tiredofspam wrote:
I live in Jersey too. I can get dried construction grade lumber.
Just shop around at a real lumber yard.

I would see if they will take it back.
Also this will be a fine bench for a newbie.
When you are ready for maple, this will be a good finishing, or assembly
bench. When you need to drive screws into it you won't be afraid to. You
can build your own stop blocks, clamping devices right into the bench.

What you'll learn building this will help on the next bench. But this
one will last you quite a few years.

I think that's the key here. First of
all, it's cheaper wood than maple,
regardless of which soft wood you
choose. I did a lot of things with
softwood before I felt OK with tackling
harder woods, and I found the softwoods
more forgiving for the things I was doing.

Secondly, there's no real waste of time.
The bench will give you lots of
enjoyment when you use it, not to
mention the wonderful feeling of
satisfaction you'll have when it's
finished, but still has its virginal
cherry. That won't last long, but it's
still worth calling up relatives and
bringing in people you don't know from
the street and showing it off to them.

You said you were a newbie. Maybe this
will spur you on to become less of a
newbie, or maybe you'll be satisfied
with just doing a few projects from time
to time. If the latter is the case, then
you'll likely get to a point where you
want a more substantial bench. But
you'll always have this one to look at
and do lessons learned on it.

There are many different levels of skill
in the Wreck, but I can broadly
generalize it into three: professionals,
amateur hobbyists and the very exacting
group that demands the best all the time
of everything. This last group can be
either pros or amateurs.

Each group will look at a problem from
their own perspective and that has to be
taken into account when you ask for an
opinion.

In this question, you're lucky because
you have a wide range of opinions. Some
support your original idea, some don't.
But lots of them give you flexibility to
alter your ideas if need be.

Make sure you clamp up all the dried lumber for 2 or 3 weeks to hold it
from warping while it finishes air drying in your shop. Or build it and
weight it down with some cement or sand bags for a few weeks after while
it dries assembled. After the wood is dried you can level the top.

Josh wrote:
On Jan 24, 10:19 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Josh" wrote:
But I've run into a snag before I even begin. Much of the lumber
that
I had delivered to my home green...
If you are in someplace like SoCal, then wait for it to quit raining,
then sticker it outside exposed to the sun for a few weeks.

Will also work in colder climates, just take longer.

Lew

I wish I was in SoCal! I'm in New Jersey, so it's currently about
between 15 and 35 degrees these days. The wood is in my garage so
it's not as cold in there, probably in the mid 40s. Do you think the
lumber yard will come pick it up and exchange it for some kiln dried
wood. dried wood seems hard to find in NJ.




--
Tanus

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