On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 08:44:11 -0800, Gino calmly
ranted:
I can't afford much hardwood and have seen some beautiful stuff made with 'junk'
softwood lumber. But I also realise there are tricks to using the stuff that
don't apply to the pampered, dried, stored indoors hardwoods.
For the price of bad softwood, sanding sealer, stain, and a poly
topcoat (I gag just thinking about all that), you could have had
real hardwood and a Waterlox/paste wax finish and be done in half
the time with much prettier results. But it's your call.
I would love to see more project pictures and talk about creating with SPF from
the back lot.
That would be alt.construction.birdseyeSPF, Gino. Go for it! 
I'm worried the only members would be me and JOAT.
Just kidding JOAT, I'm sure we would get a few of the 'best' trolls as well.
You're probably right.
Also check back in Google Groups for Jim McNamara. He was an
SPF artiste.
Thanks, I'll do that. I've been collecting and storing the best of my SPF as I
built an addition and workshop. Now I need all the tips I can get on how to
create nice stuff that won't turn to junk in a year or two.
Even my book club is short on 'how to SPF' except for very rustic mostly outdoor
and college dorm creations.
It's too bad Google didn't save the ABPF group or you could have seen
a lot of Jummy's stuff.
Tips on building furniture on a weekend afternoon with a hammer and an axe I
don't need. I've been doing that for years.
Now I have a few good tools and a nice little shop to work in and no money left
for the good wood.
You might be surprised. Look for garage sales. Wood goes for a SONG
there, sometimes free with a small tool or something. And even if
hardwood is a couple bucks more bd/ft, that usually doesn't put it
much over $20 more for any given project. The difference is that it
looks and feels better with a finish on it, it lasts a Helluva lot
longer, and it's actually easier to work with, especially with hand
tools despite its toughness.
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