Woodworkers Come Here!

[wk05]

So, I know there has to be some carpenters/people who love working with wood here on TGO and thought it would be cool to make a thread to just talk and share about current and past projects and questions to ask some of the more experienced folks!  

 

 

 

I'm about to start a project to build a table for out on the patio/deck and am trying to decide on what wood to use - spruce or cedar.  Right now, Im leaning towards cedar.  Where would those of you in E. TN suggest I look for good quality wood?  I checked out Home Depot yesterday, and I couldn't find a straight board!  

 

 

[china coaster]

Start asking people in your area where you can find someone sawing local cedar. If you can find someone selling salvaged lumber easter red cedar or hard yellow pine will do. Thing is it will cost you more than good quality pressure treated lumber.

[peejman]

I'm a wanna be carpenter.  I enjoy it, but I'm not very good at it.  Dad is a good carpenter.  He's gotten into turning and makes some pretty cool stuff on his lathes. 

 

As for wood.... I'd also suggest you look up local saw mills and see what they've got.  Without paying a fortune for it, I suspect you'll have to get rough sawed lumber and go from there yourself.  A local custom cabinet maker might be able to point you toward a source or two. 

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I'm a dummy on woodwork though I do a bit of it once in awhile. I'd be inclined to make outdoor furniture out of yellawood pressure treated pine. Because of the relatively low cost and durability. It looks pretty good if coated with deck stain, and have even made pieces finished with oil based stain and several coats of oil based floor polyurethane that IMO look pretty nice. Made an adjustable height astro chair to leave outside, yellawood, stain and polyurethane, that sat outside several years without degradation, then wife conscripted it to be her adjustable height indoor crafts stool, and it looks good enough that it doesn't look out of place in the house.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Lester Weevils

[wk05]

Any pictures of the pre-stained wood?  Sounds interesting!  I love doing the actual wood working, but absolutely despise finishing!   :mad:

[JPS]

If you're in the Nashville area, check out Gambill Saw Mill in Smyrna.  Literally tons of raw and rough-cut lumber laying in piles all over the property, at least the last time I checked.  I used to go there once in a while in search of odds and ends for wood turning and/or furniture projects.

If you check it out (I don't think they have a phone number) just go slowly up the drive until you get to the shop/house and wait a bit for someone to come out.  They're really nice folks, but you can kinda hear the music from Deliverance playing in the background, if you know what I mean.  Don't forget to negotiate if you find something you like - I've never paid the first price I was given for something.

[wk05]

Now I'm really going make y'all work for your money  :rofl: !  

 

Where could one (in the relative area of Chattanooga/Knoxville) find Teak wood!  Ive been really considering making the tabletop, skirts, and legs/leg veneers out of teak, but building the framing, etc. out of PT Lumber.  Thoughts?  Id prefer to not order online.  Secondarily, Id look for Redwood.

[peejman]

Now I'm really going make y'all work for your money  :rofl: !  

 

Where could one (in the relative area of Chattanooga/Knoxville) find Teak wood!  Ive been really considering making the tabletop, skirts, and legs/leg veneers out of teak, but building the framing, etc. out of PT Lumber.  Thoughts?  Id prefer to not order online.  Secondarily, Id look for Redwood.

 

 

Woodcraft maybe?  They have small pieces of nearly everything and might be able to get bigger ones.  Pricey though.

 

Look up a local boat restoration shop.  I'd expect a shop that does work on old wood boats would know where to get teak.

[Daniel]

Any pictures of the pre-stained wood?  Sounds interesting!  I love doing the actual wood working, but absolutely despise finishing!   :mad:

 

Same. Luckily my wife doesnt mind it.

 

We make a project every few months or so. Nothing constant.

[Cherokee Slim]

The Woodcraft store here in Chattanooga has closed.  I don't know if they just moved but I haven't seen them anywhere.  I'm a shade tree carpenter, also called a gorilla carpenter.  It's not always pretty but you can jump up and down on it.

 

The house we bought has/had a kitchen island with a formica top and drawers.  My wife got bored with it and with one of her "all ya gotta do is" statements we are building a new one.  

 

We got an old bedroom dresser and so far have beefed it up, put wheels on it, added 2 shelves to the back side and am starting on a butcher block top.  I can measure twice or even three times and still mess it up.  We will use a greenish colored birch and a lighter yellowish colored pine.  We got it all at Home Depot.  Between the dresser and what will be the butcher block I'll put s 3/8" piece of plywood for strength, and to bind the shelves to the dresser.  The plan is to use biscuits & glue, with screws from below to secure the butcher block to the plywood to the dresser/shelves top.

 

Cherokee Slim

[JPS]

If you're ever in Atlanta, check out Carlton's Rare Woods & Veneers - they have teak.  Be prepared to pay, as nothing they have is cheap.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Any pictures of the pre-stained wood?  Sounds interesting!  I love doing the actual wood working, but absolutely despise finishing!   :mad:

 

Will try to post a picture later of yellawood stained and polyurethane.

 

Pressure treated is generally pine. I always select for straightness and pretty grain, and often have to go thru a lot of pieces to find a few good pieces. Some pressure treat has a greenish cast, but not the yellawood. Even the greenish pressure treat can look interesting finished, for instance with colonial maple stain it can look both greenish and red at the same time.

 

Because the pine is not as strong as hardwood, items need to be built with bigger pieces of wood than hardwood constructions to support weight and not be rickety, but OTOH the pine is lighter than hardwood so the weight is comparable either way. It is recommended to be careful of PT machining dust, good to do a lot of cutting and sanding outside if possible, wear mask indoors while cutting, and clean up right after cutting and sanding. Inside I have a cheap 20" box fan with a 20 x 20 hepa furnace filter blue taped to the fan, used as a cheap woodworking dust filter.

 

I'm ignorant of it but am concerned with rot for outdoor items. Cedar or redwood. The western cedar is better for some tasks, but hard to find in big box stores. It is just easier and cheaper to find yellawood. A lot of outdoor items look fine with just deck stain slathered on, recoated every year or two. Often when you buy yellawood it is sopping wet and probably should be dried a few weeks before use for furniture.

 

Last year I started ripping some fallen trees and stacking the boards to dry. White oak is supposed to be fairly rot resistant though I'd probably want to also seal good with poly. I have some white oak logs but none ripped and dried yet. Need to make me a deck chair, maybe an adirondack chair. The only thing I have ripped and dried listed as relatively rot resistant is black walnut, and dunno if I want to "waste" that much black walnut on a deck chair. Got some maple and such, but it is listed as not very rot resistant and am uncertain if it could be sealed good enough with poly to keep it from rotting, setting outside in the weather.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Lester Weevils

[Guest PapaB]

Check out Jeffries south of Knoxville. Good people and a good selection of woods (including teak). Mrs. Jeffries is a sweet lady with a lot of knowlege, don't be afraid to ask any questions.

 

http://www.woodfinder.com/listings/015104.php

 

wk05, you'll have to try harder if you want to give a challenge.