I think everyone would suggest the Oak board lumber, especially at
that price. Can I get some too?

Red Oak does move some but usually not to bad, and once it's built
into a box it will behave. A few pointers that can help are to let the
wood get acclimated to your shop for as long as possible and let it
set as much as possible between milling operations. Once you cut some
fresh edges, it can move on you in the next day or so. Use biscuits to
help with alignment and keep it from slipping in the future. Don't
over pressure the clamps. Use flattener boards across the faces at
least while clamping up, you can put masking tape on the faces of the
flatteners to minimize their sticking to the squeeze out. Finally,
once you have panels, never lay them flat where only one side is
exposed, always stand them against a wall, etc. Once it's built make
sure to finish all faces with whatever you prefer to minimize moisture
changes in the wood.

BW

Just Bob wrote in message . ..
I am planning on building the tower bookcase from woodsmith. It is
76X12x16. The plans call for using 3/4" cherry plywood with solid
wood edging and trim and 1/4" plywood back. I plan on using red oak
instead. I can get a 3/4 sheet of red oak plywood for about $55 but I
have a supply of dry solid red oak that is costing me 35 cents a bf
for 1x8 in about 10 foot lengths. So it would be cheaper to use the
solid wood. If I use the solid oak I will still get a sheet of 1/4"
for the back.

Another option is to use elm that is costing $1 a bf so it is still
cheaper but I would need to resaw the 1/4 back panel cause I have no
source for elm plywood. However I do like how the elm looks.

It will be more work to prep the solid stock and I am concerned about
the solid stuff being affected by humidity etc.

Any opinions from you wreckers?

As always thanks in advance for ideas.