Dressing Timber

[Howard Combes]

Good Evening All

I have a question in respect of dressing rough sawn timber prior to using it for cabinet making. I have a quantity of rough sawn timber that is some 30 to 40 years old, and while it is in good condition it requires dressing to an even finish.

Over some time I have developed a procedure whereby I can put the timber through a thicknesser, but I find that this tends to waste some material; typically I use Huon Pine or King Billy pine for the work that I do.

My question is how do other woodworkers address this problem. Perhaps some buy dressed timber and I am assuming that some do not as timber such as that mentioned above rarely comes dressed.

I would appreciate any advice that members of this forum can give.

Howard Combes, Peachester Queensland.

[BobL]

. .
Over some time I have developed a procedure whereby I can put the timber through a thicknesser, but I find that this tends to waste some material;
Errr . . . . yes that's how thicknessers work, i.e. by wasting material. Do you somehow expect it to thickness out of thin air?


My question is how do other woodworkers address this problem. Perhaps some buy dressed timber and I am assuming that some do not as timber such as that mentioned above rarely comes dressed..
When one buys it dressed you might be surprised how much has been already wasted in the dressing process. That's a major reason why they charge so much for dressed timber.

[rod1949]

The common/common sense way is to run it accross a buzzer/surface planer to dress a flat face and then dress/straighten a square edge. This way you have true/flat/square surfaces to start with. Then subject to what wastage you have it is put across the saw bench to remove the excess and then through the thicknesser.

The way you discribe you are just following the shape of the timber, whilst its flatness may not be an issue, however the edge may not be square and true to the face.

[GraemeCook]

From your question, Howard, I presume that you do not have a jointer. Jointing is essential to get one surface perfectly flat before running it through the thicknesser to plane the opposite side. Wood is wasted in both processes - the amount depends on the quality of the original rough sawn billet and the required final dimensions.

I do not have a jointer, but I do have a thicknesser. For small jointing jobs (up to 1200mm) I put the rough plank, cup side down, on a sled and then run it through the thicknesser. Once jointed it is thicknessed as usual. This method is not as good as a dedicated jointer, but acceptable for small jobs.

For larger jobs, longer pieces of timber, and where I need really accurate jointing and thicknessing, I take it along to a local joinery shop and pay them to do it. Fees are quite moderate.

Cheers

Graeme

[BobL]

Based on Rod and Graeme's answer I just realised what the original question might be. Sorry for the misunderstanding. :)

[China]

There are basicly two methods to dress timber, one as descibed above using a buzzer (jointer) and a thicknesser, the other way is with hand planes and a try square in both cases you will waste a small amount of timber

[Keith J]

Hi Howard,
I start with a cutting list then mark the whole job out onto the rough sawn timber with chalk.

If I need long wide pieces for a unit I will pick lengths with little twist or cupping for those pieces.

Long narrow boards like kicks and crown mouldings can be cut out of cupped pieces with little twist.

I cut boards with a lot of twist into short pieces (shelves door frames, panels etc)

I made up a large parallel rule for getting the most out of bad timber where the usable timber is not parallel to the edges of the rough sawn board.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/longbow1/IMG_0577.jpg


So in general the smaller you cut cupped or twisted boards the more thickness you can retain.

While you're doing this you have to think about other things like grain pattern and colour.

I usually try for 22mm but the final thickness for the whole job (unless specified) is not known until the thicknessing is finished.

I won’t go under 19mm and anything over 23 (for most cabinets) looks a bit chunky to me but also depends on the design.


I always flatten the cut pieces on a jointer then run them through the thicknesser.



These problems are rare if the timber is bought from a timber merchant, mostly occurs with timber supplied by the customer.


Keith

[Tung tied]

Hi Howard,

Depending upon how thick the timber is you could resaw it into thinner planks on a bandsaw and then put it through the thicknesser. This may save you some stock, though this is dependent on you having a bandsaw I guess.

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Episode Guide - Season 3, Episode 305 - Woodsmith Shop (http://www.woodsmithshop.com/episodes/season3/305/?play=E305_webtip.flv)

Cheers

Bryan