Where is the best place to buy/find wood

[woodhead52]

If you plan to clean up much of that kind of wood, I suggest that you first learn how to sharpen your planer and jointer knives and saw blades.

So what is it about reusing old furniture that would dull planer and jointer knives? Providing, of course, that one isn't trying to run metal fasteners along with wood through said planers and jointers.

Pete

[JPG]

So what is it about reusing old furniture that would dull planer and jointer knives? Providing, of course, that one isn't trying to run metal fasteners along with wood through said planers and jointers.

Pete

Finish! Dulls blades quickly.

[woodhead52]

Finish! Dulls blades quickly.

That is what I figured you meant, but thought it was better to clarify than assume. That's gotten me into trouble before.

[keakap]

Phone Book, huh. Sounds familiar... Is it a Tablet or a Laptop?

I kid you not-- look up some businesses in my local phone book and you get (ta-dah) lists of web site addresses!

[keakap]

...but they seem very expensive, and I don't think I'm ready for that kind of nice wood yet. I want to get a few easier builds under me before I get into that kind of stuff.

So what kind of stores or other avenues to get some wood am I looking for?

I believe I understand where you're at. I can say that as a woodworker I'm pretty much in the same neighborhood.
So, to the point, my biggest project to date was a real (finally!) workbench. Consider: while a WorkMate can be very handy, it doesn't exactly scream "Fine Furniture!", if ya know what I mean; I wanted to make some Serious sawdust at long last, and years of cutting to "almost" square was getting tiring; I wanted something big, and solid, and 'permanent', but not necessarily ready for the annual WoodWorking Show; and I didn't want to spend a fortune on parts.

So I found one plan (of many) in WoodSmith/ ShopNotes that met my needs and went for it.
This one is made from 2x4s, a solid core exterior door, a couply boards, a part-sheet of 1/4 A-ply, 1/4 sheet of 3/4 C-ply and screws, nuts and bolts.

So I went to Lowes and Home Despot and spent a couple hours picking through their stacks of 8' studs. Cost: from $1.69 each to $3.59 ea (I splurged on a couple with nice grain and clear. for visible parts).
I went when "Lumber" was near empty and nobody seemed to mind my white glove inspection of the stacks, even asked if needed help. {And I did make em all neat when I was done.}

You might be surprised at what you can come away with in the cheaps. I found many more than I needed (so I grabbed a few extra- always a good idea if you can). I had a stack of straight, mostly dry, undamaged 8' 2x4s with minimal intrusive knots, which didn't bother me.
Then the door, all wood, ~$50, about a dollar a pound, and stuff for shelf and drawers.

A Bonus! When at home I took a look at my stack and saw how nice those 'studs' looked I decided to dress em up a bit. So I got the practical experience of milling all those 2x4s to match- joint face, joint edge, rip parallel, plane thickness, square ends, cut to length. I'd never actually gone through the full exercise before. I not only wound up with a Very Nice pile of parts, ready to build, but I learned how to use my machines! And from there putting the bench together was like using an Erector Set.

So, just a suggestion, but it worked well for me, and it sounds like what you were looking for, no? And when done you'll be ready for "that kind of stuff".