Wood for Painted Furniture

[Ted Reischl]

Thanks John, always great to add another potential source for wood to the list. Unfortunately, I do not have a moisture meter as of yet. I typically look at weight, temperature to the touch and visual indicators for dampness.... not very accurate but it does weed out a lot of boards.

Thanks Ted, good to hear you are having success with SPF lumber...... the impression I am getting from comments and feedback is..... is the juice worth the squeeze?

Definitely worth the "squeeze" around here. We only have two places that sell hardwood and they are very small places, limited selection. They will happily sell me maple with knots in it for about $8 BF. Walnut? Go see the bank for a second mortgage.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the prices you see quoted here may be for lumber straight from the mill, not dried, rough, no straight edges. I have worked with that stuff in the past. It is about the same as breaking down construction lumber in terms of "squeeze".

Don't get me wrong, I like working with hardwood. But a lot of guys get all dreamy thinking everything they build is going to be some sort of "heirloom" and must last forever. The truth of the matter is that when most people pass on their relatives already have houses full of stuff so they have no idea where to go with that "heirloom" bedroom set. Or it is not their style, etc. Ever notice, you do not see everyday regular furniture sitting around in museums?

[Vince Rosypal]

One thing you see with commercial furniture thats painted... They have no qualms about mix-matching based on what the specific parts need and the duty they will see...

Match the species of wood to the function you need... Its not uncommon to see oak/ash legs, poplar/aspen/soft maple stringers, and veneered plywood flat panels. A thick coat of pore filler/bondo and paint...

They may even faux grain it to make it look like its the same sort of wood.

Thanks John, good point on the mix-matching species in commercial furniture

I have a moisture meter. I use it so much I can't find it.
I guess I really don't miss it.

LOL

Definitely worth the "squeeze" around here. We only have two places that sell hardwood and they are very small places, limited selection. They will happily sell me maple with knots in it for about $8 BF. Walnut? Go see the bank for a second mortgage.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the prices you see quoted here may be for lumber straight from the mill, not dried, rough, no straight edges. I have worked with that stuff in the past. It is about the same as breaking down construction lumber in terms of "squeeze".

Don't get me wrong, I like working with hardwood. But a lot of guys get all dreamy thinking everything they build is going to be some sort of "heirloom" and must last forever. The truth of the matter is that when most people pass on their relatives already have houses full of stuff so they have no idea where to go with that "heirloom" bedroom set. Or it is not their style, etc. Ever notice, you do not see everyday regular furniture sitting around in museums?

Thanks for the feedback Ted.... the furniture I am building to paint certainly will not be heirloom

[Ted Reischl]

Vince, I mentioned that I was building a bookcase. Here it is:

3.jpg

This is typical frame and panel construction. The only man made material is the back. I recommend doing frame and panel when working with construction lumber. It avoids a lot of issues (not just with pine, but all wood) which is why the old timers used the method in the first place.

I have about 35 bucks in it. A nice pile of scrap from the resawing that will be useful for other small projects.

This is built with mortise and tenon construction.

[Chris True]

Maple box store plywood + poplar face frame and pine crown. HVLP sprayed latex primer and topcoat.

[Vince Rosypal]

Vince, I mentioned that I was building a bookcase. Here it is:

3.jpg

This is typical frame and panel construction. The only man made material is the back. I recommend doing frame and panel when working with construction lumber. It avoids a lot of issues (not just with pine, but all wood) which is why the old timers used the method in the first place.

I have about 35 bucks in it. A nice pile of scrap from the resawing that will be useful for other small projects.

This is built with mortise and tenon construction.

Thanks Ted for the follow up, looks great!

Maple box store plywood + poplar face frame and pine crown. HVLP sprayed latex primer and topcoat.

Nice job Chris
Means of painting is another area I need to look at..... one day

[Vince Rosypal]

I decided to try some Aspen and Spruce (aka dimensional lumber) I'm going to build two night stands one out of each species.

One problem I discovered last night is that although I thought I was carful about selecting a good 2x10 it turns out it is wetter that I thought (no meter...subjective)
Not sure of the best way to proceed.... I have it cut down to over sized length and was thinking to rip it to rough widths, sticker it and let it dry a few days.... or should I let it dry now before ripping it?

Or if there is another thread that already covers this please let me know
Thanks