3/4" project...S2S to 25/32....I'm confused!

[Barry Londrigan]

Well...I haven't even started my first WW project but I am confused about an issue concerning thickness of project parts. I have been looking at some projects and I have been buying wood here and there in anticipation of building my first whatever... The place where I get all my wood has it surfaced two sides to 25/32"....1/32" over 3/4. Many of the projects I am looking at have board or part thicknesses of 3/4". I know these boards have been surfaced two sides to 25/32 but what I am concerned about is getting the board faces flattened or sanded smooth...that the boards will no longer be 3/4" thick. There is only 1/32 to play with ...or 1/64 a side to work with to get them smooth. Is the only solution I have to just run a ROS on them and live with that? I am worried about adjoining pieces not fitting properly as the dimensions of the project pieces change if I run the parts on a planer or jointer thus removing more than the 1/32" on my boards. I am sure I could continually measure the other pieces and cut them accordingly...but it just doesn't seem like this is the right answer.... Is the right answer simply to buy wood that is more than 25/32 thick? I do not have a drum sander or belt sander yet....is that the answer? Sorry this is so long!

[Richard Wolf]

Barry, if you are buying lumber that is S2S there should be very little preperation left as far as milling is concerned. Maybe some sanding or scraping. If the wood is in need of more perp, you are not getting S2S.
If you have the means(jointer and planer) you should be buying rough sawn lumber in 4/4 thickness, which will render you a full 3/4 when finished.

Richard

[Barry Londrigan]

Richard

Well...the wood is stated as 4/4 S2S to 25/32 and you are right, it probably just needs some sanding or scraping but here are two thoughts I had: The first one is that even though the wood is S2S to 25/32 there could be dings or scratches on a surface that are deeper than 1/64 (allowable removal on both sides still maintaining 3/4"). Maybe I am just being too picky when it comes down to it, but you are right and maybe my way to go, if I had rough cut 4/4 I do have a jointer and planer that I could mill my own wood with and "get it like I want it" The other thought on that wood is for a project I was looking at where there are four legs on a table and it required that two 3/4" boards be glued together to make 1 1/2" and then cut square to make a 1 1/2" square leg. I feel that the boards would have to be jointed for the gluing (and I think I just thought of my own answer) so probably just remove close to the 1/32" on two boards...glue them and scrape/sand the other side??

I appreciate your help...and I am not sure if this question belongs in this forum or the design??

[Lamar Horton]

Barry, when I buy 4/4 S2S, it has been planed from roughly 1" - 1 3/16" (whatever the rough stock is when it comes from the mill) down to 13/16. The planers used for the surfacing are big and take huge bites out of the wood and leaves the lumber in a less than desireable condition. The lumber is left oversized so as to use your own equipment to take it down to 3/4" or whatever thickness you desire.

If you have a planer, set the depth at 3/4", run your lumber through, sand or scrape as much as you need to to get the surface smooth, and build your project. Simple as that.

There is some debate on whether or not to sand before or after assembly, I tend to sand throughout the project. Sometimes it is easier to sand certain componets prior to assembly sometimes there is no benefit. It is all up to you. Don't sweat it too much, just get out there and build something beautiful and relax. After all that is what it is all about, right?

[Barry Londrigan]

Lamar

Thanks for the reply! I couldn't agree more...that is probably just what I need to do....get out there and build something. I do not have my shop set up quite yet but working on it....I just have these troubling thoughts going through my head...but I belive you have an answer there for me! I am probably just making too much out of it. I am sure that once I get started that I will find that the wood I have will work for what I want. Hopefully soon I will be able to post a picture of a beautiful project.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Lamar

I do not have my shop set up quite yet but working on it....I just have these troubling thoughts going through my head.

Barry don't you have a garage floor to finish!!!

Do not over think a project.
When you buy surfaced lumber it is almost always going to be different thickness. Unless it comes out of the same planer on the same run the thickness will be different.

[Barry Londrigan]

Chris...that's me....trying to put the cart before the horse! I am DYING to get started! I got a little stalled here this weekend...it is actually SNOWING here today! IT's a little cool out there so I worked on other things. Surfaced lumber....that brings up another question....do woodworkers mostly buy surfaced lumber for projects....or would they mostly buy rough lumber and use MASSIVE jointers (something you know plenty about) and planers to get it where they want it? I know these questions are elementary....but....that is where I am at....woodworking grade school! (or maybe kindergarten!)

[Chris Rosenberger]

Barry,
We had about 1" of snow on the ground this morning.
My personal preference is to buy nothing but rough lumber. Everyone has there own ideas but this is what works for me. I never had very good luck using surfaced wood. It seemed that when I would rip wide pieces into smaller pieces, alot of it would warp & bow. Using rough lumber I cut all my parts a little over size. Then I run one face over the jointer, plane to thickness. I then edge one side on the jointer, rip to 1/16" over size & run that edge over the jointer. I do this same process for material I am going to glue up into larger panels. It takes alittle more time, but I have never had a call back to replace a warped door. Knock on wood. Also the cost of rough lumber is less than surfaced.

[Barry Londrigan]

Ahhhhh! That echos what Richard has mentioned here earlier! This is the advice I think I will go with. I like that idea that it is cheaper as well. I will have to look for a source that sells the wood mostly rough. After all....that is one reason why I have a planer and jointer...Woodwerks lumber is mostly S2S and the 4/4 is S2S to 25/32 (This is the store I do my shopping at) Thank you all for the advice!

[John Miliunas]

Barry, I've been buying my lumber rough for many years. Heck, I've hardly ever even purchased any which was skip planed! At any rate, that is usually the most economical way of doing it and, every now and again, you come up with some much more precious lumber than what you paid for it! I bought some pretty gnarly looking Maple a while back, much of which became the frame for my workbench and, much of which just happend to come off the jointer & planer as *figured* Maple!!! Buying S2S or even S4S is usually too cost prohibitive, though rough sawn does have its own challenges. I've bought a lot of it "on the cheap" and end up putting a LOT of work into it. Loads of drop-off and sometimes doesn't yield the thickness I'd like to end up with. I think the trick is to find a supplier you're happy with. My buddy Karl and I think we have finally found one such supplier in our area. Nice stock, very straight and quite flat. Oh yeah...Good prices, too!

[Barry Londrigan]

Excellent John! I don't know why..but somehow I was in this paradigm that I needed to buy my wood S2S! I see now...as I have been educated that rough lumber could provide me with the "opportunity" if you will to be able to make it "as exact" as my skills will allow me to. You bring up a lot of good points that I did not think of...like the cracker jack theory on rough lumber!