Rough lumber question....

[Scott Parks]

Normally I only buy enough lumber for a particular project, so I don't have a huge stack left over. Right now I have a pile of alder, that I've been planing as I go... A few boards here, few boards there....

My question is, should I leave it all rough, and plane as I use it? Or would it bother anything to go ahead and plane it all to the same thickness prior to storage? That way, whenever I need a peice here or there, it is ready to go.

Or, am I thinking too hard and it doesn't really matter at all?

Thanks...

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Scott, I leave it rough until I need it because I don't dimension a whole board. I cut the board to size, then joint, plane and dress the edges. That way I'm dimensioning a smaller board which is easier for me.

[Donnie Raines]

What Dennis said...plus you never no when you may need a diffrent thickness then what you have on hand. And you no that you would need it thicker then you surfaced it.

[Frank Pellow]

What Dennis and Donnie said.

[Jim Becker]

I leave it rough, or if I am just plain curious about figure, a quick skim-plane allows me to sort material for quality before putting it on the rack.

[Steve Clardy]

I leave all mine as is till I need it. Mine is all delivered here by truck, but comes SKIP planed to 15/16". Skip planing is done so it will stack better.

[Ian Abraham]

It doesn't make a big difference to the wood, but I leave mine rough mostly because if you get it all planed nicely and then put it back in the stack it gets dented and scratched over time. That doesn't matter if it's rough sawn or is going to be finish planed again, but once you get a nice finish on a board it's hard to keep it that way in a stack of timber.

Ian

[Scott Parks]

Sounds like I'm best to leave it as-is. Never thought about dinging or denting it.

Steve, what is skip planing?

[Steve Clardy]

Sounds like I'm best to leave it as-is. Never thought about dinging or denting it.

Steve, what is skip planing?

Rough lumber usually comes off the saw at 1 1/8" thick.
Gets dried, some shrinkage.
Then they run it through the surfacer, both sides, lightly each side, so it will stack flatter, and they can haul a few more boards also.
Mine comes in at 15/16" thick.