The most important consideration in planning a new project has to be wood(s) selection. You can start with the greatest design ever, construct it like an expert with 20 years experience, and finish it exactly by the book, and still end up with a flop if you use the wrong wood. To select the correct wood for a project several things must be considered. Serious woodworkers weigh the look against the performance when selecting woods. It is a sad day when an item looks great but fails to stand the test of time.
When selecting a wood consider how much wear it is likely to be exposed to. We like to use hard woods when the wood will be exposed to a lot of traffic. You can search "Janka Wood Hardness Scale" to see a listing of woods and their respective hardness values. Bear in mind that this scale is an average hardness. We currently have some white oak in the bin that is the hardest wood I have ever used. Our last shipment of cherry contained a few boards that were extremely dense and hard and a few boards that were well below the average hardness for cherry.
Also consider elements the wood will be exposed to. If it is going to get wet or constantly exposed to high humidity, go with something like cypress, cedar, or juniper. These woods have been used by traditional boatbuilders for many years. Our canoe outriggers are constructed from these woods.
Always check The Wood Database for Wood Allergies and Toxicity if you
are not familiar with the wood you are working with. Some can be
extremely toxic. It is a good idea to wear a respirator and have a
functioning dust collection system when using tools that make a lot of
sawdust.
Make sure your wood is dry. Many moisture meters are available on the market to test the amount of moisture in the wood. Just remember, wood will absorb moisture from the air. If it has been humid for the past week, expect the moisture meter to reflect this. Also, just because you buy the lumber from a retailer does not insure that the wood was properly dried before putting it up for sale. If it feels wet, it probably is.
Most occasional woodworkers purchase wood from big box building supply stores. The sooner you can get away from this the better! Have you purchased several 3/4 inch boards and started on your project only to find that some of the boards were a little fatter than the others? If this has not happened to you, it will. Find a sawmill and have them plane the wood to the desired thickness. You will get wood that is uniform thickness. And, you will likely save a lot of money. Better yet, if you plan on doing a lot of projects, get a band saw and a planer and dress the wood yourself.
We purchase the bulk of our wood from one of three local sawmills, all within an hour drive of our house. Our wood is purchased rough sawn, we resaw with the band saw and plane it to the thickness that suits our project. After all, 3/4 inches is not the ideal board thickness for every project!
The primary woods we use are maple, walnut, cherry, red oak, white
oak, and ash. We also use sassafrass, holly, cypress, cedar, juniper,
yellow pine, white pine, poplar, birch, beech, and hickory. When asked, we can
get most exotics.
Customers occasionally ask if we use recycled wood, reclaimed wood, pallet wood, and bamboo. The answer to all is NO. First of all, bamboo is not a wood, it is a grass. It is pressed and glued into something that resembles plywood. I understand the economics and why it is used in the Asian world, but we can use real wood here a lot cheaper than we can get bamboo.
Recycled wood, reclaimed wood, pallet wood all fall into the same area in my mind. To begin with, I don't know what kind of chemicals this wood has been exposed to, and, if they will leak and be harmful to the health of my client and their family. I have some experience driving a big truck, believe me, no one cleans pallets and they are exposed to everything. Pallet wood is the last thing you want to bring into your home. And, I am aware of the argument that maybe the wood was not exposed to anything, maybe it is from a church that was demolished and not a formaldehyde factory. Which brings up the second point, I want to protect myself and my tools. More than likely, this wood was joined using nails and screws. Both of these will damage tools, blades, and bits. They can also send bits of these metal missiles flying around my shop.
Another note, in my area the sawmills run out of many species of wood around the end of the year. New wood is cut in the spring and then it takes a little time to run it through the kiln for drying. Try to stockpile wood in the fall that will last you until middle to late spring.
Remember, buy your wood from someone you trust, not a clerk at the big box store. Know the properties of the wood you want to use and fit it to the project. Know the health hazards of the wood you have chosen. Keep your shop free of dust and avoid recycled, reclaimed, and pallet wood.
