Question for the wood guys: I'm trying to track down the appropriate wood lengths and am having serious trouble finding longer lengths in non-timber/stud wood. I'm trying to find square edged wood vs. rounded dimensional. Any suggestions as where to find that kind of wood beyond a true lumber yard? I'm kind of stuck here. I've given up on finding a higher quality 4x4, so I'll likely be bonding two 2x4's to get that size.
Woodworking Help
- Thread starter stoney
- Start date
can you seriously not find a lumber yard? what about a sawmill?
If you can't find it here, you are probably doing it wrong
http://www.rockler.com/retail/stores/co/denver-store
A long 4x4 is typically just used as a structural piece of lumber and it will not be easy to find furniture grade wood much longer than a table leg. If you want furniture grade your best and probably cheapest route is to put 4 1x4 planks together with a 45 degree chamfer to make a hollow beam. It will be plenty strong if made properly.
http://www.rockler.com/retail/stores/co/denver-store
A long 4x4 is typically just used as a structural piece of lumber and it will not be easy to find furniture grade wood much longer than a table leg. If you want furniture grade your best and probably cheapest route is to put 4 1x4 planks together with a 45 degree chamfer to make a hollow beam. It will be plenty strong if made properly.
this is why i recommended a sawmill, they can most likely cut you more (larger) sizes than what a typical lumber yard will stock.
If you start looking at most made furniture, most of the larger dimension wood is laminated together. With a table saw, clamps and some wood glue, you can make any size you need.
I'd recommend a 4" thick tree with the branches and bark trimmed off.
Why wouldn't you want to go to a lumber yard? That's like saying you want to see tits but don't want to go to a titty bar.
Places that sell hardwoods also usually sell S4S softwoods in longer lengths.
Not saying I don't want to, I was just struggling to find long lengths at them.
Denial
Well anyway, try searching "<city name> hardwoods" or something close to that. Searching for "lumber yards" yields mostly construction supply which isn't what you want.
I don't know why people are telling you to go to a saw mill, unless you want to wait for your shit to dry or be kiln dried. Or maybe it's a terminology thing...
Regardless, a good hardwood supplier will have what you need in whatever lengths you want for your project, but even then a true 4" thick board without some gluing could be a stretch. Westys idea is a good one and can save you some money.
If you're painting this, a nice clear and cheap hardwood is poplar. Good luck!
I don't know why people are telling you to go to a saw mill, unless you want to wait for your shit to dry or be kiln dried. Or maybe it's a terminology thing...
Regardless, a good hardwood supplier will have what you need in whatever lengths you want for your project, but even then a true 4" thick board without some gluing could be a stretch. Westys idea is a good one and can save you some money.
If you're painting this, a nice clear and cheap hardwood is poplar. Good luck!
I can find poplar pretty easily. I just want to avoid or minimize gluing support structures (~8' uprights for example) as much as possible. If I am doing that kind of gluing, I'm assuming I would want to do large overlap and some screwing together? ie. if I can get 2x4 in 4' length, then over lap 2' glue and screw, until I get to an 8' length?
I think we're talking about gluing on different planes: if you glue or laminate boards for thickness, it will be very strong. Stronger in fact than just a single thick board.
You're right: for length the joint would need to be majorly reinforced (end grain does not glue well) hence mine and others encouragement to find an actual hardwood supplier, because 8' lengths will be no problem at all.
You're right: for length the joint would need to be majorly reinforced (end grain does not glue well) hence mine and others encouragement to find an actual hardwood supplier, because 8' lengths will be no problem at all.
Both. I need to add width for strength, but also potentially length. The plans call for the weight of the bed to be supported by 4 2x4's on the corners. I don't think that is sufficient, so I was going to do 4x4's for the verticals. If I can get a 2x4x8' poplar board, I'll just glue two together for the verticals. If I can only get 4' lengths, then I need to do the overlapping bonding to get to an 8' length.
The main horizontal supports are on 2x6's with 1x2's glued/screwed into them. I also don't think that is sufficient, so I was going to use 2x6's for the visible outside with 2x4's glued/screwed into them for the cross supports to sit on. That will provide a much larger bonded interface for the weight to sit on.
Have you considered a stack of hay bales?
For the material challenged I'd recommend a tensegrity tower for vertical support.
For the material challenged I'd recommend a tensegrity tower for vertical support.
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I think I need to heel my blade on my table saw in, then re-align the fence as a result.
The blade is 1/32" different from one end to the next (measuring on the same tooth)
The blade is 1/32" different from one end to the next (measuring on the same tooth)
A hardwood place should have 2x or 8/4 poplar in lengths up to 16 or 20 feet. A really good hardwood store will have 16/4 or thicker poplar, which is about 3 1/2", or the same as a dimensional 4x4. If you have the clamps and the ability to laminate several poplar 1x4s, that would be the better route to go. It will be more stable over time, and less likely to crack. The laminated wood will also be easier to process into a nice square finished piece without a jointer. I'll sketch up a little picture of how I do them.
I too would go with 4x4s, not as much for strength, but for looks.
For the cross support, I assume that's what the mattress sits? Can you post pics of the plans? 2x4s seem like massive overkill for that, unless your kid plans to land a small helicopter up there.
The top 3 pieces would be a bit wider than your desired finished width so that they can slip around while gluing and not ruin the piece, the bottom is wider by 3/8-1/2" to give you an uninterrupted straight, clean side.
Attachments
Time to get out the alignment hammer.
This is also an excellent way to test the welds on the carbide tips. Wouldn't want any of them to come off while cutting. Safety first !
The blade touches the front of my combination square in the forward position, and has about a sheet of paper gap in the back position, better than the ~1/32+ that was in the back position before, hopefully that helps. (This operates on the assumption that the slots in the table are machined relatively straight, and that the arbor has no run out (which it probably does, but I will leave that can of worms sealed 
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