Do You Mill Your Own Lumber?

[Leo Graywacz]

I usually get 250-350 bd ft of S Maple or Poplar. I almost always get it skip planed 15/16" and slr one edge. It gives me the option to various thicknesses and get a true flat, straight board to work with.

The planer my mill uses is a planer/jointer. The bottom of the planer has buttons on springs that support the wood without crushing it flat which causes the cup to remain. So I get a nice flat board (no cup) that is generally straight along the length (not wavy). From there a quick face and through the planer gets me the board I need.

For the most part 15/16" skip plane gets me clean boards on both sides. Of course there are some rough spots on some boards, others are totally clean. Plus they get to keep the majority of the chips and with the SLR edge I can just cut my strips right off the board with no edge jointing until I need to get to the clean size. Speeds things up a lot.

I worked in a shop that would get the wood planed to 13/16". We had a SLR saw so we would do that part. Thing would eventually get wide belt sanded to 3/4"

[Mark Bolton]

The issue with having the lumber seller preparing the lumber is that few are going to actually flatten the stock properly before they thickness. It will all be the stated thickness, but that's very different than being flat. Some even just run double sided planers to create those " 3/4" thick boards " in the rack...and the scalloping is "awesome". This is likely true for the majority of S3S oe S4S material out there, IMHO.

Same as Leo here. You need a better supplier. Never cupped and never seen scallop. I would definitely go the old route for something boutique but not for everything.

[Jon Endres]

My favorite part of a project is running a rough-sawn board through the first pass on the jointer or planer and seeing the treasure underneath (or trash, sometimes...). I will give up my jointer and planer when I have to quit woodworking due to age and/or health reasons.

[Robert Engel]

Yes, I generally prepare all my material from rough sawn or skip planed material. It's more economical to buy rough and lightly skip planed lumber and by jointing it flat and thicknessing myself, I have absolute control of things like grain match, figure and color, thickness, etc. I'm a firm believer that selecting the material is the very first step in the finishing process and doing a good job there can take a project from "that's nice" to "wow!". I also prefer to work in the thicknesses that are appropriate for my project, not the thicknesses that are on the rack at some supplier. Proportion is everything sometimes. (I've moved to metric, too) And having someone else joint/plane for you will almost never result in the same quality you will get with your own tools if you become skilled at the task, despite the time it takes to do it.

That said, if you do basic projects that can work with commonly available thicknesses and "quality of flat" you might get from a supplier, there's no harm in simplifying your life.

@Jim, I am of the same mindset. Skip planed is nice to see grain before breaking down.

Have you ever had an issue with insect damage later on? I've never seen that as an issue, but it was brought to my attention by Mark. I do treat with borate prior to stacking.

Haven't made the move to metric, but I have started using it for spacing.

[Jim Becker]

Robert, it's important to avoid active insects for sure...they can happen even with KD stock, although it's less likely at lower moisture levels.

For folks running large production shops, I can absolutely see the business case for buying lumber already surfaced to dimension and yes, I'm sure there are good suppliers for that particular thing. The majority of folks here at SMC are not in that category, however. Most have to either suffer through whatever is on the shelf at a retail outlet or buy rough and mill to their own specifications. I prefer the latter for the reasons I noted above.

[Jack Frederick]

I have a couple hardwood suppliers within a reasonable drive and they have a good selection, but based upon my expectation of the wood not being "just right" I think that not having the J/P would in a project or two drive you nuts. A vendor is simply not going to take the time and care you will require for your work.

[Frank Pratt]

The Home Depot stores around here carry very good quality fully milled hardwood (expensive as hell). I've bought small amounts in a pinch. Even though the milling is good quality, by the time it makes it into the customer's shop, it is no longer straight & flat.

So no, I would not give up my planer & jointer.

[Mark Bolton]

My favorite part of a project is running a rough-sawn board through the first pass on the jointer or planer and seeing the treasure underneath (or trash, sometimes...). I will give up my jointer and planer when I have to quit woodworking due to age and/or health reasons.

I dont think many people are advocating giving up a planer and jointer. These issues always meander between hobby and for-profit work and then all the sub categories below each one. Highly custom odd ball piece with figured/thick/whatever, as compared to building day to day work that one would hope to get out in a reasonable time, with reasonable effort, and in a for-profit situation, profitably.

Someone who just loves to surface lumber and either doesnt have to account for their time, or is making enough money on a project to do so, is one column. Then you have the people who even if its a hobby, need to get things done. If its a for-profit, no component of ones "favorite part" or what you like to do plays into the equation of simply losing money as long as you can turn out work that meets all the criteria needed.

I couldnt operate my shop without a planer even though its not a daily use item (thank heavens). I honestly rarely ever use a jointer but that is very much to do with work flow and equipment on hand. With all that, I could never negate the fact that surfacing rough material for day to day work would cost me 10-15x what it does to either bring material in to size, OR 1/8-3/16" over size with one straight edge. Getting out from under all those chips, the knives, the wear and tear on the body, and to still have enough material to do what ever we need to do is smart whether I had 100mil in the bank and were just playing around, or was trying to make every nickel count.

The chips alone from bring material in skipped that has to go to .750 are daunting.

Im a fan of spreadsheets. Put 5$ an hour on your shop surfacing material and run 500 board feet from dead rough to finished. Your boards may as well be gold bars when your done. Now apply what it really costs, and you far beyond gold bars. I envy those who think handling chips is more fun that making finished product.

[Mike Cutler]

I mill my own. It's equal parts that I enjoy the control of the material I can select, and I no longer have a reputable place near me that will do it.

Many years ago we had a local supplier that would go from rough, to S4S. You selected the rough boards from their inventory, and spec'd what you wanted for thickness. They even had a 50" wide belt sander for pre-sanding and panels. You could almost come out of the shop with a finish ready board. The boards were done in "runs" so that every one of them was identical in thickness,and dimension, if you spec'd it that way.
If they were still around, I'm not sure I'd take the time to dimension my own material any longer as a routine. I've become kind of lazy as I got older.
If you can get quality material milled to your spec's reliably. Go for it.
I would still keep the planer and jointer though.

[Will Blick]

Wow, so glad to read these replies, as I concur with the general theme here.

My experience is, S3S or S4S lumber is crazy priced... from what I find, about $7 -$10 BF for Domestic Hardwoods. This is relatively low volume of course. If I only did one or two projects a year, I might consider this. But I do more. When I do buy these finished lumber when in a pinch, I sometimes experience what Jim mentioned, consistent thickness, but not flat! Or slight crook, creating more work and waste. Then, when the wood sits in my shop, it moves again, now I might have to deal with another movement issue.

When you consider, for fine pieces, the game plan is to dimension and thickness close to your final dimension, then let the wood sit for a several days min., then mill to your final dimension... do these milling houses do this? I think not. So, to get really well dimensioned pieces that you will further work with joinery, dovetails, etc, it will sit even longer before glued up. Lots can go wrong. Specially if you are not working on the project 8 hrs a day. So its best IMO to mill up the lumber right, and then finish it, once its completed.

So while I could still do projects without my jointer n planer, IMO, its adds too many quirks to the build process.

[kent wardecke]

The Home Depot stores around here carry very good quality fully milled hardwood (expensive as hell). I've bought small amounts in a pinch. Even though the milling is good quality, by the time it makes it into the customer's shop, it is no longer straight & flat.

So no, I would not give up my planer & jointer.

fwiw Menards has a better selection of species and better prices for s4s hardwood

[kent wardecke]

I get wood dirt cheap but it's a 4 hour drive to the mill. Before i ever start a project there's hours of straightening and planing boards. I tell my wife I'm going into the woodworking business when i retire from the fire department. Truth is i don't think i could make $12/hr
The catch is i love the process.
Selling equipment to free up 10 square feet of shop space is a little extreme.

[Frank Pratt]

fwiw Menards has a better selection of species and better prices for s4s hardwood

No Menards here in the Great White North. But as I said, I only get the odd board from HD so it's not a big deal. I do most all the milling myself.

[glenn bradley]

Wow, this really generated a lot of good discussion. I picture "milling" as applying to a log or to stock from the lumber yard. I have to admit I was brought up short by the initial question wondering "what, you're just going to try to make stuff out of un-milled material!?!" . I learned along time ago that nothing you buy and bring home is straight or true. I do buy mostly material that is at least skip planed. As others have mentioned S4S stock from the store or mill will not yield parts that proper acclimation and milling will. Maybe a combo machine is in your future.

[Ole Anderson]

I would say keep it. But how you receive your wood is dependent on your source. I have a mill that is 10 minutes away and they have a nominal small charge for planing. Their charge for sawing one straight edge is considerably more. I choose to get my 4/4 boards planed to 13/16" then I take off the final 1/16" on my lunchbox Delta planer. Otherwise I need a ton of passes and a ton of chips to deal with. And they have found the stray grain of sand with their blades. I cut the planed wood to project length, then joint one edge and rip to width.