daddyman77802 Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi folks, I would classify myself as a beginner woodworker although I have been tinkering for several years. My goal for 2015 is to build all new living room furniture in the mission style. Have picked out my plans for the projects and have decided to build them all out of cherry. I have all the tools to do my own milling, but I have never done it before. I purchased all new blades/cutters for my saws, jointer and planer and have tuned them up the best I can. Should I purchase rough cut lumber (S2S at varied lengths and widths) and mill it myself, or go ahead and purchases S4S (more consistent sizing) from the hardwood distributor? The price for 4/4 FAS cherry is $3.80/bf where as the price for S4S 1x6 is $2.93/lf. With the exception of the legs of the furniture, I can make all pieces out of the 1/6's (3/4x5 1/2). Tanks in advance! Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Just my .02 worth but, I'd think you'd be better off doing your own milling for a few reasons. 1. Skill builder - It's a skill you should have and you have the tooling to do it 2. You'll get more consistent sizing this way 3. You'll probably be able to have some thicker pieces if you want them Good luck! Look forward to seeing the builds! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 This is just my opinion but personally I like starting with rough sawn. You have a lot more options as far as what you're able to do / use. Chances are the s4s lumber will still need to be re-milled to flatten and straighten leaving you with less meat than you need. The only downside to working with rough is that you don't always know what is hiding beneath the surface. But sometimes that can be a good surprise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyman77802 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Alrighty! I agree I need to (and want to) learn how to mill. My wife has asked that I build her a sewing table as she will be doing all the upholstering and pillow/curtain making for this project. The plans she picked out and purchased show the cut list all on 3/4 x 5 1/2 lumber with the exception of a couple of drawer fronts. The total hardwood quantity would be 48 linear feet of 3/4 x 5 1/2. When I calculate how much to buy, is there a good formula to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I think so much depends on your supplier. I like s3s but if you have one of those suppliers that rips you off and 4/4 is only 13/16 its probably not going to work to well and sticks you with buying 5/4. Go to your supplier and see what they have and how thick it really is. I would stay far away from s4s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Add 20% to account for unusable material and mistakes. Also, don't cut your pieces per the plan, cut them per the piece. Don't cut your pieces to final size until you're ready to use them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 You need to calculate thickness and know what you're stuck with before calculating waste. For example, you're stuck buying 5/4 to make full 3/4. I would definitely learn to work from a plan especially with shaker or mission stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Plenty of good advice above, so I'll just say welcome to the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyman77802 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the input and look forward to picking your brains in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Don't pick too much, there might not be much left Happy to help 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 +1 for rough stock. Saves money, helps develop workflow and a very useful skill set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Mark Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 All the advice given has been excellent. I would add practice your milling with some cheap lumber, I have been using poplar at $2.00/bd.ft. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ellis Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yet another +1 for the milling your own. You have the tools for it, better to put them to use and save some $$$ in lieu of letting them collect (saw) dust. Also, this way you know for sure that matching boards are matching thicknesses. On how much you need, I usually make up a cut list prior to calculating my BF needs. You have a design, you know what size every component needs to be, plan around that. Then, add a waste factor on top of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 +1 on rough. It's not uncommon for the local stuff I get to be able to finish at 7/8 to 1" if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuxiey001 Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Thanks for the great information. I'm always looking for fresh ideas and can't wait to give some of these a try. Personally, I like to take cheap or free wood and "reclaim" it into cool woodworking projects, like island counters, tables, etc. Regards, knuxiey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Welcome to the forums Knuxiey.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Z. Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I agree with every piece of advice on thickness. I also tend to prefer rough sawn, for all the reasons listed. That said... The price difference you are listing is 87 cents per board foot. Am I reading that correctly? If I'm not, then ignore everything I'm about to say: How much is your time worth, and how much time will you spend milling? What I'm getting at is if you can have the first chair done in the time it would take you to mill everything, will that inspire you to keep going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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