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#1
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Off The Rack vs Tailor Made
Off The Rack vs Tailor Made
Most of us, when we get to making a solid wood pieces, as opposed to ply and face frame, start with “off the rack” stock (S4S boards bought at The Borg, “lumber store” or perhaps from a lumber yard that deals mainly with construction material). Typically the wood is 3/4” thick - or less. If we want to make something that is greater than 3/4” thick we have to fake it - tapered legs made of four mitered edge pieces glued together, maybe some molding/ trim around a fire place mantle or table top, etc.) Long shaped parts that must be thicker than 3/4” - a chair’s rear legs, a contoured solid wood chair seat, a tall curved leg, a cabriolet leg and the like aren’t even on the To Do list. Granted, you can mail order cabriolet legs, but you have to take what you get. By the time you get to making solid wood furniture you’ve probably already acquired a good table saw, joiner and planer and the basic hand tools that allow for more interesting joinery than biscuits or pocket screws, - chisels, a mallet or two, hand planes, marking knife/knives, try square, bevel gauge, a dovetail saw or a dozuki and maybe a saber saw or even a bandsaw for curves. Eventually though, “off the rack” wood can box you in, 3/4” thickness limits things. BUT - if you have the patience, and access to a good sawyer, whole new possibilities open up. Patience because you may have to wait a year or two to use the wood, have a place to keep it flat and dry and spend time prepping it for final use. But a good sawyer will cut to your specified dry size, share experience with, and knowledge of, stuff he cuts AND, if you’re willing to sacrifice board width or waste some wood, get you the best pieces out of a log. That also opens up the option for bookmatched boards, resawing and more. If you need the best stock for the long slightly curved rear legs of a chair idea you have, a crotch section at 8/4 or thicker can provide grain that follows that curve, or inspire a leg shape. Of course, when you move away from “off the rack” stock and straight parts, a bandsaw becomes a “must have” tool. The resulting design possibilities that open up boggle the mind. And while your wood is drying, you’ll have plenty of time to think of what it will become because it will help you by whispering in your ear. Stand two or three slabs up against the wall, stand back and get into a conversation. If you’ve started with wood a step or two before Off the Rack, how did it change your design approach? What did it do to your joinery repetoire (I’m thinking of the Maloof leg to chair seat blended joint). Did it change your edge treatments from square, chamfered or quarter round to more sculpted, blended? Did it cause you to “waste” more wood to get the parts you wanted to have the right grain? (Since most of us don’t seem to be able to throw away “good wood” - little of what is initially “waste” is actually wasted). I raise this subject because of my recent acquistion of an en boule log, four nice claro walnut slabs and a bunch of stuff that’s definietly not “off the shelf”. (See Got Wood? In a.b.p.w.) Now I look for sawyer sites - and drool. If some of them started sending out Lee Valley type catalogues I’m sure their business would boom - and a new term would enter the woodworker’s lexicon - wood porn. And the term “woody / woodie” would take on a whole new meaning. Here are two worth checking out, http://www.bakerhardwoods.com/figured.html (this one will take a while to load. Check out the whole site) watch the line wrap on this one) http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Inven...ftheMonth.html charlie b |
#2
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Off The Rack vs Tailor Made
"charlie b" Off The Rack vs Tailor Made Most of us, when we get to making a solid wood pieces, as opposed to ply and face frame, start with "off the rack" stock (S4S boards bought at The Borg, "lumber store" or perhaps from a lumber yard that deals mainly with construction material). Typically the wood is 3/4" thick - or less. If we want to make something that is greater than 3/4" thick we have to fake it - tapered legs made of four mitered edge pieces glued together, maybe some molding/ trim around a fire place mantle or table top, etc.) Long shaped parts that must be thicker than 3/4" - a chair's rear legs, a contoured solid wood chair seat, a tall curved leg, a cabriolet leg and the like aren't even on the To Do list. Granted, you can mail order cabriolet legs, but you have to take what you get. snip Of course, when you move away from "off the rack" stock and straight parts, a bandsaw becomes a "must have" tool. The resulting design possibilities that open up boggle the mind. And while your wood is drying, you'll have plenty of time to think of what it will become because it will help you by whispering in your ear. Stand two or three slabs up against the wall, stand back and get into a conversation. If you've started with wood a step or two before Off the Rack, how did it change your design approach? What did it do to your joinery repetoire snip I try never to use "off the rack" S4S 3/4" stock. Its a design thing. I dislike the look of most custom furniture that has standard 3/4" boards as its main use. I reminds me to much like IKEA junk. With the exception of kitchen cabinets, I try, when ever possible, to use slightly larger or smaller stock for most projects. It is true that lumber prep, resawing, jointing and planer work, take some extra effort but I feel it justified by the final outcome. Dave Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com |
#3
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Off The Rack vs Tailor Made
On Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:59:21 -0700, charlie b
wrote: Now I look for sawyer sites - and drool. If some of them started sending out Lee Valley type catalogues I’m sure their business would boom - and a new term would enter the woodworker’s lexicon - wood porn. And the term “woody / woodie” would take on a whole new meaning. Here are two worth checking out, Now I have been charged with making a small console, guess your post will pay off for them. ::drool:: http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Inven...ftheMonth.html Mark (sixoneeight) = 618 |
#4
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Off The Rack vs Tailor Made
On Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:56:45 -0500, Markem wrote:
Now I have been charged with making a small console, guess your post will pay off for them. ::drool:: http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Inven...ftheMonth.html Mark That place is a 2.5 hour drive from my home. A drive well worth the trouble. I could spend - and have spent - the better part of a day just looking and drooling. I don't have much room to store wood, though, so I usually buy just what I need for a project, already dried. Perhaps some day I'll have the space to stock up on wet rough-cut lumber. -- Art |
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