"Billy Smith" wrote in message
. ..
I'm planning to make a good bookcase, about 5 ft high,
with glass doors using red oak. This will be my first
project using solid oak. I have neither a power planer
nor a jointer but I have a good table saw. I could try
to get the wood I need ready dressed but there are
advantages to buying it rough.

I have a good hand plane and I know how to sharpen it.
If I buy rough lumber I'll have to flatten it, remove twists
and cups, and reduce it to final thickness, all with the
hand plane. I'm aware that once I get one edge very
straight I can do some of the squaring with my table saw.

I'm strictly an amateur so time does not matter. I like
using hand equipment although I've never worked
oak by hand. My question is: would I be stupid to try
to do this project with rough wood and a hand plane?

Maybe I'll just have to try a few pieces to see what it's
like but I'm wondering how many experienced woodworkers
would try this.

Thanks,
Billy



You know what Billy? If it weren't for the wonders of the internet and
newsgroups like this, you'd have just gone ahead and grabbed your hand plane
and given that oak a shot, wouldn't you? Sure you would have - you'd have
said to yourself, "self..., let's see what this plane will do", and you'd
have kept on talking to yourself until you had that board planed down. Then
you'd have said to yourself, "self, I bet I can do the whole thing this way"
and you'd have given it a whirl. You'd have probable bungled a couple of
things up, but you'd have figured out what you did wrong, fix it and move
on. That's the beauty of giving it a try, and just going for it. One of
the things the internet (and certainly not the worst thing...) has done is
to give too much opportunity to worry about it too much. Too many opinions
available, too much advise. The heck with what experienced woodworkers
would try. Heck - most of them only try what someone else recommended or
what they became comfortable with over time. Try what makes sense to you.
It is after all, supposed to be a pleasurable thing. Grab that plane and
get into that wood.
--

-Mike-