Need wood prep information please

[Karl Card]

I have mainly only done wood turning. Pen sets, bowls, etc. I am wanting to start into flat work but would like information
on what is the best route to take the wood through. What I mean is cut, plane, sand in what order and fashion.
I have a table saw, 16/32 open ended sander, 13 inch planer, 8 inch jointer, hand held orbital sanders, routers. Also what steps are most doing
when it comes to a (for example sake) an hour glass, I mean do you turn and cut all pieces and then finish each piece then put together or ???
I have not had any formal training but have just been messing around with wood but now I am wanting to get serious with the hobby and try not to make goofy mistakes. Yes I do know that mistakes are a part of learning however.
I do appreciate any and all positive feedback.

[Jim Becker]

"In general", preparing rough-cut (or skimmed) lumber for flat work generally entails flattening on the jointer, jointing one edge perpendicular to the flat face, thicknessing and then ripping to width. I generally break boards down to generous rough lengths before doing this processing because it makes the job easier. It's no fun at all to joint and thickness long boards, regardless of what equipment one has, so it's a best practice, IMHO, to break things down a little prior outside of perhaps skimming material to 'see what you got'. It's also a good idea to let things rest oversize with stickers before taking them to final thickness so that moisture equalizes and always be sure to at least try to take off equal amounts from both sides of a board for the same reason. You'll potentially have less issues with wood movement that way.

The majority of folks will build something, plane/sand and then finish. Sometimes, pre-finishing of components can be helpful because of the nature of a particular project. There is no hard and fast rule around that. Do what's best for the project at hand. I often pre-finish "interior" surfaces of cabinetry type things because spraying into a box is a truly thankless task, for example. I might assemble a table's understructure and then finish it and the table top separately because it's just plain easier to get a better finish that way.

[Lee Schierer]

I have several lumber places near me that supply S4S dimensioned hard wood to contractors. They also sell smaller amounts to anyone that walks in the door. Their prices are half of what the big box stores charge and the quality and selection are better.

Since you are just beginning the flat work stage of woodworking, I would suggest you start with S4S material from local suppliers other than the big box stores. By starting with S4S material you will avoid some of the mis-steps of preparing your own stock for projects. Then once you get a couple of projects under your belt you can move on to prepping your wood from rough cut and maybe eventually converting trees to finished lumber.

[Karl Card]

Thanks. I just need to start.

[Mike King]

Jim had it but I’ll just clarify.

step 1: select for grain and appearance. You should have a CutList of the pieces you are going to need. From that, you will acquire the rough lumber you are going to use. So now it’s time to identify which pieces are going to be cut from which boards. Spend time thinking about how the color and grain is going to manifest in the finished item. Mark the rough dimensions on your boards adding a bit to each piece — say ½” to the widths and an inch to the lengths (maybe more if your planer has snipe).

step 2: rough dimension the stock. I generally rough cross cut my stock on my slider. A sliding miter saw, radial arm saw, or circular saw can excel at rough cross cutting. The objective is to break the limber down into manageable pieces that minimize waste. And tryin to flatten a long board is almost always going to result in more waste than flattening a shorter one, so get these pieces down to rough lengths.

step 3: flatten one face: you’ve got to get one face flat so that you can do the next two steps. On the jointer, select the face to be flattened, usually cup side down (edges higher than middle). Run the board through so that the jointer cuts with the grain. If you are getting chip out, then the other direction is probably the correct one.

step 4: square one edge. Select one edge to be your reference. Check the fence on your jointer with a square to be sure it is set at 90 degrees. Place the face you flattened against the fence and square the edge you selected to be the reference edge with the jointer.

step 5: rough thickness your stock. Run the stock through the planer to bring it to ⅛ to 1/16th over the thickness you need. After the second face is flat, alternate which side is being surfaced to minimize wood movement.

step 6: let the wood acclimate a few days. Sticker your parts and let them acclimate. Wood moves after you’ve removed some of the wood, so you need to allow it to come to grips with the humidity again.

step 7: reflatten, re square, and thickness to final thickness. If you are going to glue up panels, then leave the thickness ⅛ over final.

Step 8: rip to width plus 1/16th, then joint. Glue up panels at this stage.

step 9: flatten panels and dimension them.

does this help? Just a bit more detail than what Jim provided.

[Wade Lippman]

Since you are just beginning the flat work stage of woodworking, I would suggest you start with S4S material from local suppliers other than the big box stores. By starting with S4S material you will avoid some of the mis-steps of preparing your own stock for projects. Then once you get a couple of projects under your belt you can move on to prepping your wood from rough cut and maybe eventually converting trees to finished lumber.

He has a planer and joiner; why would he buy S4S? Prepping the stock is the easiest part; if he doesn't master that he has no chance on the rest.

[Karl Card]

Thank you very much. My thoughts were pretty close but not quite same order. But I see the reasoning and that is what I was after.

Jim had it but I’ll just clarify.

step 1: select for grain and appearance. You should have a CutList of the pieces you are going to need. From that, you will acquire the rough lumber you are going to use. So now it’s time to identify which pieces are going to be cut from which boards. Spend time thinking about how the color and grain is going to manifest in the finished item. Mark the rough dimensions on your boards adding a bit to each piece — say ½” to the widths and an inch to the lengths (maybe more if your planer has snipe).

step 2: rough dimension the stock. I generally rough cross cut my stock on my slider. A sliding miter saw, radial arm saw, or circular saw can excel at rough cross cutting. The objective is to break the limber down into manageable pieces that minimize waste. And tryin to flatten a long board is almost always going to result in more waste than flattening a shorter one, so get these pieces down to rough lengths.

step 3: flatten one face: you’ve got to get one face flat so that you can do the next two steps. On the jointer, select the face to be flattened, usually cup side down (edges higher than middle). Run the board through so that the jointer cuts with the grain. If you are getting chip out, then the other direction is probably the correct one.

step 4: square one edge. Select one edge to be your reference. Check the fence on your jointer with a square to be sure it is set at 90 degrees. Place the face you flattened against the fence and square the edge you selected to be the reference edge with the jointer.

step 5: rough thickness your stock. Run the stock through the planer to bring it to ⅛ to 1/16th over the thickness you need. After the second face is flat, alternate which side is being surfaced to minimize wood movement.

step 6: let the wood acclimate a few days. Sticker your parts and let them acclimate. Wood moves after you’ve removed some of the wood, so you need to allow it to come to grips with the humidity again.

step 7: reflatten, re square, and thickness to final thickness. If you are going to glue up panels, then leave the thickness ⅛ over final.

Step 8: rip to width plus 1/16th, then joint. Glue up panels at this stage.

step 9: flatten panels and dimension them.

does this help? Just a bit more detail than what Jim provided.

[Karl Card]

He has a planer and joiner; why would he buy S4S? Prepping the stock is the easiest part; if he doesn't master that he has no chance on the rest.

Lee makes sense but at the same time I do actually enjoy using my machinery to make rough wood nice. Plus I am sitting on about 1700 board feet of kiln dried cherry, sassafras, hickory, maple, Kentucky coffee, walnut and Brazilian walnut. You might ask why do I have so much wood as a newbie, well, at less than $2.00 a bd ft I could not resist.