5/4 or 6/4 -- What do I need to resaw and finish to 1/2" for making drawers?

[Peter Quinn]

" I priced S4S maple 3/4" x 9 1/2" x 8 ft at $7.50 per lf so one piece is $60. On the other hand 4/4 from the saw mill is $2.59 / bdft so 4/4 x 9" x 8 ft is $15.54, NO BRAINER"

I'm guessing the S4S is kiln dried and the sawmill lumber is not? Perhaps the smaller drawer sizes (as opposed to case sides, etc) will not result in problems due to wood movement, especially with a good-all sides finish on the drawers.

im guessing the $7.50 price is from a builders supply or big box that subs out 3/4" S4S to stock in retail for contractors and home owners that don't have custom capacity regarding dimensioning stock. I remember chocking when a guy in front of me at a local builders supply was checking out with a small piece of poplar that rang up at $85....I could have bought 6X that amount for the same price rough and easily 3X that amount S4S at my lumber supplier. If thats soft maple, thats a pretty reasonable cost from the mill for KD material, bit less than I pay here, if thats hard maple its a lot less than I pay here for KD all sap white hard maple that we usually use for drawer stock. David raises a good point, you want to be sure you know what you are getting and you are getting what you want at that price.

[George Bokros]

The material is soft maple.

[Lee Schierer]

I priced S4S maple 3/4" x 9 1/2" x 8 ft at $7.50 per

Too bad you aren't a little bit closer to me. There are two suppliers near me where kiln dried s4s maple 3/4" x 9 1/2" is 6.10 per foot for lengths up to 10 foot.

[David Eisenhauer]

Good to go. KD soft maple and poplar have been my go-to drawer side materials for 30 years.

[Barry Block]

Just a note, I mill all my lumber for drawers twice. Especially if it was resawn. I mill once to a rough thickness, wait a day, then hit it on the jointer again and then plain to finished thickness. As aother creeker posted it is very important to work with flat stock.

[Robert Engel]

5/4 gives yourself some room for you're own milling.

You need it because cupping is the biggest issue when resawing.
I would sticker it immediately after its sawn and use cauls and clamps to maintain flatness.
Leave it alone for at least a week.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I have not had stock resawn before so I am not sure what I need to purchase to have the mill resaw for making drawers. My gut tells me 5/4 should be fine but not having done this before I am not sure.

I am having the mill resaw it because I need 8" material for drawers and my bandsaw is not large enough to do it. I do not want to purchase a riser because I would also have to purchase all new blades also.

Thanks

If you have access to a mill or someone with a mill, why resaw 6/4 (or 5/4) boards. If the have log stock, why not have them cut 3/4 (quarter scale), 1" true (or maybe 3/4" true) thick boards. They would be able to produce more from the log, at less cost, and cost less than resawing an expensive 6/4 board and planing away a bunch of material.

[Peter Quinn]

If you have access to a mill or someone with a mill, why resaw 6/4 (or 5/4) boards. If the have log stock, why not have them cut 3/4 (quarter scale), 1" true (or maybe 3/4" true) thick boards. They would be able to produce more from the log, at less cost, and cost less than resawing an expensive 6/4 board and planing away a bunch of material.

The issue as it's been described to me is how easily can be 3/4" size be adjusted at the mill and how willing are they to track this material through the drying process. Some mills I understand are quite easy to adjust sizes, some not so much, and having to monitor just a small pile of thinner stock as its dried can turn off certain operators. I've been told it's possible but you have to be in for at least 1000bf from many mills to get an order custom sawed and dried. On a limited basis the cost of dealing with the thinner material may outweigh any savings versus 4/4, so it's a maybe but not a forgone conclusion.

[Anthony Whitesell]

It depends on the mill (the establishment, not the machine). If you are going to a large mill operation then everything you state is likely true. At the smaller operations, it is very easy to adjust for this. Having a mill I know I can cut any size with the exception of the last board. The last board on the bed must be a minimum of 1" true, but 4/4 works better. It also depends on how much board stock is needed.

[Mike Schuch]

The mill I am going to charges $20 setup and 7 cents / linear fit to resaw. For me that would be about $23 to resaw. With the comments about the wood bannaning after resaw I don't think that is the route to go.

I am going to buy 4/4 and turn 1/2" of it into chips. I priced S4S maple 3/4" x 9 1/2" x 8 ft at $7.50 per lf so one piece is $60. On the other hand 4/4 from the saw mill is $2.59 / bdft so 4/4 x 9" x 8 ft is $15.54, NO BRAINER

Maple for drawer sides?

[Martin Wasner]

Buy 4/4 and just grind it down. Soft maple, surfaced to 13/16", and straight lined one edge goes for about $2.30 around here for the select and better. Paint grade soft maple goes for about $1.95. The time alone spent resawing isn't worth it in my opinion. Glue your panels up at 13/16" then plane them down. Much easier.

I wouldn't fret too much about material twisting up either. You're making drawers with it. In my experience, you can run some pretty tweaked material and make a straight drawer, especially on taller drawers. You've got a lot of structure and joint holding everything straight once assembled.

[Larry Fox]

You don't say what you are doing but, for me, unless it is a very special piece with a small number of drawers and I want to have the dovetails done by hand I find drawer making to be thankless work. If you are building a kitchen, dresser or something like that you can't beat these guys: http://www.newenglanddrawer.com/

Economics of scale is a wonderful thing sometimes. My next choice would be to go with 4/4 and just plane it down to where you want it. Out where I am soft maple is pretty inexpensive and plentiful so planing away a decent amount causes me exactly 0 heartache of any kind. If you are dead-set on resawing for a bookmatch or something like that, I would go with 6/4 to be safe. Based on my experience, 5/4 is cutting it way too close and the most likely outcome is two pieces that are too thin for your purposes.

[Jim Dwight]

My go to material for drawers is 1/2 Baltic birch plywood. I cut dovetails in it but I have to back cut. That is no big problem. I avoid glue up and cost is reasonable. Drawers were OK with my late wife, I think they will be OK with wife #2 too.

I tried 5/4 once and the result was not pretty. I got some drawers out of it but they were not 1/2 thick. Lots more work.