Thread: Which wood for the poor woodworker?

Hello my friend. Everybody has to start somewhere. Enthusiasm and a few tools will take you a long way. I live in QLD and so I cannot help you with timber selection. But I am certain that there will be somebody who can. You will need some other tools but you can get a lot of good stuff second hand. I started making a few bits of furniture about 30 years ago. I had almost no tools, less than you say you have and even less idea of what I was doing. But the passion has never left me. I wish you great success on the long journey ahead.

Unless you find a convenient sawmill operation, pine will have to do...that said, often scouring gumtree or the local classifieds can yield good timber at 'out of fashion' dining table prices. A cheap thicknesser can also help salvage other sources.

You can find clear pine in framing stock...it's called spending 45 minutes going through the stack, but you might have to drive to where the stack is larger.

I find the dressed pine to be a bit on the pricey side, especially as it's often not particularly any more 'appearance grade' than the framing stuff.

When I started out I also had no money and just a few tools my uncle left me.

It took me a while to get into the swing of things but I found I made more progress when I worked with what I had and looked for ideas and project to suit my materials rather than expending a lot of energy looking for materials to suit projects. I call this "listening to the wood and it tells me what it wants to be"

I realise you want to make particular useful things and that this is not going to help solve that problem but it may help you make use of old pallets and recycled stuff that can be picked up from time to time

Can't help you much with timber but when it comes to tools:

saint peter and paul cathedral.jpg

That was built from wood using hand tools. Electricity only makes things easier, not better.

Good luck with your project.

Originally Posted by BobL

When I started out I also had no money and just a few tools my uncle left me.

It took me a while to get into the swing of things but I found I made more progress when I worked with what I had and looked for ideas and project to suit my materials rather than expending a lot of energy looking for materials to suit projects. I call this "listening to the wood and it tells me what it wants to be"

I realise you want to make particular useful things and that this is not going to help solve that problem but it may help you make use of old pallets and recycled stuff that can be picked up from time to time

This is pretty much what I've been doing the last twelve months. There was rarely a day at TAFE (I did Certs II in Carpentry and Cabinetmaking) where I didn't grab a bunch of larger scrap out of the bin. This has been good for outfitting the workshop (bench hooks, shooting board, shelves, boxes, shopmade tools) but I'm now wanting to start making instead of buying things I need. With what I've learned of wood, furniture and craftsmanship I can't bring myself to buy anymore cheap crap, and I don't have the money (or the inclination) to spend on good furniture.

Definitely know what you mean by "listening to the wood". There's a few small scraps of jarrah I've got at the moment that are screaming to be turned into marking gauges and panel gauges.

Originally Posted by John.G

Can't help you much with timber but when it comes to tools:
Electricity only makes things easier, not better.

As a devoted disciple of "the Schwarz" and a rabid Roy Underhill fan, I completely agree with you there.

Most of my power tools tools I own for work reasons (trying to get a Carpentry Apprenticeship at the moment, so made sure I've got the basic powertools there), and if I had more money, or more luck finding second-hand treasures, I'd have a whole lot more handtools (I built an Anarchists Toolchest at Chris Schwarz's class in Melbourne last year, and it is sadly close to empty). Saying that however, I would happily take a thickness/planer and tablesaw to quickly get things dimensioned. And as much as I love my Bosch Blue random orbital sander at times, I still love showing off to other people how silky smooth you can get wood with a handplane as opposed to powered methods. It's amazing how many people have never realised you can get a surface that good.

For timber, I'd be inclined to head into your local timber yard (Mitre 10, Bunnies, etc. can be loosely considered as such. ) and look at dressed KDHW instead of pine.

Much of the pine they sell barely meets the standards for "construction grade" let alone furniture grade... (In years gone by it wouldn't have left the mill, being considered sub-standard trash. )

The KDHW is generally Tas. Oak, Vic Ash or other, similarly easily confused eucalypts. It can be a bit of a bugger for tear-out, splintering, etc. at times, but it's cheap and 'tis all part of the learning curve. ie. Learn how to work KDHW properly and you won't waste as much timber when it comes to working the expensive stuff.

Plus it tends to get more of an OohAah factor when you use hardwoods instead.

Not sure where you are in Melbourne, but the Kilsyth Bargain center on Canterbury road is pretty good for cheap tomber. Pine and Vic ash and Tassie oak and sometimes other things. Laminated stair treads. Sheets of ply. Floor boards in other timber. Odd things they pick up. Always worth a gander.

http://www.womo.com.au/reviews/Kilsy...Kilsyth-South/

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

For timber, I'd be inclined to head into your local timber yard (Mitre 10, Bunnies, etc. can be loosely considered as such. ) and look at dressed KDHW instead of pine.

I've never really noticed much of this at Bunnings other than small profile/moulding (which I've used for small projects such as bird feeders, etc). Do they normally carry larger dimensioned KDHW? I can't find much on their website.

I've also found a salvaged timber yard nearby that I'm hoping might be able to dimension and dress timber cheap. Will check them out on Friday.

Originally Posted by tea lady

Not sure where you are in Melbourne, but the Kilsyth Bargain center on Canterbury road is pretty good for cheap tomber. Pine and Vic ash and Tassie oak and sometimes other things. Laminated stair treads. Sheets of ply. Floor boards in other timber. Odd things they pick up. Always worth a gander.

http://www.womo.com.au/reviews/Kilsy...Kilsyth-South/

Thanks for the tip but that's nowhere near me. I'm 3 hours out of Melbourne in North East Victoria.

Originally Posted by sean3047

I've never really noticed much of this at Bunnings other than small profile/moulding (which I've used for small projects such as bird feeders, etc). Do they normally carry larger dimensioned KDHW? I can't find much on their website.

I've also found a salvaged timber yard nearby that I'm hoping might be able to dimension and dress timber cheap. Will check them out on Friday.

Most Bunnies & similar stores have an external yard next to the building where they keep the bulk of the 'construction grade' KDHW, along with decking materials, stumps, PVA piping, etc. Indoors they generally only store the small, highly finished pieces such as the profiled mouldings you mention.

Most people seem to assume that it's just a 'Tradies Entrance' or drive-thru pickup. But it's not... well... it is... but it's usually more than just that.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Most Bunnies & similar stores have an external yard next to the building where they keep the bulk of the 'construction grade' KDHW, along with decking materials, stumps, PVA piping, etc. Indoors they generally only store the small, highly finished pieces such as the profiled mouldings you mention.

Most people seem to assume that it's just a 'Tradies Entrance' or drive-thru pickup. But it's not... well... it is... but it's usually more than just that.

Cheers. I buy all my construction grade timber for a small Mitre 10 a few minutes from home and they don't have any dressed hardwoods other than large posts. As Bunnings is a bit of a drive from home I've never bothered to fully go through their timber yard (normally only buying plywood and other things that I can't get in smaller dimensions at Mitre 10).

Thanks, I'll go check it out. If I can get some 90x35 KDHW I'll be a very happy man!

Originally Posted by sean3047

Thanks for the tip but that's nowhere near me. I'm 3 hours out of Melbourne in North East Victoria.

Ah well! You had no indication of where you were. Just Melbourne. A bit of an indication of your area might help.

Originally Posted by tea lady

Ah well! You had no indication of where you were. Just Melbourne. A bit of an indication of your area might help.

No worries, it was at the end of the post, but it was quite the rant so easy to miss (I struggle to keep my words to a minimum). Appreciate the help anyway. Have some family out that way so might pop in for a looksie next time I'm out there.

Also just noticed I still have "Melbourne" for my profile location, I'll go fix that up now. Been over a year since I left the big smoke.