Red Oak Purchase Question

[bondoboat]

I can buy about 300 board feet of dried 1" x 6" x 14 feet red oak for a dollar a board foot. I am thinking about buying a cheaper planer just to handle this opportunity. If I spend about 300 on a planer, I end up with 300 board feet of red oak for about 600 bucks. Should I do it?
BB

[beeg]

I WOOD. I pay about $3.25 a board foot here for red oak. So your talking $2.00 a bdft and ya have a planer left over to use.

[dlbristol]

I have a SS planer and I bought some 5/4 rough red oak and planed it down. I know it was cheaper than s4s. I did find that there was more waste than I considered, but that can be managed to some degree by careful selection of the stock. Ie a board 6 inches wide can be ripped to 3 in and any warp will require less planing to remove. I don't know what the extra waste cost me, except for some time. With the amount of stock you are looking at, I think you will be $$ ahead, unless it is badly warped or cupped. And as mentioned, you will have the tool for later. I worked the heck out of my SS, so I think the best planer you can afford would be a good idea. Don't forget that you need a jointer to get good square stock, not just the planer. I will say this, I learned a lot about wood doing the rough cut approach, and it was fun watching the " purty stuff" show up out of the "ugly".

[charlese]

The price is a good deal!!! There are several considerations you should think of: First, Do you have enough storage room for 300 Bd Ft? Next, you can expect at least 20% of the volume will not be usable - at least for longer boards. Next, Plan on space and containers to hold the cutoffs and wedge shaped edges. Also plan for getting a lot of sawdust and shavings.

There will be, and you should expect tapered boards, along with warp, cup and twist. You might need to do some hand planing prior to power planing, or develop a good system of a planer sled with shims.

If offered that deal, I would definitely go for it, but would also plan on a lot of sorting, ripping, jointing, and planing.

[bondoboat]

He also has black cherry, poplar and sassafras for the same price. Any tips on selecting the boards? Am I expected to take what is on top or can I pick through them? What flaws should I stay away from? He has the red oak in 6", 8", and 10" widths, all at the same 1.00/bd. foot price. Most of what I have made uses 6 inch wide wood but do I want the wider boards first? Thanks for the help.

[kd6vpe]

My local saw mill sells it at $1.50 per board foot. He does not allow you to pick you have to take from the top and he actually does the calculations as he loads your truck. My advise is be honest and nice and they will usually give you a good deal. You will end up with some with knots and when I see that I usually ask him if he is going to count that in the borad feet and depending on the size of the know he will or may not if depends on how good he is feeling that day. It is alot of work to get the boards to usable lumber but for me it is fun so what the heck. Good luck in you wood hunting and be safe.


currently making sawdust instead of money
Jim

[8iowa]

I have a lot of "WoodMizer" rough sawn boards drying on stickers in the loft of my "Workshop in the Woods". I'm very content to let them continue to dry. When I have a project in the planning stage, I select the boards that I need, and take them down into the shop and let them climitize for a couple of weeks. Then I remove any twist with hand planes. They are then ready to go thru my planer. I would not consider planing all the boards all at once.

I have a circa 1985 MK V mounted planer that I bought new. It has never given me even a moments worth of trouble. I've upgraded the infeed roller (rubber to knurled steel) and have added the dust collection pickup, and it is now on it's own power stand. I sharpen the blades myself on the conical disk sander with the sharpening jig. By-the-way, the DC3300 sucks up at least 99% of the dust and chips.

In the past, I've ruffled a few feathers on this forum with my criticism of the universal motor powered bench type planers, but I will still maintain that the universal motor is a poor choice of power for this type of stationery tool. In the long run, my Shopsmith planer has proven that it is a better value.

[ryanbp01]

Sound like a good deal to me. I have a Delta planer and it does a fine job for me and the knives are easily replaceable.

BPR

[charlese]

He also has black cherry, poplar and sassafras for the same price. Any tips on selecting the boards? Am I expected to take what is on top or can I pick through them? What flaws should I stay away from? He has the red oak in 6", 8", and 10" widths, all at the same 1.00/bd. foot price. Most of what I have made uses 6 inch wide wood but do I want the wider boards first? Thanks for the help.

Wider boards will give you the best value (IMO) because then you have the opportunity to select what part of that board you wish to use. You can use just the middle, or just the edges, or a new board slanted across the original to go with the grain.

Also you have to determine the size of rough boards you can handle.

[dlbristol]

Bondoboat, Chuck just did a much better job of explaining the selection process than I did, but that is good advice. I would not have done much selection on my first try, and I will do a lot more on the next one. I still think it was worth the effort.