Wood choice.....uummm help?

[Jerry Strojny]

I am working on a some furniture for our first baby!!! LOML has a list of things for me to do. (I am rather excited about the whole thing.) Anyway, the first of the projects is a set of very simple wall shelves. 36" wide, 10" deep, and a "scallop" along the bottom. They will be painted. So what I ask the experts of SMC, what is the best wood to use for a painted piece.
I thought poplar was supposed to be a "stable" wood and great for a painted project. I have used poplar once in the past on some cabinet doors and had horrible results. They ended up bowing out over 5/8" at the middle on a 20" wide door. Is select pine better? Was it something I did wrong? Should I just go to soft maple??? Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

[Steve Clardy]

Maple would be a better choice over poplar. Cost is more.

[Keith Webster]

Well if it was me and I wanted to use a wood that would not warp as much and had a good price I would go to one of the boxes and get that finger joint pine they sale in differant length and widths. I have used it several times on painted projects and it still looks great. I like the wide widths that it comes in....up to 20'' I think. Anyway go check it out if you get a chance.

[Jerry Strojny]

I'll go take at look in one of them Box stores on my way home tonight. To look at maple and pine...

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Jerry, I really doubt that the problems you experienced were due to the species of the wood. The stability of wood has more to do with the way it has been saw, dried, and stored than with the tree it came from. Poplar is my favorite paint-grade wood, and I've used plenty of it without problems with warping.

A few questions for you that will help identify the problem:

Are you buying wood rough or finished?

Do you store in your shop to acclimate prior to use?

What construction techniques are you using? Were those cabinet doors frame-and-panel?

[John Kain]

Since you live in Wisconsin, you can get poplar at a pretty good price. I made a chest for my son with it and had no problems. Since you are painting it, you don't have to worry about staining/dyeing it as poplar is a bit more difficult than others.

If you are going to look at pine, I think I'd shy away from yellow/knotted pine as it is really soft and doesn't hold up well.

[Jim Becker]

I use a lot of poplar in my projects (mostly NOT painted) and it's a fine wood to work with. Like any lumber, how it's been dried and prepared will affect how stable it will be once you work with it. And sometimes there is a board that is straight when you start, but "lets go" once you start milling it further and release additional moisture.

[Charlie Plesums]

I recently discovered that my lumber yard (and other yards after I knew enough to ask) have a "paint grade maple" - largely the "undesirable" brown heartwood - that is cheaper than poplar. Given the choice of maple or poplar, I choose maple, and the fact that it is cheaper is a big bonus.

[Jerry Strojny]

Kent,
to answer your questions-

Are you buying wood rough or finished? s4s from HD, it started out straight. It warped after the glue-up, before it was cut to it's finished dimensions.

Do you store in your shop to acclimate prior to use? Yes, it was in the shop for at least 8 weeks before I started to cut it to size.

What construction techniques are you using? Were those cabinet doors frame-and-panel? the construction type was just a simple panel with a routered edge. Nothing fancy. If it was a frame and panel I think it would not have warped as much, but then it would not have matched.

From the comments made so far, it seems like the wood I got had some real moisture issues. But I can't figure out why. They had plenty of time to acclimate. But once the cuts were made...all heck broke loose. It always seems to be that my workshop has it's own set of rules. Or at least it doesn't like to follow the rules.

[Seth Poorman]

I had no problems with poplar, I used to make tons of raised panal doors.
But that said , maybe one out of every 100 doors or so. We would get a door that would warp,and we would have to scrap it.
I think that was do to much moisture in the wood, or somtimes when wood is cut it will start to take a shape of its own do to its grain structure.

[Brian Hale]

..........It always seems to be that my workshop has it's own set of rules. Or at least it doesn't like to follow the rules.

Sounds like you been sneaking into my shop :eek: :rolleyes:

Brian :)

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Jerry,

8 weeks should be plenty of time for lumber to acclimate... unless the humidity levels are changing over that period. Might be a good idea to check the RH levels in your shop and correct if necessary. I have a dehumidifier in my basement shop that runs year-round and keeps RH consistent at about 50%.

Aside from that, sometimes you just run into a bad batch of wood, and wide, unrestrained panels are always a bit of a risk. Hang in there!