As a hobby i would like to try a bit of woodwork / cabinetry.

So i dont look a total fool when i venture to the timber yard can you tell me

Are their standard sizes that hardwood is sold by

What standards of finish can you buy, ie, sawn, planed etc etc

Minimum qty that can be bought

What sort of timber would yards normally "have on the shelf"

Any other advice on buying from timber yards

Thanks very much

Cheers for that John.

When you say "dressed" what does that mean - one edge and one face planed or both edges and faces

I guess if you want to avoid knots then you pay a premium

when you said hardwood i took it as your standard meranti which they normally stock a lot of,
oak,teak,ash,etc they won't stock
probably on a order only basis,

get in there and have a good look through the timber
selecting the best in your opinion,if the timber is not up to scratch leave it

i wouldn't advise you to buy oak,etc due to cost
if this is just dabbling in joinery.
if you want hardwood stick to meranti
hope this helps
john

Hi Keith.  To be honest dont know what my first project will be - will probably be something fairly simple like a book case but probably out of softwood - bit expensive to make mistakes on hardwood

Greg I'm making a softwood bookcase tomorrow, it's 2 metres high by 1 m wide. I'm using skirting as a plinth and architrave as a cornice. As a guide the wood cost about £50.

the link works how the f%%k did i manage that

john

Dewy unfortunately not. It's surprising how much time is lost photographing and taking notes; and I need to make this tomorrow, including finishing.

helllooo greg

when you go in and ask for 2by 1 3by 1 4by one
planed or par[planed all round] you are asking for
1 inch by 2 3 4inch ect before planeing
same with mouldings arcatrave skirtings ect
so you take the start size minus about 5mm
for plaineng 2 by 1 =50+25mm -5 =45+20mm

buy it from the sheds sizes tend to be 2mm thinner

so dont mix and match

Not that I would give him a way but there are regular projects in The Woodworker including some MDF wardrobes.  

Ok then - will have to look out for him in my copy

Greg unless you plan to make a lot of bookcases it's probably not worth your while buying a jig, making one should not be too dificult. To be honest I often just use a drill with a lip and spur bit.

Greg that sounds very smart, can you make me one too

You could use MDF instead of ply, I use it for jigs as there are no splinters and it is a very smooth surface.

MDF probably better Keith now you mention it, wont have the hollows often found in ply

Ill check the web site thanks Jason

Lets make a few assumptions first

You will plane the boards yourself
The bookcase will be 7ft tall, 3ft 6" wide 12" deep carcase with 6No 10" deep shelves
All boards 1" nominal thickness
Kiln dried american white oak (Square edge)

This would require the following

Sides 2No @ 84" x 12" nominal
Top 1No @ 42"x 12"
Bottom 1No @ 42" x 12"
Shelves 6No @ 40" x 10"

Unless you want to pay a high premium and have a wide surface planner it will be best to glue up all the panels from two boards. Also allow extra length for planner snipe say 6" per item.

I would ask for 6No 8ft boards 6" wide x 1" thick (sides, top & bot) and 6No 8ft boards 5" wide x 1" thick(shelves) plus any timber for skirting/base and cornice, not forgetting a sheet of 6mm oak veneered MDF for the back.

Expect to be supplied with boards that may be bigger than you ask for as the supplier will give you material to get what you want out of with the minimum of waste ie some may be 9ft long while others may be an inch or so wider(you will be charged for the total volume of oak supplied). If it were English oak I would allow more for waste and waney edges.

This is also explained somewhere on the site that I posted the link for.
http://www.slhardwoods.com/looseboards.asp

Hope this helps, Jason