On 13 Aug 2005 06:02:10 -0700, wrote:


Ba r r y wrote:
On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 23:30:22 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:


All the lumber in California, especially SoCal, is shipped in wet, not
just green, but then again it is Doug Fir, not Spruce which must be kiln
dried which is why it gets shipped to the East coast.

You get NO kiln dried construction lumber in California?

Even though they do, construction lumber is not completely
kiln dried to the same moisture content as cabinet grade.

Even the kiln-dried stuff will move on you, though Doug Fir
has a reputation for moving the least which is why it is
sometimes sold green.

Regarding laminated 2x4 vs 4x4 legs one advantage to the
laminated legs is that a defect like a large knot will
only pass halfway through the leg, unless you align
defects when you laminate them. If you use half-lap joinery,
you can do that by using short pieces appropriately spaced
for one side of the laminations instead of cutting open mortises.
By virtue of being thinner, the 2x lumber should have dried
more on the shelf (or in your shop) than the 4x. You can
also glue the legs into an "L" shape for beter stablity than
you get with a solid rectangle.

The big advantage for me is cutting the mortise. With two laminated
boards, you can cut half the mortise out of each side with a router
before glue-up rather than using a forsner bit and chisel, and you've
got very little tuning up to do when it's laminated. Never tried the
L-shaped legs, but that makes sense, too.

All that aside, working with thicker timbers is fun. For
the individual, that may be the deciding factor.