iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Sawing for Woodworking

Started by davemartin88, March 19, 2006, 07:36:50 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

davemartin88

I have a Woodmizer LT15 mill that I've used to make lumber for an equipment barn and to saw for my own use in woodworking projects. For others that are sawing for projects, once the wood is air dried enough for use, do you usually go ahead and joint/plane the wood or wait and do the preparation work as part of your projects.

I'm sure either way works but leaning towards just taking the time to prepare the wood and then just stack in the equipment barn (knowing I'll need to bring it in to the shop for a few weeks before use) so it's ready.

I'm generally cutting mostly 4/4 red and white oak but will leave some in 8/4 as well. Leaving the rough cut as wide as possible to give more flexibility later as well.

Any thoughts or cautions with that approach, thanks.

chet

I don't touch my lumber until I pull the pieces in to begin a project.
I am a true TREE HUGGER, if I didnt I would fall out!  chet the RETIRED arborist

mike_van

I'm with Chet, when i'm ready to start, it gets planed, etc.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

sawwood

I am with the outhers, I leve the wood rough as it will give you more
room to work with when you start a project. You don't know at what
size you will need tell then.

Sawwood
Norwood M4 manual mill, Solar Kiln, Woodmaster
18" planer/molder

woodmills1

I usually do as the others and plane for a specific project.  However I took down two older stacks last spring and since they were quite grey I planed a few boards to about 7/8" just to make sure they would clean up.  Well the stuff looked so nice I took the time to plane all of it.  Multiple benifits came from this.  I got more lumber stacked in the same volume and the pile was nice and flat, when customers came to buy they could easily choose or reject individual boards with no quessing as to hidden flaws, and on a project I just finished, making moulding and trim to redo a chinease resturant, having most of the planing don't let me get maximum usage from each board and reduced the time needed to fill the order.  Bye the way this batch is nearly gone.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

thedeeredude

I usually wait till I start a project to plane.  Sometimes especially with pine if i plane it and don't use it right away it cups awful.

davemartin88

Thanks for the replies- sounds like preparing wood as part of the project is the obvious approach. Will probably get a few boards ready in case a small project comes along but will leave the rest rough until I'm ready to use it.

SawDust_Studios

We do alot of furniture and cabinets with the wood from our woodmizer.  If we used, air-dried, which is rare, we make sure we bring it into the shop or another climate controlled environment for at least 3-4 weeks before we even plane the first board.  You also have to build a bit different for air dried to allow for further movement, but that is a whole 'nother topic. 

We usually bring lumber in a week or so for kiln dried. If it going to move alot, this is when it will.   If it is a piece that I need to stay dead straight, I'll plane it and let it sit for a few days to see what the wood will do.  Of course, we are a bit picky about our furniture, so it really depends on the project.

If you plane it and release some stress and it still needs to acclimate, you may end up with more twist/cup that you have stock left to remove for what you need.

I also try to plan a bit for my projects too.  We do alot of 1/2 drawer material and I just hate to waste (plane) a good 4/4 board into 2/4.  I try to cut my wood a strong 6/4 for these, then after its dry I can put it back on the mill and split it. 

Dave
Making Sawdust on a Woodmizer LT40SHD CAT 51 /WM Twin Blade Edger and WM DH Kiln

woodmills1

With air dried it is also important to take the same amount of material off both sides when planing, this will help reduce cupping.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

woodsteach

I leave it rough then plane it right before I glue up to make wide pannels.

SawDust S.  I am interested in    "You also have to build a bit different for air dried to allow for further movement, but that is a whole 'nother topic."   I would really like to understand the construction differences b/t kiln and air dried.  Now I am talking about furniture (cedar chests, desks, tables etc...)

Paul
Brand X Swing Mill, JD 317 Skidloader, MS460 & 290, the best family a guy could ever dream of...all provided by God up above.  (with help from our banker ; ) )

SawDust_Studios

In short, you need to consider and allow more for movement when dealing with air-dried. 

For example, if you build a breadboard top for a table or chest.  You wouldn't glue the breadboard end the entire length of the piece. Instead, we typically would only glue the center section of the breadboard edge and allow the remainder of the top to float in the groove of the breadboard edge.  This is because your major movement will be across the width of the board you glued, not lengthwise.   This allows your top to expand and contract.

We typically consider this as well for kiln dried material, but it isn't as important as it is with air-dried.  Another and important consideration is when attaching large panels or tops as these.  A common mistake is to fasten them down tight. We either elongate the holes that a screw goes through to allow movement (if we don't want any mechanical fastners showing) or we use a mechanical fastner that allows movement.  A figure 8 is a common fastner of choice for us.  One side of the 8 is screwed to apron, the other side is screwed to top. The apron is drilled to allow the 8 to swing back and forth as the top moves.

Another method we have used is to cut a groove along the apron of a table and use a floating block of wood that has a tongue that goes into the groove. The block of wood is then drilled and screw and placed into the top.  The groove lets the block move with the top.

If you have any specific questions, just ask. There are alot of various methods to deal with movement.  Kiln-dried seems to reduce ALOT of headaches, but wood will still move.
Making Sawdust on a Woodmizer LT40SHD CAT 51 /WM Twin Blade Edger and WM DH Kiln

woodsteach

Sawdust

thankyou for your reply and the great instructions.  I haven't built much from AD but since I now have a mill I will start. 

The techniques that you gave sound like they will work,  the are what are suggested in the OLD woodworking texts. 

Your site and projects look awesome!

Paul
Brand X Swing Mill, JD 317 Skidloader, MS460 & 290, the best family a guy could ever dream of...all provided by God up above.  (with help from our banker ; ) )

iain

Normally i plane as i need it, and i dont find i have to much trouble remembering what a board looked like as it came of the mill (not many of my boards are normal furniture boards)

but some times i plane straight off the mill for stuff that is supposed to warp and twist
and other times i plane couse im gagging to see whats there


Iain

ohsoloco

I wait until I'm building a project before I do anything to a board.  This way, if I have a board or two that cupped or bowed severely, I can use that one to make all of my short rails, stiles, and other short/narrow pieces.  I look over the boards, decide where each piece is in the board, and then cut it a little oversize out of the board.  Then I can get one face nice and flat on the jointer before sending it through the planer. 

I build a lot of furniture out of air dried lumber, and like Sawdust_studios said, care needs to be taken to let the wood move throughout the seasons (I take the same precautions for KD lumber as well).  There is a chest and nightstand in my house that I made from air dried pine, and from summer to winter those tops move at least 1/4"...probably a little more than that (it's easy to see it move with the breadboard ends). 

Thank You Sponsors!