Inexpensive Wood for Projects

[Jack Frederick 135]

What do you all suggest for a reasonably priced and readily available wood that can be used for furniture type projects, that will ultimately be painted, that comes in multiple dimensions? Right now I’m using cheap pine from Menards, works okay, but looking for other suggestions.

[Marshall Harrison]

Try Poplar. Almost as cheap as white pine and it can be stained up to mimic other woods such as Walnut.

Check this article - https://www.kregtool.com/about-us/news/kreg-tool-tips-wood-buying/build-better-looking-projects-with-poplar.aspx

[John TenEyck]

If you want to build furniture you need KD wood. Assuming you have the machines or motivation to work it with hand tools, I recommend you find a local millwork shop or lumber supplier and buy rough poplar or soft maple from them. Both paint great and are about the lowest cost paint grade hardwood in my area. You also may be successful if you have a small sawmill operator with a kiln nearby or have the space and patience to dry green lumber yourself.

John

[Rich Engelhardt]

Right now I’m using cheap pine from Menards,Find a decent lumber yard. Even the high priced one in my area sells S4S poplar cheaper than Menards, Lows and Home Depot sells their cheap pine.

[Earl McLain]

It helped me to make some investment in tooling so that i could thickness my own wood--i did it with power tools (planer & jointer), but can be done with hand tools as well. I've done well finding rough lumber on Craigslist (For Sale-->Materials), and with the help of folks on this board also have found a few non-advertised weekender/hobby sawmills. Poplar and red oak can be bought in our area rough for prices not too far from box store pine (which needs to be milled to make furniture) Providing a general location may allow some of us to point you in some specific locations.
earl

[Brian Tymchak]

Try Poplar. Almost as cheap as white pine and it can be stained up to mimic other woods such as Walnut.

Check this article - https://www.kregtool.com/about-us/news/kreg-tool-tips-wood-buying/build-better-looking-projects-with-poplar.aspx

+1. Also I've found poplar to be more stable than pine, and if you want to stain it, it takes stain a lot more evenly than pine, which tends to be blotchy.

[Jim Becker]

While geography matters, in general, I absolutely agree with the suggestion for Tulip Poplar. And no, you do not need to paint it. As Brian mentioned, it colors nicely and the fine grain of clear boards can mimic other close grain hardwoods like cherry or maple very nicely. If you get knotty poplar boards, you can "do pine" with wood that's a little more durable than pine, too. Do not be concerned that fresh milled poplar has a greenish tint...it browns out nicely with oxidation and UV.

I have used a few thousand board foot of poplar...mostly milled off my property...and it's a favorite of mine for low cost and flexible use.

[Jacob Reverb]

If you want to build furniture you need KD wood.

I disagree. Air dried wood works just fine, just as it has since the beginning of time...

For cheap wood, I like WP.

[Jim Andrew]

That is why I bought a bandmill. Have a farm with lots of trees, and need a chainsaw anyway. Ash is my idea of a low cost easy to work wood, walnut is pretty easily worked, but mine has so much character it requires helical cutterheads.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Thanks for all the great direction!

My location is Wichita, KS.

I picked up about 35 boad feet of 6/4 black walnut today from a sawmill for about $6.50 a board foot? Had them run it across their jointer as I don’t have one, yet. No idea if that is a good price, but my local mom and pop lumber yard wants $12 per board ft for S2S black walnut.

Also, I called another speciality lumber store in town and found 4/4 poplar, skip planed, for $2.35 a board foot and $2.50 for 6/4. Good price?

[Richard Coers]

Soft maple is my wood of choice. You often find some curly figure in it, great color, and consistently easier to paint. Poplar can get fuzzy some time.

[Andrew Seemann]

Thanks for all the great direction!

My location is Wichita, KS.

I picked up about 35 boad feet of 6/4 black walnut today from a sawmill for about $6.50 a board foot? Had them run it across their jointer as I don’t have one, yet. No idea if that is a good price, but my local mom and pop lumber yard wants $12 per board ft for S2S black walnut.

Also, I called another speciality lumber store in town and found 4/4 poplar, skip planed, for $2.35 a board foot and $2.50 for 6/4. Good price?

What is a good price really depends on where you are. That said, around here (Minneapolis) $6.50 a board foot for 6/4 walnut wouldn't be too bad for KD, unless it was really knotty or really short lengths. I'm not sure on current price though, because I haven't bought it for a while. A few years back cherry dropped to almost half that, so I switched from walnut to cherry, but cherry is stating to climb up again.

Poplar is about the same here.

[Charles Wiggins]

Try Poplar. Almost as cheap as white pine and it can be stained up to mimic other woods such as Walnut.

Check this article - https://www.kregtool.com/about-us/news/kreg-tool-tips-wood-buying/build-better-looking-projects-with-poplar.aspx

Ditto. Poplar is my go-to for painted furniture. It's a softer hardwood, very workable, can be sanded very smooth and accepts most finishes, including paint, very nicely. And it seems to be readily available over most of the U.S.

[Bill Dufour]

You can pick up Eucalyptus or redwood falls and split them to get shorter pieces for air drying. I would say doug fir is the cheapest here. it depends where you live. The world is a big place and local climate will affect what trees grow well.
I understand giant sequoias can grow in most climates that are not desert and they can be felled and harvested as long as they are cut within a few hundered years of planting before they get over 150-200 feet tall.
Bill D.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for all the great direction!

My location is Wichita, KS.

I picked up about 35 boad feet of 6/4 black walnut today from a sawmill for about $6.50 a board foot? Had them run it across their jointer as I don’t have one, yet. No idea if that is a good price, but my local mom and pop lumber yard wants $12 per board ft for S2S black walnut.

Also, I called another speciality lumber store in town and found 4/4 poplar, skip planed, for $2.35 a board foot and $2.50 for 6/4. Good price?

Those prices sound good but, this is very regional. Hard and soft maple are not expensive out here on the left coast and are a pleasure to work with when compared to softer woods. Poplar is another favorite for me. My last two workbench bases were poplar and have given good service for many years. For practice on items that may become "keepers" I would go with maple.

[Gary Ragatz]

What is a good price really depends on where you are. That said, around here (Minneapolis) $6.50 a board foot for 6/4 walnut wouldn't be too bad for KD, unless it was really knotty or really short lengths. I'm not sure on current price though, because I haven't bought it for a while. A few years back cherry dropped to almost half that, so I switched from walnut to cherry, but cherry is stating to climb up again.

Poplar is about the same here.

6/4 KD Walnut, Select & Better is $6.60/bf where I shop (min. 100 bf, but you can mix species to get to the 100 bf). S2S would add $.10 - $.20.

[kent wardecke]

It's regional and Kansas isn't known for its great forests . I like to brag that i get tulip poplar for $.60/ft but the wood is in the mountains of Kentucky 5 hours each way about $100 in gas then air dry and plane. So $2.35 gives me sticker shock but i guess that's not bad. Of the big three Menards has a wider selection of species and better prices than the other two