Well, I've joined the Guild

[Bill Sullivan]

Hi,

Was it yesterday or the day before that I found The Wood Whisperer? I'm not sure... but with a string of positive responses to my first post on the forum, I went ahead and joined.

I bought a pine board yesterday and today I have been making the Rocking Horse. Mind you, I think that MY Rocking Horse will not win any champion's race.... in those terms it is going to be more like a pony at the fairgrounds at best. I have used a jigsaw before, but not often and now I know why.... the two circular saddle pieces are cut out, but will need considerable attention to take on a more uniform appearance.... still, I suppose that I will get there in the end.

I went to my local drive-through coffee kiosk thinking that the coffee would inspire me and possibly stir my creative juices.... Sorry, it doesn't work for me. Ah well... Onward and upward they say.

When it's finished I WILL send in a photo. "Be gently with me".

Bill

[andreas]

Welcome aboard Bill. Good luck with the rocking horse. Take your time with it and have fun.

[duckkisser]

i love the fact that we're making a rocking horse.

[Scooter67]

I have been thinking of joining but I am new to woodworking and if it is not made out of plywood or MDF with straight edges then my building of projects is limited. I look at the pine boards or any wood at a Home Center and they are always badly warped or cupped. I have a couple of hand planes that I have never used. I do not have a planer or jointer to square up boards. I am not sure where to get good quality wood or wood I should be using for projects. My only power tools are a table saw, jigsaw, and router. I have a couple of saw horses I made out of two by fours. There are things I would like to make but inexperience and lack of tools have kept me from doing much. How can the guild help me with these problems, especially the getting and squaring lumber task?

[Beechwood Chip]

There are a couple of approaches, but no magical solution:

• Most expensive: buy wood that's pre-milled for a specific project. Sort of like buying a kit, but you design the kit and specify the parts. You can Google for hardwood -floor and your zip-code and you'll probably find someone who's willing to make a "project pack" to your specification.
  
• Least expensive: Learn how to set up and sharpen those planes, and learn how to use them to square up your lumber. There are lots of articles here already, or if you ask specific questions in "Neanderthal Village" I'm sure people will help you. Also, Shannon offers the Hand Tool School, but if you just joined the Guild, you probably don't want want tot turn around and join something else.
  
• WoodCraft and similar places sell wood that may be "good enough" for your projects, without needing additional work.
  

In any case, stop looking in the Home Center and find a hardwood dealer or lumberyard that caters to cabinet makers. Whether you want to buy rough lumber and true it up yourself, or you want to buy lumber that's already milled, the Home Center is not going to be your best source. It's just not the market they cater to.

[duckkisser]

another option instead of a place that sells just lumber find out if there are any small mills in your area i often buy boards from a miller down the road and that's how i get scrap lumber. he also let me know if he has some figure wood that is perfect for small projects that is not enough for a cabinet maker. got a stack of 1/4 spalted maple that he gave me that was the edge cuts off a big log that he sold to a company. the small pieces will work for my projects but there is just not enough for a big company to deal with so he would end up just burning it.

[nateswoodworks]

Well first of all welcome aboard Bill. Great to hear that you are jumping in with both feet and having fun making a splash with your rocking horse. As for imperfections, thats called learning! Grab a rasp and some sandpaper and you will get there.

Scooter, I agree with the Duckkisser and Beachwood. I have a few lumber dealers that I go too with great luck, I am sure with some searching you will find some too. Depending on what you are building is going to determine what you need for stock as well. A bow in the wood for a large project can be very problematic, but if you are making a small box not so much. Since you are cutting the boards shorter the bow disappears. Since this is the case you don't need perfect wood or the price of perfect wood which makes it great for practicing. I am sure I am not alone in the fact that my first few projects were made out of home center pine boards (although I think their quality has gone down since I started woodworking) One thing is to look around at things you need in your shop, making a few cabinets for your work area is great practice and can get you organized to boot. Just work with the tools you have and have fun. Don't forget what is one of your best tools, here, ask anything and someone will be able to help.

Good luck guys.

Nate

[duckkisser]

if i can suggest something that is making my work easer caddies for your tools for example my dremil stuff is all in one case that hangs on my wall. making a caddie for drill and all my drill accessories like the bits and extensions. it makes it very organized and easy to pick up everything i might need in one carrying case.

[Scooter67]

There are a couple of approaches, but no magical solution:

• Most expensive: buy wood that's pre-milled for a specific project. Sort of like buying a kit, but you design the kit and specify the parts. You can Google for hardwood -floor and your zip-code and you'll probably find someone who's willing to make a "project pack" to your specification.
  
• Least expensive: Learn how to set up and sharpen those planes, and learn how to use them to square up your lumber. There are lots of articles here already, or if you ask specific questions in "Neanderthal Village" I'm sure people will help you. Also, Shannon offers the Hand Tool School, but if you just joined the Guild, you probably don't want want tot turn around and join something else.
  
• WoodCraft and similar places sell wood that may be "good enough" for your projects, without needing additional work.
  

In any case, stop looking in the Home Center and find a hardwood dealer or lumberyard that caters to cabinet makers. Whether you want to buy rough lumber and true it up yourself, or you want to buy lumber that's already milled, the Home Center is not going to be your best source. It's just not the market they cater to.

Thanks for the advice. I have tried to contact some local cabinet makers to see if they would take some lumber and give it a milling so edges are parallel and square. So far, no go. I will look for other places that sell better stock than home centers. One thing though, because I am inexperienced at working with wood, I get nervous about spending money on expensive wood then ruining it because of stupid mistakes. I wish there were schools in my area that teach basics but nothing around here.

[Scooter67]

Well first of all welcome aboard Bill. Great to hear that you are jumping in with both feet and having fun making a splash with your rocking horse. As for imperfections, thats called learning! Grab a rasp and some sandpaper and you will get there.

Scooter, I agree with the Duckkisser and Beachwood. I have a few lumber dealers that I go too with great luck, I am sure with some searching you will find some too. Depending on what you are building is going to determine what you need for stock as well. A bow in the wood for a large project can be very problematic, but if you are making a small box not so much. Since you are cutting the boards shorter the bow disappears. Since this is the case you don't need perfect wood or the price of perfect wood which makes it great for practicing. I am sure I am not alone in the fact that my first few projects were made out of home center pine boards (although I think their quality has gone down since I started woodworking) One thing is to look around at things you need in your shop, making a few cabinets for your work area is great practice and can get you organized to boot. Just work with the tools you have and have fun. Don't forget what is one of your best tools, here, ask anything and someone will be able to help.

Good luck guys.

Nate

home Center stock definitely has gone down hill. I will be looking around for better lumber places. Right now I am working with plywood for a toy organizer and MDF for a bookcase that I will paint. I have been thinking about joining the "Guild" here and getting involved with the workbench project. The only holding me back is the cost. These days things are pretty tight. Thanks for all the feed back.

[Beechwood Chip]

One thing though, because I am inexperienced at working with wood, I get nervous about spending money on expensive wood then ruining it because of stupid mistakes.

I'm the exact same way. In a couple of videos Marc has recommended building a prototype out of less expensive wood, before using an expensive wood such as mahogany. Where I am poplar and red oak are inexpensive hardwoods.

You may not have luck finding a cabinet maker who will mill your stock for you. I couldn't find a hardwood dealer near me (in the city), so I looked around outside the city where land is less expensive and there are a lot of trees, The first dealer I contacted was happy to put together a tiny "project pack" that was milled to my specification. All of this was by Google and email - I just had to drive out to pick it up.

Several mail order hardwood dealers advertise on Marc's site. Since you joined the Guild you have a discount with Bell Forest. I bet they would put together whatever you need, and ship it to you.

[duckkisser]

One thing though, because I am inexperienced at working with wood, I get nervous about spending money on expensive wood then ruining it because of stupid mistakes. I wish there were schools in my area that teach basics but nothing around here.

the best school is the school of hard nocks you will learn more from messing up a project then you will from getting it right. start out small make a few gift projects for family that way you can track them and know what went wrong and can then fix them or figure out how to fix them. i have told everyone i made something for that if a glue hold breaks or joint fails bring it back and ill see about fixing it that way i can learn from my past errors. and unless you live somewhere that has no tree you should be able to find a mill near by. ask any tree trimmers, cabinet makers, carpenters etc if they know of any small one man mills. check out turning clubs in your area a lot of times they cut down a tree and they have no use for all the wood. and yes i think you should sharpen your plane and work on leveling your lumber. if i had it my way all my lumber would come from trees that i personally cut up and air dried. i know that you can find a list of small mills through some company but i cant remember what they are called (anyone know?). the company sells there tree milling machines