Wood storage

[Oraclebhoy]

Hello, just wondering, how long you give from buying the wood (from B&Q/Wickes/Homebase) and stacking it in your working area, till you start chopping and using?
I personally don’t have space to store full lengths but I keep reading that you should let wood settle in your workspace for anything between a week and a few months to dry out.
Would it be ok to cut them down near the size you need and then leave them for a week or does it need to be longer?
Cheers

 

[kevinlightfoot]

If it’s from your suggested places you can start to burn it almost immediately......lol.

 

[robgul]

I usually allow MDF to season for a couple of months . . . .

 

[Peter Sefton]

This depends on how dry your work space is? I would have thought B&Q is quite a dry storage area, the trouble is the timber is machined so quickly and then strapped together, when released its the tension that is let go. If your shed is wetter than their warehouse the timber will take on moisture not dry out.

 

[Oraclebhoy]

If it’s from your suggested places you can start to burn it almost immediately......lol.

Sadly those sort of places are the easiest to get to.
We have NY timber here but I always feel out of place when I go there for prices.

 

[Robbo60]

Sadly those sort of places are the easiest to get to.
We have NY timber here but I always feel out of place when I go there for prices.

I just googled timber merchants North Yorkshire and a good selection, depending where you are. One really good thing about B & Q is the cutting service for sheet MDF, Ply. Can save a lot of work getting it to manageable size. Very square cuts also

 

[clogs]

most places u buy sheet goods will cut it for u.....often a pound or two for the fist cut then free after that.....
but dont take the mick.....
at time with likes of B+Q u can sort out the wood that best suits u.....
most wood yards dont like it unless they know u.....

I wanted a huge amount of decking for a job...over a €1,000's......went to veiw it, it was only fit for burning.....
had I just order'd, thats what I'd have got.....dont go there anymore....had to find another supplier.....
lastley I used to build large outdoor constructions.....those big timbers started to get stupid prices from the wood yards..
I found a saw mill fairly close by and use them all the time but it was not for furniture...at least not for a few years of stickering....
u will learn what the best places to buy from .......

 

[gregmcateer]

Sadly those sort of places are the easiest to get to.
We have NY timber here but I always feel out of place when I go there for prices.

That's a shame you feel out of place. Timber suppliers should welcome us hobby crowd - we probably demand less and pay more than professional wood workers.
Try to summon the courage and go to a specialist if that's what you need. Just be frank with them - you're learning, but need advice and would prefer to use them than big sheds - if they don't respond well, then sod them and go back to the sheds - their loss. But you might find they're brilliant.

 

[Robbo60]

most places u buy sheet goods will cut it for u.....often a pound or two for the fist cut then free after that.....
but dont take the mick.....
at time with likes of B+Q u can sort out the wood that best suits u.....
most wood yards dont like it unless they know u.....

I wanted a huge amount of decking for a job...over a €1,000's......went to veiw it, it was only fit for burning.....
had I just order'd, thats what I'd have got.....dont go there anymore....had to find another supplier.....
lastley I used to build large outdoor constructions.....those big timbers started to get stupid prices from the wood yards..
I found a saw mill fairly close by and use them all the time but it was not for furniture...at least not for a few years of stickering....
u will learn what the best places to buy from .......

B & Q is free for about 3 cuts

 

[billw]

B & Q is free for about 3 cuts

Since the first lockdown my local sheds all closed their cutting services. Made for an interesting journey home on my first visit.