I've been looking at the S. L. Hardwoods website and they sell a variety of timbers in PAR and Sawn boards - IIRC PAR is Planed All Round so I'd think it would be reasonably straight and square and more or less ready to use but does anyone know what the sawn boards would be like? I'm limited in tools and even more limited in talent and I wondering how much preperation the sawn wood would need ....
Newbie question on timber
- Thread starter Kane
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I've got a thread here https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... 349#160349 which gives an indication of what sawn boards look like. Contrary to what the pictures show - the electric plane is literally just to remove enough of the surface to decide where to place my templates.
After the pictures of cutting the boards to length, you'd need access to a planer/thicknesser (often referred to as a P/T). This is quite an investment but does allow you to purchase cheaper wood. Of course, if you are feeling brave, and strong, its possible to both plane, then thickness wood by using hand planes.
If the wood is sawn to dimensions (rather than boards described above) - it may be in a much better state than this - e.g. approximately square or whatever the dimensions give already.
Adam
After the pictures of cutting the boards to length, you'd need access to a planer/thicknesser (often referred to as a P/T). This is quite an investment but does allow you to purchase cheaper wood. Of course, if you are feeling brave, and strong, its possible to both plane, then thickness wood by using hand planes.
If the wood is sawn to dimensions (rather than boards described above) - it may be in a much better state than this - e.g. approximately square or whatever the dimensions give already.
Adam
Paul Chapman
Established Member
Kane":2jq79kj7 said:
Hi Kane,
I don't have a planer and from experience I can assure you that it can be very hard work, particularly if it involves very hard woods like oak (though no doubt good for the cardio/respiratory system
). If you are limited in tools and experience you might be better off going for PAR.Cheers :wink:
Paul
SLH only stock ex 25mm PAR boards so you will end up with about 19mm finished thickness OK for some jobs but you may well want thicker for table legs etc. though they will happily prepare any other size of timber to your requirements.
The sawn boards will look just like 100x50 sawn softwood that you would buy from a timber yard so will require a lot of hand work, having said that I had some steamed beech from them that looked more like it had just come out of a thickness sander than off a saw mill
Jason
The sawn boards will look just like 100x50 sawn softwood that you would buy from a timber yard so will require a lot of hand work, having said that I had some steamed beech from them that looked more like it had just come out of a thickness sander than off a saw mill
Jason
The 19mm PAR would be ok (I think) I want to knock up a basic bookcase sized to take primarily DVDs and paperbacks (top bottom and sides 165mm X 19mm and about seven shelves at 140mm X 19mm plus ply backing) , looks a bit expensive at nearly £150 for the wood+delivery+vat for a first attempt so I'll probably either scale it down or price it for the cheapest ply I can get lol
Wanlock Dod
Established Member
I think that the kay consideration when buying planed stock is the difference in relative humidity between where the boards were planed and where the furniture ends up, cupping of some boards might be a problem.
Cheers,
Dod
Cheers,
Dod
Jedo_03
Member
Kane":2dv9e4vo said:
Hi Kane
My tuppence worth...
wouldn't be too confident that PAR means the boards are "reasonably straight" - probably NOT square - and almost certainly not "ready to use" without running them over a jointer/hand-planing.
You're correct that rough-sawn is impractical if you dont have machines to mill it - or good hand planes and arms like popeye..
Probably best you can do is select each piece of PAR yourself and store it in the room/place where the finished piece will be - then prep your timber and make it up - but you're still not guaranteed the timber won't move...
Depends on the relative humidity / moisture content of the timber.
Don't be too ambitious at first: make something simple ( a shelf) and watch what the timber does before/after you've worked it.
Good Luck
Jedo
Kane":18s3eyia said:
Less sawing and a bit less planing as far as I can see is the main difference (apart from cost). I haven't got any machinery, all my stock is prepped by hand. It takes longer, you might break into a sweat but it's more satisfying and much cheaper. It's also much tidier - you don't end up with piles of dust everywhere. You can sweep up at the end of the day instead of vacuuming. I have never known any different if you see what I mean but I can't say that the preparation is overly hard work and I suspect it's a lot more satisfying at the end of the day. Beware SL Hardwoods pricing. I've found that that the online shopping widget prices never match the actual price if you call them with the same wish list though that may just be ineptitude on my part.
Standard disclaimer - " I know nothing, ignore me"!
Cheers Mike
Rural Platypus
Established Member
First of all, in defence of SL Hardwoods, they are expensive for timber but what you get is generally of very good quality. That said, there are other suppliers out there who will supply you with PAR timber in other than 19mm. I know several people have had good experiences with British Hardwoods.
The problem with buying PAR as I discovered when I first started all this woody stuff, is that PAR from a supplier can still move once you get it home. If you think about the recommended sequence for preparing timber you can understand why. You plane faces & edges roughly to the size on your cutting list, let the timber settle for a few days in a similar environment to where the finished work will be used, then plane down again to the finished dimensions (of course it is then mandatory to get out your tuned No 4, 5 or 5 1/2 handplane and enjoy a few minutes making shavings whilst removing the planer marks and a few thou more wood...but that's another story). Generally the PAR you get from a yard will have been through only one planing operation.
It's a laugh, isn't it?
RP
The problem with buying PAR as I discovered when I first started all this woody stuff, is that PAR from a supplier can still move once you get it home. If you think about the recommended sequence for preparing timber you can understand why. You plane faces & edges roughly to the size on your cutting list, let the timber settle for a few days in a similar environment to where the finished work will be used, then plane down again to the finished dimensions (of course it is then mandatory to get out your tuned No 4, 5 or 5 1/2 handplane and enjoy a few minutes making shavings whilst removing the planer marks and a few thou more wood...but that's another story). Generally the PAR you get from a yard will have been through only one planing operation.
It's a laugh, isn't it?
RP
ByronBlack
Established Member
Kane, SL Hardwoods can work out quite expensive. I was looking to get some wood from them for a small table project a little while ago, in the end I sourced a local wood yard and saved quite a bit on delivery. I also managed to look at the wood before buying it.
Do you have a local yard you can go to, it might be more beneficial and cheaper for you to do so.
Do you have a local yard you can go to, it might be more beneficial and cheaper for you to do so.
I bought PAR from British Hardwoods http://www.britishhardwoods.co.uk/ and it was quite literally ready to use. Bang on square and thicknessed uniformly. I expect nothing else then it being perfect.
Adam
Adam
Losos
Established Member
Hi Kane,
I must admit that I find the 'brain munching' associated with trying to predict the amount of 'movement' in solid wood a bit daunting at times. I have been know to use ply for this reason alone. :roll: I know it's a 'cop out' but when SWMBO is pushing one has to come up with something quick. :wink: :wink:
Generally I've found that if ply has a decent 'edging' it can look sort of OK and meet a need. In years gone by I've even used it the living room with no 'comments' from SWMBO :lol: :lol:
I must admit that I find the 'brain munching' associated with trying to predict the amount of 'movement' in solid wood a bit daunting at times. I have been know to use ply for this reason alone. :roll: I know it's a 'cop out' but when SWMBO is pushing one has to come up with something quick. :wink: :wink:
Generally I've found that if ply has a decent 'edging' it can look sort of OK and meet a need. In years gone by I've even used it the living room with no 'comments' from SWMBO :lol: :lol:
RobertMP
Established Member
I'm fast reaching the stage where I'll need to get some timber in for actually making something - rather than just messing about fitting out my workshop.
Just wondering if anyone has any opinion on the hardwood 'bundles' you see on ebay?
For example -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100-EUROPEAN-...QQihZ004QQcategoryZ112570QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
which is too much wood but seems cheap
or this guy who sells smaller bundles (though appears to no have any sales running at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220073874385
I will try the local timber merchants. I want to make some occasional tables as my first proper project and have yet to decide what wood to use - so I'd better do that first
Just wondering if anyone has any opinion on the hardwood 'bundles' you see on ebay?
For example -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100-EUROPEAN-...QQihZ004QQcategoryZ112570QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
which is too much wood but seems cheap
or this guy who sells smaller bundles (though appears to no have any sales running at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220073874385
I will try the local timber merchants. I want to make some occasional tables as my first proper project and have yet to decide what wood to use - so I'd better do that first
ByronBlack
Established Member
Robert, I've bought quite a bit of timber of ebay in the past, and i've never been disapointed with what I have got. In all of my cases, the timber was dried well and cut to a good dimension. I've bought Yew, Ash, Mahogany, Walnut and even some nice Maple.
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