Does wood need to be planed?

[Wendy Gillie]

Hello everyone!!! This is my first post. I was doing a search on the web and came across you guys. I've watched every single home improvement show on the tube, painted all the rooms in my new apartment, and now would like to try to build some things. I went to a lumber yard north of me and couldn't believe all the different kinds of wood they had. Mother Nature does wonders!!! My question is, the wood they sell is in the "rough" as they call it. Can I just sand it down smooth or do I need to plane it as they said. (The guy said he would plane it and cut it for no charge.) I want to start easy and make some shelves. TIA

[Steven Evans]

you will be sanding for days or even longer. Then you likely will not have a flat surface. You need a hand plane anbd tons of skill or a power planer. If they are willing to do it for free by all means let them do it for you.

[Robert Waddell]

Wendy,
Yes, it needs to be planed if you want any kind of a quality job. Sanding would be a lot of work and would not give a very good result. If they will plane it for free go for it.
Rob

[Wendy Gillie]

Thanks for the fast reply Steven. The wood did look a little "rough" when he showed it to me, but when he said it had to be planed and cut perfectly straight down the side...I thought maybe he was yanking my chain. Since it's going to be made into shelves I'm not too worried about it being straight and flat. Thanks again.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Wendy, the reason for planing is to make the board flat which cannot be done with sanding alone. And as the other person mentioned, it would take forever.

JH

[Ken Werner]

Wendy, welcome to the creek. The fella in the lumber yard made you an offer you can't refuse. Good luck.
Ken

[Ed Nelson978]

Hi Wendy, you have stumbled upon a great site. Lot's of knowledge and experience. If you are interested in getting into woodworking, you smart to start small, but I would recommend checking into some classes or finding someone that can help you get started. Without some instruction it is quite easy to get frusterated (even with some instruction it can be frusterating)

God luck, and like everyone has already said...have the wood planed.

[Art Mulder]

Since it's going to be made into shelves I'm not too worried about it being straight and flat. Thanks again.

Hi, Wendy! Welcome to SMC. There's a great bunch of folks here, who give lots of helpfull advice.

But what do you mean you're not concerned about it being straight and flat!? Just what kind of shelves are you planning on building!?

The public library will have lots of basic woodworking books that you can borrow to get different ideas on how to build shelves. Photos are really helpful, which is why they're so popular here!

best wishes,
...art

[Wendy Gillie]

My my my!!! I didn't expect to get all these responses so fast! Since the shelves I plan on making are going to be filled with books I didn't see why it needed to be really flat. (I was thinking the books would do that.) I'll have the guy plane it and cut it for me like he said he would. Thanks again!!!

[Jake Helmboldt]

Wendy, by saying that planing would make the lumber flat, that is not totally accurate. Jointing (face jointing) will make it flat and planing will then flatten the opposite sid (face) and make it parallel to the other.

Simply running it through the planer will make it smooth, but quite possibly not flat since any bow or twist will remain (but the faces will be parallel). This complicates your question, but have the lumber guys help you find straight stock and when they plane it, it should be relatively flat.

The other option would be to find someone locally who has a shop that could help you prepare the wood for your project. They might be willing to share some knowledge and teach you the finer points of wood prep and maybe some other stuff for little or no money. It would help to understand the process if someone showed you in person.

Jake

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Welcome Wendy!

Good for you, painted you whole apartment, you got one on me, I avoid painting at all costs!

Nice that you found a lumber yard that is looking to treat you right, so many beginners go to the local Home Depot etc (we call all of those types of stores "The Borg") and they are often put off by the price of solid wood and end up using plywood etc, and they don't like the results as much.

A bookcase is a good place to start, simple, straightforward and you can put it to use right away.

Remember, books are HEAVY, so you are often better off running a support under each shelf, or at least along the front edge to stiffen up the shelf. A load of books on a shelf and gravity (remember, gravity never sleeps!) can make your shelves look like wet noodles fairly quickly.

As you can see from this pic that I made.............

Attachment 48332

The middle shelf would be the strongest, the bottom the weakest, and the top one might be the best compromise, easy to make, strong, and it looks good too.

Good luck, and like others have said, we like pics!

Cheers!

[Tony Falotico]

I went to a lumber yard north of me and couldn't believe all the different kinds of wood they had.

Wendy, Welcome to the Creek and to the world of woodworking. Great hobby, relaxing and productive. The only frustrating part is finding good hardwoods. I usually travel 150 miles west of me to get hardwoods, been looking for some alternate (closer) suppliers.

I see your in Georgia and you mentioned a lumber yard north of you...... Would you mind sharing where the lumber yard is located ??

[Nathan Camp]

...

I see your in Georgia and you mentioned a lumber yard north of you...... Would you mind sharing where the lumber yard is located ??

Tony, Oddly enough, I was about to post the same question.

Wendy, Welcome to the Creek. You will find lots of info and good people here.

Nathan Camp

[Scott Henderson]

Hello everyone!!! This is my first post. I was doing a search on the web and came across you guys. I've watched every single home improvement show on the tube, painted all the rooms in my new apartment, and now would like to try to build some things. I went to a lumber yard north of me and couldn't believe all the different kinds of wood they had. Mother Nature does wonders!!! My question is, the wood they sell is in the "rough" as they call it. Can I just sand it down smooth or do I need to plane it as they said. (The guy said he would plane it and cut it for no charge.) I want to start easy and make some shelves. TIA

I had a Wendy Gillie in my structural engineering class at Georgia Tech. She was an excellent student, but dropped out to marry a corn farmer from Albany. I had her at 97% with a chance for an A+ at the time, but had to give her an incomplete.

Is it possible?? Were you there??

[Wendy Gillie]

WOW!!!

Lemme see if I can answer the questions:

I have a sister, but she lives in Florida.

No, I didn't attend Georgia Tech. (Went to University of Miami. GO CANES!!!)

The lumber place is Peach State Lumber. (It's north of Atlanta about 30 miles.)

I went to a craft store and bought some fake marble looking corbels for the brackets that I plan on staining with some grease paint. (Kinda wipe it on, smear it in the grooves, make it look, "old.") The wood I plan on using is called zebrawood. (I love the dark streaks in it.) Gotta go. Have to get ready for a 10:00 meeting. Tata.