8 Drawer Dresser In Walnut


Chestnut

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3 hours ago, sjeff70 said:

Are there any disadvantages to re-sawing slabs like this?  It seems this would be a cost effective advantage.

I'm not sure there would be any advantage. Slabs are getting stupid expensive.

Last year, I paid $1600 for 4 oak slabs (because I needed the thick, wide pieces), which yielded less than 150 BF of usable material. This year, I paid $187 for 100 BF of 4/4 oak, half FAS and half #1C.

Pretty sure resawing those slabs wouldn't be worth it.

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8 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

I'm not sure there would be any advantage. Slabs are getting stupid expensive.

Last year, I paid $1600 for 4 oak slabs (because I needed the thick, wide pieces), which yielded less than 150 BF of usable material. This year, I paid $187 for 100 BF of 4/4 oak, half FAS and half #1C.

Pretty sure resawing those slabs wouldn't be worth it.

I was thinking if you had your own chainsaw it would be cheap to mill this way just for veneering purposes.  Is there a disadvantage as far as the stability in the veneer cut this way vs. the traditional ways of doing it?  I just haven't seen it done this way before.  Very interesting.     

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12 hours ago, sjeff70 said:

Are there any disadvantages to re-sawing slabs like this?  It seems this would be a cost effective advantage.

 

8 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

I'm not sure there would be any advantage. Slabs are getting stupid expensive.

Last year, I paid $1600 for 4 oak slabs (because I needed the thick, wide pieces), which yielded less than 150 BF of usable material. This year, I paid $187 for 100 BF of 4/4 oak, half FAS and half #1C.

Pretty sure resawing those slabs wouldn't be worth it.

However, resawing thicker material into thinner panels or sheets of veneer does generally lead to cost savings compared to buying material at the thinner dimension. 

The problem with buying slabs is that they ‘are so hot right now.’ The price has been driven way up on slabs. You can buy same thickness lumber in higher grades for less. Unless you are buying from someone like Cremona, who doesn’t seem to care about the market price of slabs.

However, if you want to buy, put together, or rent a mill of some sort and cut your own slabs, it is a great way of sourcing your own material and you can make it to whatever thickness you want. You just have to be patient enough to let it dry. 

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15 hours ago, sjeff70 said:

Are there any disadvantages to re-sawing slabs like this?  It seems this would be a cost effective advantage.

There is more waste. To get good flat pieces you should joint between each cut on the band saw. Then there is the flattening and clean up of each panel. In general i can only get 2 1/4" panels from 4/4 lumber. Other disadvantages are you are exposing the middle of the slab so if your lumber isn't dried perfectly you can run into movement issues.

12 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

I'm not sure there would be any advantage. Slabs are getting stupid expensive.

Last year, I paid $1600 for 4 oak slabs (because I needed the thick, wide pieces), which yielded less than 150 BF of usable material. This year, I paid $187 for 100 BF of 4/4 oak, half FAS and half #1C.

Pretty sure resawing those slabs wouldn't be worth it.

Yeah for typical slabs it's not worth it but slabs around here are cheap compared to other places in the country. The going rate for smaller slabs is less than lumber from a yard. This slab was 46" x 10" x 1.75" rough. I think this slab was $3.25 a BF.

3 hours ago, JohnG said:

 

However, resawing thicker material into thinner panels or sheets of veneer does generally lead to cost savings compared to buying material at the thinner dimension. 

The problem with buying slabs is that they ‘are so hot right now.’ The price has been driven way up on slabs. You can buy same thickness lumber in higher grades for less. Unless you are buying from someone like Cremona, who doesn’t seem to care about the market price of slabs.

However, if you want to buy, put together, or rent a mill of some sort and cut your own slabs, it is a great way of sourcing your own material and you can make it to whatever thickness you want. You just have to be patient enough to let it dry. 

I guess it depends on your lumber source. Buying from box stores or Woodcraft prices are sky high for thin material. Buying from a lumber yard 4/4 is king and is the cheapest way to go. Buying thicker is always more expensive per BF. Where i shop 4/4 walnut is $7.40 and even up 1 size to 5/4 the price jumps to $9.80 8/4 is $10.50. So even if i could get 5 panels out of an 8/4 board it would still be more expensive at $4.20 per panel foot vs $3.70 per panel foot. Yes i just created my own measurement. :P I can't buy thinner than 4/4 from the yard i shop at. I probably can but then i'm paying them to do the resaw and clean up.

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4 hours ago, sjeff70 said:

I was thinking if you had your own chainsaw it would be cheap to mill this way just for veneering purposes.  Is there a disadvantage as far as the stability in the veneer cut this way vs. the traditional ways of doing it?  I just haven't seen it done this way before.  Very interesting.     

This is exactly one reason why I chainsaw mill and I mill thick stock. This is also why I edge my slabs also because I really am not using a chainsaw to acquire thick live edged slabs. I want thick stock and then I have so many options for there use. 

But yes, you need to be patient. Since I don't kiln dry I really need to be patient. Stock 8/4 or 10/4 takes a few years at least to dry, I have stock that is years old now so I just rotate that stock into my shop to acclimate and restock my stash with the chainsaw mill. Once you've waited out the first 2-3 years you are set as long as you dedicate some time to milling each winter.

Also if your stock is 10/4 it's possible to three 3/4 boards out of it or 2 nice 4/4 boards out of it. Book match like Chestnut did with a 16" wide board and an 8" jointer and you can make a really nice panel or table top.

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So go this route if u don't mind waiting for it to dry and you're getting the tree or log for free.  If there's more waste then it's a little less stable compared to 'traditionally' milled boards.  How thick do you cut the veneers from slabs compared to a 'traditional' 3/16" veneer?

 

 

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37 minutes ago, sjeff70 said:

So go this route if u don't mind waiting for it to dry and you're getting the tree or log for free.  If there's more waste then it's a little less stable compared to 'traditionally' milled boards.  How thick do you cut the veneers from slabs compared to a 'traditional' 3/16" veneer?

 

 

I have access to free logs so it's great for me. There is more waste in chainsaw milling but you minimize the waste when you mill thick and resaw. I think there is no difference in stability than from traditional milling. Stability is based more on the log (leaner, knotty, crotch, etc) you mill than your milling technique. 

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1 hour ago, sjeff70 said:

So go this route if u don't mind waiting for it to dry and you're getting the tree or log for free.  If there's more waste then it's a little less stable compared to 'traditionally' milled boards.  How thick do you cut the veneers from slabs compared to a 'traditional' 3/16" veneer?

 

 

I guess sawing veneer you can get more benefit but i just saw solid panels.

Waste doesn't matter if you are milling yourself as well. If i milled my own stuff I'd go mostly 10/4 though it doesn't take as long for me as some. I can get a 4/4 board dry in 4 months.

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