HD framing lumber gumming up jointer/planer/table saw

[tim rapp]

A good friend told me that another guy dimensioned some HD framing lumber in his shop and "the sap in the wood gummed up the cutters and caused the wood to have burn marks, had to remove gum with Simple Green, took a while". I've never heard of this or experienced it; I've dimensioned Doug Fir and SYP at my friends shop no problem. My friend has high-end equipment with carbide cutters. I suspect the other guy doesn't know how to buy lumber and got some with lots of sap. Assuming you sort through the pile and buy good lumber with no visible sap or pitch pockets, is it going to gum up the cutters? I'm in Colorado, most of our framing lumber is Doug Fir.

[Mark Bolton]

I think the bigger question would be who in their right mind would be trying to "joint" framing lumber in the first place? Its a fools errand. Your talking material that is not stable, not kiln dried, may or may not be heat treated? If your making _crap_ out of framing lumber, and heaven forbid your having to make so little of it that you are having to buy it at home depot as opposed to being setup with a distributor delivering to your shop, then all bets are off. gummy, staples in the edges of your material, crap, twist, wet, sap, it is what it is.. your buying your material at the home center? What do you expect?

[Josko Catipovic]

I would not put HD softwood lumber through any of my woodworking machines.

[Matt Day]

The information is from a friend of a friend, so take it with a grain of salt.

Yes, framing lumber has sap and can buildup on blades inter workings of machines. Doesn’t mean you can’t use it for shop projects or something. But if you use it exclusively it will cause some issues.

[tim rapp]

The information is from a friend of a friend, so take it with a grain of salt.
slight correction, info not from friend of a friend. Friend A owns the shop, found gum on blades. Friend B brought sappy lumber to Friend A's shop.

[David Stone (CT)]

I've jointed and planed quite a bit of KD framing lumber (which is usually spruce here in New England) from Home Depot and "real" lumberyards alike--usually for things like making sub-bases for kitchen cabinets, built-ins and whatnot. It's so much easier to make square and accurate assemblies using stock that is actually straight and square. And framing lumber is the cheapest and easiest way to get suitable softwood in small quantities.

Anyway, it's mostly no big deal, at least in hobbyist-level quantities, especially if the material has been hanging around in the shop for a while. Yes, there is a greater chance of the kerf closing up due to stress when ripping and, no, it doesn't stay as flat after machining as higher grade material. And, like pine, it can mean cleaning the blade more often, and, once or twice, I've hit a pitch pocket, which was a little messy. But I've never had to spend hours cleaning up and certainly wouldn't hesitate to machine it (except for being extra careful for the possibility of stress in the wood)...

[johnny means]

Yellow pine will do this. We do a lot of work with reclaimed SYP that was felled decades ago and the sap still gums up everything. We wont even sand it past 40 grit in the widebelt because its pointless to try. Frequent lubing helps keep cutters clean.

[tim rapp]

one of the posts above has several inflammatory/misleading points. Some people hate framing lumber, got it, didn't mean to start a holy war. To clarify, most of the wood is KD, either way I normally dry it before use (since the middle of KD boards is usually still wet). And as stated I pick the best boards out of the pile, so no staples/wet/twist/visible sap. Also, it's mostly for shop projects, not my living room. Framing lumber is about $0.70 - $1.25/bd ft, 8/4 S3S hardwood is $8-$14/bd ft. Let's keep the thread focused on the basic question of "will cherry-picked Doug Fir boards from HD gum up cutters?"

[mike stenson]

Most of my KD framing lumber is wet. It's also almost all Douglas Fir in this location. Sometimes it's so resin-filled it's ridiculous. Sometimes, it's not.

[Bruce Page]

I ran some borg 4x4's through my drum sander once. It totally gummed up and destroyed the paper on the first pass.
Never again.

[Mark Bolton]

one of the posts above has several inflammatory/misleading points

Theme of the replies striking a chord? There is no.home center lumber that is 1$ a ft for #2 common 19% framing lumber and the equivalent KD spruce/pine/fir at 7% is 8-14$ a foot. Your comparing hardwood with framing material or some high dollar vertical grain Doug fir compared to fir framing lumber.

The point is it's not that much more expensive to buy a grade of KD material commensurate with framing lumber and not have to even think about "gumming up".

Heck, you can rip down birch ply for nearly what framing lumber costs at 24 a sheet.

[Mike Kees]

I keep about 5-10 two by fours at my shop to use for finishing placed on saw horses. They also end up getting hacked up and used for machine set-up on my shaper, TS or whatever. Occasionally have been used for shop stuff. Our framing lumber is mostly Spruce and after it sits in my shop for a couple of months pretty dry so I have not really noticed issues with pitch. That being said I do not machine it on a regular basis or try to make furniture with it.

[Jim Becker]

I will tell you that my recent milling up of "quality" 5/4 rough clear pine (expensive stuff) still resulted in resin residue that requires cleaning. It stands to reason that construction lumber that has a lot more knots and so forth will be at least as dirty and require at least as much work to clean up afterward. It's the nature of the product.

That said, the biggest challenge with milling construction lumber up to look nice is...stability. It tends to have higher moisture content and a lot of internal stress given that it's mostly all coming from young, very fast growing trees that are farmed for lumber and other wood products.

[Andrew Seemann]

I've had D grade white pine (the expensive stuff) gum up a planer before. Sometimes you just get pieces that are resinous, even when kiln dried to furniture grade dryness. Simple green wouldn't be my choice to clean it though; the pitch is oil based, so mineral spirits cleans it up pretty quickly.

I recently ran construction 2x4s through the planer. I wasn't making fine furniture, but jersey racks for the local hockey association. It needed to be done on the cheap, so I got 12' 2x4s. They were a bit rough and I was worried that the jerseys would catch on them, so I ran them off through the planer and took off about 1/16" from each side. They cleaned up quite nicely. Fortunately they were mostly pitch free and didn't gum anything up.
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[Curt Harms]

What I recall re framing lumber is that it is normally dried to 19% moisture which is dry enough to not support mold growth. If softwood is heated to 160* F that will 'set the pitch' so it doesn't run. Will it gum up cutters? Don't know. I have jointed/planed 2X lumber to make shop/utility cabinets and didn't notice any deposits on cutters.

[Dave Sabo]

I believe the chemicals in regular Simple Green are pretty bad for carbide and the tooth brazing.

In in my area (ATL) the framing lumber at the BORGs is almost always better than the specialty dealers. This wasn't always the case, but has been for the last several years.

I don't think it's fair or accurate to lump the pitch problem on BORG wood. It's species specific. We use first growth heart pine every once in a while - something you just can't get at the BORG. It gums up tooling despite being felled over a hundred years ago.

[Jim Becker]

I believe the chemicals in regular Simple Green are pretty bad for carbide and the tooth brazing.

I can't say I've heard this before...Simple Green has been the "go to" for cleaning blades for a really long time now. I use it for degreasing in my kitchen, too.

[Erik Loza]

I've used Simple Green for years to clean painted/coated parts of machine chassis and never had an issue with corrosion. But, I think there is some "industrial version" of Simple Green that maybe is more caustic? I can say for sure that if we're talking about the OG licorice-smelling stuff, it's safe for this.

Erik

[Josko Catipovic]

I can't say I've heard this before...Simple Green has been the "go to" for cleaning blades for a really long time now. I use it for degreasing in my kitchen, too.

I use oven cleaner for heavy blade cleaning jobs and car 'bug 'n tar' remover where i'm concerned about damage to paint or surfaces. Simple green is really meant to clean up residual proteins.

[Andrew More]

I've run a lot of pine through my tablesaw, jointer, planer and router bits.

Most of it is hand picked KD southern yellow pine from a big box store. I find the 2x12s to be much better than the 2x4s in terms of quality.

If I want to build something from pine I have few options. LOTS of local places will sell you various hardwoods, even rough sawn stock, but pine is not available. In my case I am attempting to match other parts of my old house which were built from pine. I have found one sawyer who will sell eastern pine, but they're 45-60 minutes one way. I also don't see a difference in quality between it, and the big box store. The main advantage is being able to get 8/4 Pine, rather than the 6/4 from the big box stores.

It's nice for beginner projects, prototypes, shop furniture, and general screwing around. Jay Bates and Christopher Schwarz both found it superior for building hand tool workbenches. It's also the material of choice for making Windsor chairs. I honestly find the denigration of various materials to smack of elitism. There is a time and a place for everything, you just have to be clear about the advantages and disadvantages of the material. I think pine has a poor reputation because a lot of beginners make projects from it, but do not use the advanced techniques applied to hardwoods. I find with the proper milling attention to detail, and advanced techiniques it can be a nice material to work with. I currently have two interior doors made from it, and after several years have not noticed any major changes in terms of warping, shifting, or cupping.

I do see a bit of build up on the knives and bits, but have not experienced some of the problems people are reporting with running a board or two, and disaster. Generally I use CMT's Blade Cleaner (https://www.amazon.com/CMT-Formula-Blade-Cleaner-bottle/dp/B000BJJY5C) which takes care of it.

[Curt Harms]

I can't say I've heard this before...Simple Green has been the "go to" for cleaning blades for a really long time now. I use it for degreasing in my kitchen, too.

There used to be a Simple Green that was advertised as noncorrosive/safe for metal. That implied to me that the 'regular' stuff was corrosive to a degree. That was several years ago though. Perhaps the current stuff is noncorrosive.

[Peter Kelly]

one of the posts above has several inflammatory/misleading points. Some people hate framing lumber, got it, didn't mean to start a holy war. To clarify, most of the wood is KD, either way I normally dry it before use (since the middle of KD boards is usually still wet). And as stated I pick the best boards out of the pile, so no staples/wet/twist/visible sap. Also, it's mostly for shop projects, not my living room. Framing lumber is about $0.70 - $1.25/bd ft, 8/4 S3S hardwood is $8-$14/bd ft. Let's keep the thread focused on the basic question of "will cherry-picked Doug Fir boards from HD gum up cutters?"If I wander into an HD I usually pick through the pile of KD Douglas Fir 2x12's, grabbing any particularly nice clear, straight boards, stacking them in the barn for later use. I'll pass on anything that looks iffy so it takes me a while to build up a collection.

Can't say I've noticed an excessive buildup of pitch when machining.

[Mark Bolton]

If you do the math, an average 2x6x8 in my area (SPF) is going to be about $0.69+ a board foot. So that would be from dead rough, to 19%, S4S. In my area at least, you can buy #2 common poplar for about the same and pay another $0.30 to have it surfaced. And your dealing with true KD material, stable, decent quality, definitely not as easy to get as the homecenter hours, cant pick through board by board, but your in a stable situation, no gumming, no BS, no worry about down the road, and your not supporting an entity that is shafting the US economy with imports down the river for the sake of corporate profit. Your more than likely supporting a local operation trying to process timber in the US for a profit.

Comparing home center framing lumber to 8-14$ a board foot primo hardwood is an unfair comparison. My poplar inventory is very close to home center framing lumber pricing (in my opinion) and its MILES better on all fronts from sourcing, to processing, right on down the line.

I could easily see picking some material from the home center. I buy quite a bit of 4x4 fir as its the only place to get it. But if there is any local option even for a slight upcharge, its going to be better material.

[Lee Schierer]

I use oven cleaner for heavy blade cleaning jobs and car 'bug 'n tar' remover where i'm concerned about damage to paint or surfaces. Simple green is really meant to clean up residual proteins.

Oven cleaner should not be used for cleaning carbide tipped saw blades. The caustic in oven cleaner will attack the binder in the carbide and the brazing used to secure the teeth to the blade.


I can't say I've heard this before...Simple Green has been the "go to" for cleaning blades for a really long time now. I use it for degreasing in my kitchen, too.

Regular Simple Green is also not recommended by Simple Green for use on saw blades. See the discussion at this link: Response from Simple Green about Cleaning Saw Blades (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149002-Response-from-Simple-Green-about-Cleaning-Saw-Blades)

[Mike Henderson]

I've been using dishwashing detergent to clean my blades. I put the blades (one at a time) in a bucket and put in enough water and detergent mix to cover the blade. Let soak for a while and then use a brush to brush the blade. Has worked fine for me.

Mike

[Dave Sabo]

I can't say I've heard this before...Simple Green has been the "go to" for cleaning blades for a really long time now. I use it for degreasing in my kitchen, too.

Perhaps it was before you were moderating ?


https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?30881-Simple-Green-Followup





https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?72019-Original-Simple-Green-Bad-for-Carbide



-and-

this one quotes an official response from Simple Green's tech dept too.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149002-Response-from-Simple-Green-about-Cleaning-Saw-Blades



Simple Green's advice on their website:
https://simplegreen.com/cleaning-tips/rooms/garage/saw-blades/



and FWIW, I believe Freud is on record saying they recommend something call LA's Totally Awesome from ...................the Dollar Store .


All that aside, my personal feeling is that a weak dilution of simple green sprayed on and then brushed off in a relatively short time isn't going to ruin your fancy blade in any meaningful way. YMMV

[Jim Becker]

I stand corrected.

[Andrew More]

If you do the math, an average 2x6x8 in my area (SPF) is going to be about $0.69+ a board foot. So that would be from dead rough, to 19%, S4S. In my area at least, you can buy #2 common poplar for about the same and pay another $0.30 to have it surfaced.

Must be nice. Here in the midwest Southern Yellow Pine is ~$.75 a bf, while popular is around $2, rough, from a sawyer.

Southern Yellow Pine (https://www.wood-database.com/pond-pine/) has a higher Janka Hardness, modulus of rupture, elastic modulus, and crushing strength than poplar (https://www.wood-database.com/poplar/). Both can be tricky to stain, poplar's softness often results in fuzzy edges and surfaces. Most poplar I see around here is pretty clear, while you have to work to find SYP that is free of knots.

[Mark Bolton]

Must be nice. Here in the midwest Southern Yellow Pine is ~$.75 a bf, while popular is around $2, rough, from a sawyer.

Southern Yellow Pine (https://www.wood-database.com/pond-pine/) has a higher Janka Hardness, modulus of rupture, elastic modulus, and crushing strength than poplar (https://www.wood-database.com/poplar/). Both can be tricky to stain, poplar's softness often results in fuzzy edges and surfaces. Most poplar I see around here is pretty clear, while you have to work to find SYP that is free of knots.

Again, what grade? You say clear poplar, that's not a reasonable comparison to framing lumber. #2 common? #1 common? Should be down in the dollar and under range.

That's the problem when people compare "hardwood" to framing lumber. To justify the practice they compare #2 framing lumber, which is pretty clear usually, to "$8-$14 a foot" boutique hardwood.

The price and availability of KD hard or softwood is never going to be as low as framing lumber from the Borg or a lumberyard but it's not 15x the process either.

It's not as big a stretch as is commonly tossed around.

[John McKissick]

A good friend told me that another guy dimensioned some HD framing lumber in his shop and "the sap in the wood gummed up the cutters and caused the wood to have burn marks, had to remove gum with Simple Green, took a while". I've never heard of this or experienced it; I've dimensioned Doug Fir and SYP at my friends shop no problem. My friend has high-end equipment with carbide cutters. I suspect the other guy doesn't know how to buy lumber and got some with lots of sap. Assuming you sort through the pile and buy good lumber with no visible sap or pitch pockets, is it going to gum up the cutters? I'm in Colorado, most of our framing lumber is Doug Fir.

I don't doubt the experiences of others here but I have done a number of projects using 2x3's milled down on my lunchbox planer and table saw. I have not had gumming up blades but I did have a knot start to lift out after a while. I don't have a moisture meter so I don't know how dry it was.

[glenn bradley]

I think the bigger question would be who in their right mind would be trying to "joint" framing lumber in the first place? Its a fools errand.

I agree. Despite many articles in the trade rags on "saving money" by buying lumber at the BORG, I have never had good luck with it. I acclimated dimensional lumber for a couple of months in my SoCal gara. . . er, shop and the material still moved to an unacceptable degree once I made something out of it. thank goodness it was only a workbench base.


I would not put HD softwood lumber through any of my woodworking machines.

This falls under 'use as intended'. Job site saws and tools for construction lumber. Other tools for furniture making. As mentioned above, I quickly found out how much cheaper poplar, alder or maple from the lumber yard was once you factored in the waste and clean up from "cheap" material.

Do yourself a favor, buy smart, not cheap.

[Jim Becker]

poplar's softness often results in fuzzy edges and surfaces.

I've run thousands of board feet of poplar since having trees harvested and milled here on our property in the early 2000s and one thing I've never had was any kind of "fuzzy edges" and surfaces. It's also harder than the white pine I've used from time to time. SYP is a different animal, of course.

[Andrew More]

Again, what grade? You say clear poplar, that's not a reasonable comparison to framing lumber. #2 common? #1 common? Should be down in the dollar and under range.
I don't know, the local sawyers don't offering grading on poplar or any other wood. Maybe if I bought it bulk, or asked, I might be able to get something like that? I disagree with your assertion that it should be a different price in another part of the country, from where you're living, which is why I mentioned the midwest.


The price and availability of KD hard or softwood is never going to be as low as framing lumber from the Borg or a lumberyard but it's not 15x the process either.
Both Menards and Home Depot claim the SYP is KD here. I have not seen it move any more than the usual season adjustments of a little here and there. I also forgot to mention I have a few pieces my father made a couple of decades ago, including a twin bed with 6' rails, than have not moved significantly.

427783

[Andrew More]

FWIW, pricing sheet from local sawyer about 45 minutes from my house. There's another one, in town, but the prices tend to be a bit higher, mostly reflecting their location in one of the nicest locations in the city.

427788

[Mark Bolton]

Without a doubt location and the vendor will have an effect. Obviously the source you posted only sells the higher grades of material which Im sure they choose to do for any number of reasons. I had posted this sheet from Yoder (I dont deal with them but its the only sheet I had handy) That shows #1 common poplar at 1.04 in single board quantities and I believe all their material is skipped to 15/16 so its clean-ish.

http://www.yoderlumber.com/images/pdfs/yoderlumberpricelist.pdf

My point was just that a grade of material commensurate with framing lumber (#1 common poplar is far and away more stable and better than framing lumber) may only be $0.25/bf more. Even if its double the price its not the same as 8-14/bd ft which was what I was commenting on. I dont pay 8$ a bd ft for FAS Black Walnut (or any domestic hardwood at all for that matter).

Volume plays a part for sure (I dont buy huge quantities) but most domestic hardwoods other than the odd balls are often well below $2 and they are more than likely going to land to you at 7-8% so all of that would factor in.

No doubt we all build bench bases out of framing lumber at some point but when it comes to jointing and planing the "leap" to KD hard or soft woods is not as large a jump as many want to make it out to be.

[Andrew More]

Without a doubt location and the vendor will have an effect. Obviously the source you posted only sells the higher grades of material which Im sure they choose to do for any number of reasons.
Maybe? I haven't bought any poplar from them, but I have bought some eastern pine, which had a number of knots in it. They were willing to allow me to pick boards, and cut around obvious problem spots. I don't find their prices to be much different from other vendors. The one you linked to is about 4 hours from here, and close to Cleveland, which has access to Canadian lumber over the Great Lakes.


My point was just that a grade of material commensurate with framing lumber (#1 common poplar is far and away more stable and better than framing lumber) may only be $0.25/bf more. Even if its double the price its not the same as 8-14/bd ft which was what I was commenting on. I dont pay 8$ a bd ft for FAS Black Walnut (or any domestic hardwood at all for that matter).
Okay, I've seen local prices at the fancy sawyer of $15 a bf for walnut, though the sheet I linked too, and others have been far cheaper. I still don't see anything that's not 2-3x the amount charged for SYP. I would agree if the difference in price was only $0.25/bf then go with a hardwood species (though I'm not convince popular is better than SYP). I'd further add you have a very good point that most people don't understand the difference in price, because they're priced differently.


No doubt we all build bench bases out of framing lumber at some point but when it comes to jointing and planing the "leap" to KD hard or soft woods is not as large a jump as many want to make it out to be.

I think that's fair. I must admit I was surprised at how "cheaply" I could get quality hardwood, once I asked for it in the rough, at a sawyer. The prices at Rockler and the big box stores make it seem very expensive, when it literally grows on trees.

However, to be clearer, Jay Bates, and Christopher Swartz both prefer SYP for the entire bench, including the top. In Jay's case he stated that he felt it was easier to work with than his hickory bench because of how it bounced the energy of his blows back to him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HoOPhKMbms

Christopher Schwartz appears to like cheap woods for benches, and commented that Beech was often the wood of choice in Europe for that reason. He has specifically named SYP for workbenches, though I can't find a link atm.
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/09/18/materials-tools-for-the-knockdown-nicholson-workbench/
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/mistakes-first-time-bench-builders/
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/rules_for_workbenches/2/

I'd also point out that there are a number of species sold as SYP (https://www.wood-database.com/?s=southern+yellow+pine), and regional differences are going to result in different lumber, and comparing the lumber in California or the rest of the west coast is not going to be the same as the stuff I can get here.

I'd also point out that even professional wood workers like the Samurai Carpenter make things out of pine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNT7BjPPnzc), despite mostly working in hardwoods. I don't know that it's necessarily a "jump" is it is selecting the right material for the job. If you've got a large project, for somebody who will not appreciate a nicer wood, then the cost difference can make it very much work the while to do it in a cheaper wood.

[Mark Bolton]

Okay, I've seen local prices at the fancy sawyer of $15 a bf for walnut, though the sheet I linked too, and others have been far cheaper. I still don't see anything that's not 2-3x the amount charged for SYP.

For sure, and again, SYP to Walnut is a massive jump. I pay half your sheet for FAS Walnut regularly. Once you get off the borg/rockelr/woodcraft thing it gets interesting but you've got to commit and not be a nuisance. Beyond that all bets are off. There are large margins included to deal with defecting, grading, being allowed to pick, and its up to the individual if they are willing to pay the addition margin to pick to buy exactly what they need or just buy a full pack for the same price and you may, or may not, get all you need for the project and have a boat load of drops left over.

The latter is the smarter decision in my mind but there are surely times when your needing primo material that the drops will pretty much be loss tht paying the premium to be able to pick and sort makes sense.

[Mark Bolton]

Framing lumber is about $0.70 - $1.25/bd ft, 8/4 S3S hardwood is $8-$14/bd ft. Let's keep the thread focused on the basic question of "will cherry-picked Doug Fir boards from HD gum up cutters?"

Just revisiting this thread, and unfortunately as with most who want to justify using borg framing lumber, "wild cherry picking" your numbers. $8-$14 a board foot?!!?!? Are you comparing bubinga to borg framing lumber? No idea what the deal is in CO but I posted http://www.yoderlumber.com/images/pdfs/yoderlumberpricelist.pdf and surely to god there is a supply near you in the same range for commodity mateial thats local to your area. In that list 8/4 poplar (likely dead clear nutso grade of material compared to framing lumber) is $1.98 a stick at a time and $0.30 less when you hit a modest volume. I would bet #1 or #2 if they saw it would be way less than that and at least it will be at 7-8%

Im not advocating surfacing your own 2x4's out of poplar but again, the leap from $0.70 all the way to $8-$14 is one that speaks clearly to trying to justify your logic. Get some pricing on #1 or #2 common bread and butter KD material and I would guess you will never surpass 2x your high number of 1.25/bd ft for framing lumber. You may have to commit to a pack of 600' or so (pretty much nothing) but you'll be dealing with better material out of the gate and likely never look back.

[Andrew More]

For sure, and again, SYP to Walnut is a massive jump. I pay half your sheet for FAS Walnut regularly. Once you get off the borg/rockelr/woodcraft thing it gets interesting but you've got to commit and not be a nuisance.

I think it also depends on how much time you want to invest. That $15/bf for walnut is from the close, fancy sawyer. I can drive for 45-60 minutes one way and get much lower prices, but then I'm paying for gas, and eating up valuable time. Further all the local sawyers have mostly 9-5 business hours, with a little time on Saturday. Say whatever else you like about the home centers, they're open and in my case 5 minutes away.

[Mark Bolton]

I think it also depends on how much time you want to invest. That $15/bf for walnut is from the close, fancy sawyer. I can drive for 45-60 minutes one way and get much lower prices, but then I'm paying for gas, and eating up valuable time. Further all the local sawyers have mostly 9-5 business hours, with a little time on Saturday. Say whatever else you like about the home centers, they're open and in my case 5 minutes away.

No doubt, and completely agree. Your position is very very smart. Your time has value. Driving to BF Egypt to save $80 doesnt make a lot of sense as compared to shop time, fuel, vehicle expense/wear/and tear.. very very smart. Refreshing to hear.

I pay a boat load more than I want for some stuff that can be dropped at the shop door because my time is worth far more than any savings.

[scott vroom]

I think the bigger question would be who in their right mind would be trying to "joint" framing lumber in the first place? Its a fools errand. Your talking material that is not stable, not kiln dried, may or may not be heat treated? If your making _crap_ out of framing lumber, and heaven forbid your having to make so little of it that you are having to buy it at home depot as opposed to being setup with a distributor delivering to your shop, then all bets are off. gummy, staples in the edges of your material, crap, twist, wet, sap, it is what it is.. your buying your material at the home center? What do you expect?

Unless he edited it out, the OP doesn't mention whether it was run through a planer or jointer.

I've had occasional need in general construction to thin 2x DF lumber (e.g. furring), and have never had an issue running it through my planer. We typically build with KD #2 DF so wet sap not so much an issue as the green stuff you find at HD. Not in my right mind? Probably, but for reasons unrelated to woodworking.

[Jim Dwight]

I have a queen sized bed for guests that is made of hand picked SYP from HD. It has almost no knots that show. The legs are glued up to 3x3. It went through the planner fine and glued up fine. It is not the first and will not be the last bed I made of framing lumber. Debating making a bunk bed of softwood right now (but only 1 of 3 grandkids are big enough to use it so there is no rush). The moisture content is not as low as KD hardwood but by the time I store softwood in my uncooled shop in the summer in SC it probably isn't still 8% either. It's dry enough not to cause problems. I used framing lumber to support the slats on my cherry queen sized bed. I did not see the point of using hardwood for that purpose. Framing lumber milled to size works fine. I've noticed no big issue with needing to clean cutters but I suspect it could be bad if you get something with a lot of sap in it. I avoid that including repurposing the wood to something other than furniture if I find sap while milling (in significant quantities, small pockets can be sealed with shellac and cause no issue).

I paid 3.50 per bd ft for the last cherry I bought. I could have paid $10 another place but I drove a little and got a much better price. I think I paid 3 for maple before that. This was rough planned. It was stored in an unheated metal building so although it had been kiln dried it's moisture content had probably gone up at least a little. I suspect transportation is often a significant portion of the price and thus regional prices would vary. I get better deals going closer to or in North Carolina than I find in SC. I used to get good deals from a mill outside Pittsburgh PA when I lived there.