Help on how to treat wood for a new project.

[paullippo]

Hello all.
I have decided to make myself a tool cabinet and I have a planned out how I want it to be. But I'm really a novice when it come to knowledge of wood. I bought some sawn timber a couple weeks ago, Maple,Cherry and some Walnut.I intend to make it mainly in Cherry and Maple, I've done a rough plan and decided to make it 34 x30 x 6inches with double doors 15 x 30 x4inches. What I intended to do was to cut the wood to a rough size for the carcase and doors leave it a week then plane one side and edge and leave for another week before I plane it to size and start the joinery part. This is the help I need in so far as am I going about it the right way by doing it the way I've explained. The timber was bought from a very long standing place its not kiln dried but is stored inside. When it arrived the moisture was around 13/14 its been racked in my workshop and is now between 6/8 its quite nice over all, slight bow in some of the Cherry but the Maple is really quite straight. Any help, advice would be very much appreciated.

Regards

Paul

 

[Yojevol]

Hi Paul and welcome to the world of wood. In response to your post:-
1. Are you sure the MC has dropped from 13/14% to 6/8% in only 2 weeks. That sort of drop could only be acheived in a kiln.
2. Leaving your wood to rest after initial planing is good practice but you need to.plane both sides to get it basically flat before final thicknessing.
3. Your door dimensions don't seem to correlate well with the carcass sizes. Are the doors really going to be 4" thick? Perhaps you are thinking of panelled doors with stiles and rails (the frame) 4" wide.
Brian

 

[paullippo]

Hello Brian thanks for responding. In all honesty I'm not sure I can answer the first question I only go by my 2 pronged £18 meter so, no I'm not sure at all.
Except that 6/8 is only 1/2% above wood I have had racked for a couple years and that doesn't change, my workshop is only 6ft x 24ft and if it ever drops below 8 degrees I have a small thermostatic heater I use. I probably didn't explain properly. I'll cut the wood to rough length leave a week do one side one edge and leave a week then the other side and leave again before I thickness to the size I want. Doors will be a 3" wide frame dovetailed same as the main carcase with a flat panelled front about 1/2" with stiles and rails so that I can put tools insde the door. Stiles and rails cherry panells in maple. Hope I have explained myself better. So I'm not the fastest worker and I don't rush anything in all honesty I probaly won't have the wood anywhere near final dimensions this side of Christmas but I do to a certain extent like to be prepared. I'm I right in thinking wood has to be around 6/7 to work on. Thanks again for your knowledge.

Paul

 

[Cabinetman]

Are the doors really 3 or 4 inches wide with Dovetailed? frames? I would suggest a sketch of the box would be useful for us to help with the design element.
As an inexperienced woodworker a drawing will definitely help you avoid mistakes, which we all make!
Ian