Reply To: Choice of stock – sawn or planed? Also need for discussion on design issues?
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Geoff, stock selection is indeed important, what I’ve decided on is using pre-dimensioned material, pine for the most part for projects that are utilitarian in nature, step stools, storage boxes etc. if I am going to to build a piece of furniture then I would almost always choose rough/skipped dressed hardwoods because as you flatten it you lose thickness. Generally speaking a 1 inch skip dressed piece of hardwood is going to end up 7/8 or 3/4 inch once all is done.
I don’t know if there is a standard number for wood movement, depends on species, how it’s milled etc and humidity fluctuations from season to season in your geographic location. I’ve seem a pine panel move 1/2 an inch from summer to winter here. My tool box has a walnut panel made from 1/4 sawn walnut and it moves about 1/4 inch.
As far as design ideas, read lots of books and browse the Internet, lots of stuff out there.