How to pick wood and what's a good price?

[morfa]

So far in my (short) woodworking career, I've been buying bog standard pine 2x4s, plywood and mdf mainly and some structural stuff (C16) for some quick'n'dirty cabinets and general DIY stuff. I've finally got a bit of cash together and I'm looking to buy some hardwood for some furniture projects.

Thinking of going here as it's fairly nearby and I like the idea of 'buying local':

http://www.wentwoodtimbercentre.co.uk/

What should I be looking for in the timber when I buy it? I assume it's normal to pick out the 'best' wood? So I'm looking for straightness on all aspects, as few knots as possible, no splitting and anything else?

I was thinking of buying some ash for a shelving unit in an alcove and some sycamore for a small worktop next to my cooker. The cooker is in a old fireplace, so has 30cm of space either side of it. Was just going to put some shelves in there basically. And the shelving unit in the alcove is also about 70cm wide and 20 cm deep, want it to be plain wood, just planning on oiling it I guess.

 

[AndyT]

As far as I know you are thinking on the right lines.
But, with an unusual - and rather interesting-looking timber merchant like that one - I think your best bet is to go along on a quiet day with a list of what you need and discuss it with them.
As you only want a small amount of short lengths, you have extra flexibility. You could for example accept a bigger board than you need, which has defects in it which you could work around. For obvious defects it's likely that they would ignore the worst bits and only measure the good stuff when calculating a price. That way you'll probably get some useful offcuts as well.

 

[siggy_7]

Aside from the checks you've listed, I find one of the best tests is to offer it up against something like a nearby steel column to check for straightness/flatness. Also, have a look at the grain on the board and try to pick the bits that have the fibres aligned more like quartersawn than flatsawn - makes the timber more stable. Watch out for grain that changes direction along the length in particular if it's a difficult wood to machine, as this makes planing more of a pain.

 

[gasman]

My tip would be to take a block plane with you - then you can see what the timber really looks like
Cheers
Mark

 

[morfa]

Thanks gents. I'll take a plane along, seems sensible. I'm looking forward to visiting, I'm hoping that I'll be able to have a natter and pick what I want.

Do the prices seem reasonable?

£40 per cubic foot for oak and then:

Alder 30% lower
Ash 25% lower
Beech 25% lower
Spalted Beech as oak
Cedar of Lebanon 30% higher
Cherry as oak
Elm 50% higher
Larch 50% lower
Lime 25% lower
Brown Oak 35% higher
Red Oak 25% lower
Holm Oak 25% lower
Pippy Oak 50% higher
Sweet Chestnut 25% lower
Sycamore 25% lower
Western Red Cedar 50% lower

 

[marcros]

i think that seems a bit high, based on the few that I know the price of when i last bought- elm, sycamore, pippy oak and cherry. But it might be 2 square edged stuff, which would be very different to the 2 wayney edged stuff that i was buying.

I would price the project up on those and see what you think to the result. You could spend a lot of time finding it a bit cheaper, and it cost you more than the saving in fuel and time.

 

[morfa]

I think it's square edged. Least I hope it is.

 

[riclepp]

I would also consider taking a moisture content meter with me. Gives me an idea how wet it is and a rough idea as to how long I will have to wait for it to dry to between 9 and 11% moisture content and then work out it's potential shrinkage allbeit very rough.

I would also err on the cautious side for any items that they are trying to get you to buy in a hurry and not get a very good look at. Always try to look at the stuff they try to stear you away from.

Regards

 

[morfa]

Aside from the checks you've listed, I find one of the best tests is to offer it up against something like a nearby steel column to check for straightness/flatness. Also, have a look at the grain on the board and try to pick the bits that have the fibres aligned more like quartersawn than flatsawn - makes the timber more stable. Watch out for grain that changes direction along the length in particular if it's a difficult wood to machine, as this makes planing more of a pain.

Any pictures of what's good and what's bad? Not sure what quatersawn and flatsawn means?

 

[carlb40]

These might help
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-quartersawn-wood.htm

http://www.internationaltimber.co.uk/se ... -of-terms/

 

[siggy_7]

This is a good explanation of what I mean by the grain direction switching, and why it's important when machining. If you look at the accompanying video, the planing operation at 1:40 shows planing along an edge where the wood is switching grain direction along its length. This isn't always much of a problem, but in woods that are hard to machine and prone to splitting problems it can be a real sod. http://www.newwoodworker.com/readgrain.html

 

[custard]

I would also consider taking a moisture content meter with me. Gives me an idea how wet it is and a rough idea as to how long I will have to wait for it to dry to between 9 and 11% moisture content and then work out it's potential shrinkage allbeit very rough.

I would also err on the cautious side for any items that they are trying to get you to buy in a hurry and not get a very good look at. Always try to look at the stuff they try to stear you away from.

Regards

Richard makes some good points. Personally I think good quality, well dried timber is cheap at almost any price, certainly when you compare the cost of timber with the hours that you'll invest in a project then it's a false economy to settle for anything but the very best.