Lumber Yard Strategy

[Mike Burke]

I ran across this article and thought It was pretty good. I know I struggle with some of these issues when I go buy lumber and have made some of the same mistakes it mentions.
Thought this might help some of the newer creekers and maybe even have some good tips for the seasoned ones here. Hope it helps

Lumberyard Prep | Popular Woodworking Magazine

[Jim Becker]

There's a lot of good stuff in that article. Something I've often said here over the years is that "the first step in the finishing process is choosing the lumber". If you do that well, your project will be outstanding and have that little bit of extra "wow" to it. If you take less time with these nuances, you'll still likely end up with a "nice" looking project result, but it may not have the same visual impact that taking more care would have provided. And any waste that results from being "selective" with your project components doesn't have to go to waste, as it were...less inspiring pieces of wood are just as strong and can be used for secondary components in projects where they are not seen but you want the consistent movement characteristics of staying with the same species as well as for smaller projects wher eyou can part things our even further.