I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

Mike

wrote:
I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

Mike

The line will be barely noticeable but the grain change will be
obvious. Rip a wide piece and fold it over so that either side of the
rip cut are adjacent. You may be able to hide the grain change or have
it look really interesting. The opposite side will have a screwy
pattern so turn that side in.

Good luck!

said:

I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

Poplar is, well, popular for prototypes. Less resinous, better grain.
Far better than pine, but softer than oak.
FWIW

On 30 Sep 2006 10:06:51 -0700, wrote:

I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

I'd skip the pine if you can- if you take a look around at your local
hardwood dealer, they've usually got something less expensive than
oak, but nicer than pine. Ash would be a good choice, and you can't
see the glue line much at all with it if you match the grain.

On 30 Sep 2006 10:06:51 -0700, wrote:

I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

Mike

Where are you getting your wood prices? I made a fern stand from
maple and it looks great. You can use just about any wood, although a
hardwood is better than a softwood. Sometimes your wood supplier will
have an excess of a specific wood and cut the price down to move it.
Oak is not particularly in demand right now, but supplies vary
depending on your location and time of year.

Phisherman wrote:
Where are you getting your wood prices? I made a fern stand from
maple and it looks great.

The only places I know to get wood are Home Depot and Rockler. HD only
carries 3/4" stock. Rockler carries larger, but the price per inch
added up to $$ quickly.

Maple is nice. And I think I shouldn't even be trying to make the
stand out of pine or poplar, since that style (mission?...craftsman?)
is typically oak.

I bought a nice poplar board at HD the other day for around $12 that
I'm going to make a scale-down version of the stand with (i.e. 3/4"
square legs instead of 1-1/4") and see what it looks like and how
sturdy it is.

Mike

wrote in message
ups.com...
Phisherman wrote:
Where are you getting your wood prices? I made a fern stand from
maple and it looks great.

The only places I know to get wood are Home Depot and Rockler. HD only
carries 3/4" stock. Rockler carries larger, but the price per inch
added up to $$ quickly.

Maple is nice. And I think I shouldn't even be trying to make the
stand out of pine or poplar, since that style (mission?...craftsman?)
is typically oak.

I bought a nice poplar board at HD the other day for around $12 that
I'm going to make a scale-down version of the stand with (i.e. 3/4"
square legs instead of 1-1/4") and see what it looks like and how
sturdy it is.

Mike


Find a hardwood lumberyard. The prices at Rockler and HD border on criminal.

I take that back. The pricing at HD *is* criminal - even for pine. And the
pine you get is crap.

wrote:
Phisherman wrote:
Where are you getting your wood prices? I made a fern stand from
maple and it looks great.

The only places I know to get wood are Home Depot and Rockler. HD only
carries 3/4" stock. Rockler carries larger, but the price per inch
added up to $$ quickly.

Maple is nice. And I think I shouldn't even be trying to make the
stand out of pine or poplar, since that style (mission?...craftsman?)
is typically oak.

I bought a nice poplar board at HD the other day for around $12 that
I'm going to make a scale-down version of the stand with (i.e. 3/4"
square legs instead of 1-1/4") and see what it looks like and how
sturdy it is.

HD sells S4S 2x2s in oak and poplar. They're a little pricy, but not
very, considering S4S.

Yeah, you can glue up two 1x2s to make a 2x2. Why not? And if you want
to work in pine, which in my opinion is perfectly respectable stuff,
you can start with a carefully-selected 2x4 as a blank and dimension it
and finish it, and believe it or not, it can look very good. Why the
hell not?

Poplar can be fun if you don't approach it wishing it were something
else. SWMBO picks through stacks of it to find the most bizzarre purple
and green pieces and wigged-out grain. Stain it natural, and it's most
interesting.

boorite wrote:
wrote:
Phisherman wrote:
Where are you getting your wood prices? I made a fern stand from
maple and it looks great.
The only places I know to get wood are Home Depot and Rockler. HD only
carries 3/4" stock. Rockler carries larger, but the price per inch
added up to $$ quickly.

Maple is nice. And I think I shouldn't even be trying to make the
stand out of pine or poplar, since that style (mission?...craftsman?)
is typically oak.

I bought a nice poplar board at HD the other day for around $12 that
I'm going to make a scale-down version of the stand with (i.e. 3/4"
square legs instead of 1-1/4") and see what it looks like and how
sturdy it is.

HD sells S4S 2x2s in oak and poplar. They're a little pricy, but not
very, considering S4S.

Yeah, you can glue up two 1x2s to make a 2x2. Why not? And if you want
to work in pine, which in my opinion is perfectly respectable stuff,
you can start with a carefully-selected 2x4 as a blank and dimension it
and finish it, and believe it or not, it can look very good. Why the
hell not?

Poplar can be fun if you don't approach it wishing it were something
else. SWMBO picks through stacks of it to find the most bizzarre purple
and green pieces and wigged-out grain. Stain it natural, and it's most
interesting.

If you're starting with construction grade I recommend using the widest
boards, you can find that include the heart of the tree. Rip out the
heartwood and you've got 2 quarter sawn 2x whatevers to work with. More
stable and usually clearer then the 2x4 which can come from surprisingly
small trees. I used to do this with 1x12 shelf boards before they
dropped so far in grade it became too much work. I once managed to get
a clear 1x8, but only 1.
Joe

boorite wrote:
And if you want
to work in pine, which in my opinion is perfectly respectable stuff,
you can start with a carefully-selected 2x4 as a blank and dimension it
and finish it, and believe it or not, it can look very good. Why the
hell not?

Because it isn't properly dried for furniture-quality projects, so it
may not be good looking for very long?

"Dry" in the pine and hardwood sections are not used in the same context
as "Dry" in the framing lumber section of the same supplier.

That said, I've used 2x's that were stored inside for a long time to
make nice looking shop items, once the boards were jointed and planed.
This goes double for very clear, vertical grain fir boards. Pulling it
off the construction lumber rack, taking it home, and using for
something that requires precision dimensioning, is asking for trouble.

B A R R Y wrote:

Because it isn't properly dried for furniture-quality projects, so it
may not be good looking for very long?

"Dry" in the pine and hardwood sections are not used in the same context
as "Dry" in the framing lumber section of the same supplier.

That said, I've used 2x's that were stored inside for a long time to
make nice looking shop items, once the boards were jointed and planed.
This goes double for very clear, vertical grain fir boards. Pulling it
off the construction lumber rack, taking it home, and using for
something that requires precision dimensioning, is asking for trouble.

Yeah, dimensional lumber I've used this way tends to have been sitting
around for a long time. I've never gone and bought a 2x for the express
purpose of making a nice board of it. I tend to experiment with stuff
in the cutoff bin.

Still, I've seen bookcases built with brand new construction-grade
lumber, and they turned out nice and have aged well. Probably wouldn't
be my first or second choice, though.

wrote:
I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.

Would I be foolish to glue up leg blanks from doubled-up 3/4" select
pine and stain it something respectible? Is the line down the leg
going to be very noticeable? Any advice on making this stand for less
money?

Mike

I have successfully used carefully-selected pallet wood for furniture
projects. If you look around you can find planks that are thick enough
to flatten and glue together for leg blanks, and sometimes the thicker
framing members of the pallets are usable, too. I have found tropical
hardwood, as well as lots and lots of oak pallets. I like the "rustic"
used wood look so the nail holes don't usually bother me, but look
around and you may be able to find unmarred lengths suitable for
planter stand legs.

There is a local recreational equipment store that has some store
display furniture that is made of rough-sawn wood similar to pallet
wood, lightly sanded to make it smooth, but still retaining the saw
marks, then covered with a durable finish (probably poly). Looks real
good, and I'm thinking of making some simple furniture that style for
my office.

wrote:


I have successfully used carefully-selected pallet wood for furniture
projects.

Be careful milling it.

Some pallet wood, especially stuff originating overseas, is soaked in
insecticides and/or preservatives.

wrote:
I'm interested in making the "Classic Oak Plant Stand" from Woodsmith
#147, but looking over the materials it's going to cost me $50 just for
the legs.
Mike

As someone else said, find a better place to buy hardwood. What I do is
drive to Hartville Hardware once a year when they put oak on sale. Last
time, I got it for 2.20/bf and it's FAS grade. (Although that's only
4/4 .. 1 inch thick). I get enough to last me all year.

There's a local source that I can get oak for around 2.60 bf. 2 inch
thick stock is slightly more expensive, but not very.

Another option is to call Woodmizer and see who has a Woodmizer
(portable saw mill) in your area. Some of those guys even kiln dry the
wood they cut. You can often get a good deal there. Certainly a good
deal compared to HD or Rockler.