On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:41:44 -0000, HerHusband
wrote:


One thought I had is to buy standard kiln dried framing lumber (Douglas
Fir in our area) then rip it in half and plane it smooth. A bit more work,
but only 1/4 the price. If I go with smaller trim, I could even rip a 2x6
into 4 pieces for 1/8 the price. I've used framing lumber for other
woodworking projects in the past and it has worked out nicely. But, I
wonder what problems I might encounter using it for trim? And, I would have
to rip the trim on my table saw which would require two passes to cut all
the way through a 2x4. For areas inside door jambs and whatnot, I would
need to edge glue a couple of boards to get the width I need.


How about buying 4x framing lumber and ripping it through the 3.5"
dimension? If you choose more or less plainsawn beams on the face,
you are going to wind up with nearly vertical grain pieces when you
rip thru the 3.5" dimension. A 4x6 ought to yield 5 boards an inch
thick and 3.5" wide before planing. The only problem with this is, I
don't think you can find KD 4x lumber - but if you could dry it
yourself, I think you could get some nice material this way. Some of
those beams are really not bad at all if you can pick them carefully.


Tim Carver