Events Calendar
4 Square - Preparing Lumber
Saturday 01 July 2006, 08:00am - 09:30am
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Ed Tingley and Karl Kelley straightened out our thinking this week on how to get our lumber square. They listed the steps involved, demonstrated all the steps on actual equipment and discussed some tips on selecting rough lumber.
The five steps to making lumber square:
Flatten one face - scrub hand plane, a router and rails, or a jointer
Make the opposite face parallel to the first flattened face - a thickness planer is best
Joint one edge 90 degrees to the first face - best done with a jointer
Rip the board to width - most often done on a table saw
Cross cut the piece to length - table saw or miter saw or circular saw with square
Karl noted that lumber that you buy at the lumber store may have been square for an instant, but changes in temperature and humidity over time will cause at least slight movement. So, just buy rough lumber and square it yourself and save as much as 50% on the raw lumber.
Tips for buying rough lumber
Don't buy top grades of lumber - lower grades cost less and waste pieces can be used as shop scrap for cauls and for smaller projects
Take a tool kit with you to shop for lumber - flashlight, water bottle, and block plane
Be picky, picky, picky and keep looking until you find what you need
Allow sufficient time to look for what you want
Acclimate the lumber in your shop stacked flat with stickers or vertically
Mark your boards before cutting to gets the grain pattern your want and reduces waste
Check for checking and cross cut slices off the end until you don't find the checks
References (thanks to Dr. Mike Perpall): Ed Tingley's Angle Perfect tool: Pacific Rack & Machine (web site http://bigleg.com/angleperfect.html)
Thanks Ed and Karl for a great class and demonstration.
Thanks also to Ken Vickery and Bob Brokaw for the pictures.
Paul Proffitt - President
The five steps to making lumber square:
Flatten one face - scrub hand plane, a router and rails, or a jointer
Make the opposite face parallel to the first flattened face - a thickness planer is best
Joint one edge 90 degrees to the first face - best done with a jointer
Rip the board to width - most often done on a table saw
Cross cut the piece to length - table saw or miter saw or circular saw with square
Karl noted that lumber that you buy at the lumber store may have been square for an instant, but changes in temperature and humidity over time will cause at least slight movement. So, just buy rough lumber and square it yourself and save as much as 50% on the raw lumber.
Tips for buying rough lumber
Don't buy top grades of lumber - lower grades cost less and waste pieces can be used as shop scrap for cauls and for smaller projects
Take a tool kit with you to shop for lumber - flashlight, water bottle, and block plane
Be picky, picky, picky and keep looking until you find what you need
Allow sufficient time to look for what you want
Acclimate the lumber in your shop stacked flat with stickers or vertically
Mark your boards before cutting to gets the grain pattern your want and reduces waste
Check for checking and cross cut slices off the end until you don't find the checks
References (thanks to Dr. Mike Perpall): Ed Tingley's Angle Perfect tool: Pacific Rack & Machine (web site http://bigleg.com/angleperfect.html)
Thanks Ed and Karl for a great class and demonstration.
Thanks also to Ken Vickery and Bob Brokaw for the pictures.
Paul Proffitt - President
Location Stone Mountain Power Tool Corporation / Kentec, Lilburn, GA