one another.

I havent carved anything yet, but i imagine its going to be a bugger with bubinga. Definitely worth it, but you are going to curse that wood choice a few times during the process, i imagine.

[Kenny Andersen]

Point well taken that's why I'm going all-in on the bubinga -- at $6/ bf it's a steal. Also, yours aren't shorts either! I did notice some of the boards looked pretty dark -- I want sure what that might indicate. The color of Bubinga does very, but also expose to UV might affect the color as well.

[Kenny Andersen]

Talked to Hal -- not sure how his plans vary from someone of the others. Longest piece was 42" seat is around 21" wide. The bubinga lumber I got was all 6' in length and most was nearly 11" wide so hopefully I can make the seat with just one joint. I picked up about 140 bf -- Most of it looked pretty good and some looked to have fairly nice grain patterns. I should be able to get 3 chairs out of it. I think we'll worth the $6/bf! If you are in the Dallas area it seems like a deal!