Good timber for beginner box maker

**gonty** · 26th October 2008, 02:49 PM

Hi folks,

I plan to try may hand at some boxes with little purpose other than to learn a bit and maybe produce something I can be proud of. I'll try some hand cut dovetails and also some mitre joints which will probably involve more power tools.

Are there any particular types of timbers that are better for beginners to work/learn with?

**RufflyRustic** · 26th October 2008, 05:16 PM

Radiata Pine is easy to source and fairly cheap.

Camphor Laurel is another great timber for boxes. easy to work and fabulous grain.

cheers
Wendy

**Stevenp** · 26th October 2008, 07:56 PM

[QUOTE=RufflyRustic;830377]Radiata Pine is easy to source and fairly cheap.

Get some pine to start with , do some practice joints before actually making something.
Cheers Steven

**Skew ChiDAMN!!** · 26th October 2008, 08:08 PM

Basically, free wood. Old pallets (except the ones that cast fancy shadows.

), timber offcuts from building sites. Even salvaged logs from a firewood pile, provided you can rip/flatten it and take the time to cure it properly.

I find that softwoods are easier to get a good finish on, but hardwoods enable more accurate cuts. ie. the edges stay crisp.

When using free woods, one tends to experience a lot more variety...

**AlexS** · 26th October 2008, 08:47 PM

Practice doing dovetails on radiata or pallet wood, but when you're ready to try a box, get some real wood. As Ruffly says, CL isn't bad, but Tas. myrtle, silver ash and jarrah are all nice. They're both easy to work with, take crisp cuts and look good.

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