Rough cut lumber, is it worth the effort?

ste6168

New User
Mike
As most others have said, I prefer rough lumber, as S2S is never perfectly flat. I have purchased it in the past, but still end up milling it anyway.
 

Wiley's Woodworks

Wiley
Corporate Member
I've probably spent 2-3 hours cleaning up some rough cut white oak lumber that I had milled several years ago for my next project. It is a fairly small project, a side/end table to match a coffee table I made for a client a year or so ago.

After adding up the time involved, cost of blades on planers/jointers and DC [emptying the bag] etc., Is it worth the extra effort vs just purchasing finished lumber?

Just curious what others think? I have no intentions of getting rid of my current stock, but as the stock gets low, I"m debating a rough cut milling project vs finished lumber purchased a little at a time as needed.
Yes, it's worth it in personal satisfaction. I take pride in taking a rough, dirty, gouged, cupped, checked, bowed board and making a quality piece of furniture that folks admire. Every time I start a new project with rough cut lumber, I cut off an end piece (they're usually checked and splintered and painted anyway) and save it. I keep them close by my new piece, and when someone admires my work I proudly show them the board it started from. Everyone is amazed and impressed.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Jeff,

I did a little job Tuesday after work and after mowing the lawn which made me think of this thread. I am building a vanity and trying to get ready to put granite tile on the top so I can install the sink and faucet. I wanted a solid oak piece 1.25 inches in with, ~.75 inches thick and about 44 inches long. I picked up a rough sawn piece of oak about 2.5 inches wide and more than 4 feet long and started running my planner. I had it down to 13/16 in a few minutes and clean on both sides. My table saw quickly cleaned up the edges and ripped to width. Then out came the sander and I was ready to install it. I put some shellac on the ends first and glued and trim screwed it in place. It is a relatively crude job but one that fits this bathroom IMHO.

If I had gone to the jointer first to dress a face and an edge it would have added significantly to the time required because I routinely skip that step and the jointer is not easy for me to get set up. Even if it was setting there easy to use, it takes time. It also takes more skill than running stuff through the planner. I mentioned my other activities in the first sentence to make clear I did not have a lot of time Tuesday evening.

I wonder if doing things consistently the "right way" is part of the turnoff of rough cut lumber for some people. For a table top or something that needs to be flat I think it is the way to go and you just have to make the time. For something like this where a bow will be pulled out when it is glued to the vanity, in my opinion it doesn't matter if you use the jointer or not. In this case the board was pretty straight grained and it worked out well.

Jim
 

toolman

Administrator
Chad
I've probably spent 2-3 hours cleaning up some rough cut white oak lumber that I had milled several years ago for my next project. It is a fairly small project, a side/end table to match a coffee table I made for a client a year or so ago.

After adding up the time involved, cost of blades on planers/jointers and DC [emptying the bag] etc., Is it worth the extra effort vs just purchasing finished lumber?

Just curious what others think? I have no intentions of getting rid of my current stock, but as the stock gets low, I"m debating a rough cut milling project vs finished lumber purchased a little at a time as needed.

David, I will tell you my story on rough cut lumber. I made up my mine to make a butcher block for the wife and also wanted to sale some as well, I did some research on pricing of butcher blocks. Then check on the price of 8/4 finished lumber from a lumber company, the price to make a 16 x 20 Endgrain Butcher Block was as much as as the sales price of the finished butcher block. Then I found Walls Lumber with rough cut, the cost end up less than half the price of a finished butcher block.

On the other hand I also was making pull out for cabinets, I had some rough cut Poplar lumber and I mill then down. This work great but it was taking a long time, I ended up going to Lowe's and buying my lumber from there. the time I saved was money in my pocket.

This story was back in 2006 and I had a lunch box planer, now I have a Grizzly 20" 5 hp Spiral Cutter head, and I would only buy rough cut lumber now. The big question is are you making projects for you, or are you making projects for others? If it is for you Time is experience, and you can control every thing. If it is for sale Time is money so if you are using a lunch box planter, you need to do the math.
 

scsmith42

New User
Scott Smith
Well, I'll admit that I'm a bit biased on this topic.... but here is my 2 cents.

Customers who buy S4S lumber are typically looking for perfectly clear boards - both sides and end to end. They tend to be interested in maximum yield from their boards. Therefore, lumber sellers who specialize in S4S lumber typically only pick clear boards for S4S, since that's what the customers are buying. But most logs will not produce 100% clear lumber (typically not even 50%). So that means that if you buy 12 S4S boards they most likely came from 8 - 12 different logs. That means that there will be some variances in color and grain amongst the various boards. If you're planning to stain your project a dark color, then no big deal. If you're more interested in the overall function of the project instead of seeking out and harmonizing the wood grain, also no big deal.

On the other hand, customer's who buy rough sawn lumber from us frequently are looking for log matched boards instead of perfectly clear boards. They will accept some defects in the lumber in exchange for being able to selected bookmatched boards from the same log. This can provide for better harmony between the individual boards in the project. More artistic customers will seek boards that have the character that they desire. They may buy a 12' long board because 3' of it has wood figure that will be in harmony with the design and location where they will use it in their project.

Here are a couple of different examples of table tops. In the top example, if you look past the defects you will see that the lumber is not color or grain matched. The thing that stands out are the individual boards, but there is no artistry or harmony between them.

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Compare that with this glue up of bookmatched boards.

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On the second tabletop you have to look much more closely to see where the boards were joined together. The color and grain match is very consistent since all boards came from the same log. What strikes your eye is the overall presentation of the entire glued up top - not just the individual boards.

Oftentimes lumber that has truly outstanding figure may have defects in it. Here is an example.

The photo below shows a surface checked board with a major side split. There is no way that this board would be selected for S4S inventory by most wood sellers because many customers would discard it due to it's defect.

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However, below is a photo that shows what the bookmatched figure of this heavily defected board could be. Master NCWW artisan Dan O'Sullivan looked beyond the defects and saw the spectacular potential for the board. He bought it and brought it to us for resawing into veneer.

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The photo's speak from themselves.

At the end of the day, buying S4S versus rough sawn may be related to what you're building (function versus form), as well as where you are at in your woodworking journey.

YMMV.

Scott
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Scott, thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience. Both you and Dan have the ability to see the beauty in wood that others may overlook. While I am not in the same league as the two of you, I enjoy the process of taking a rough looking board and trying to make it into something both useful and beautiful.
 

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