woodworking plans for furniture

After felling the tree with a cut as close to the ground as possible, and freeing I he desired section from the rest of the trunk, Ykamato studies the wood for halving and splitting.

"I look for knots when I lay it out on the ground," he says. "If there is a knot, I make the first split close to it, since that section will be lost anyway. I split down from the top of the log to the base. That way, if there's a knot in there some¬where, the split has a tendency to cut right through it. But I've found that if you run into a knot when splitting from bottom to top, the split usually runs around the knot and maybe even slabs off."

Using a maul and steel wedge, the basket maker splits the log in half. Then he moves one third of the way down each section, where he drives in the maul to quarter the log. This way, our woodworker knows he's right in the run of the grain, since the true grain can't be seen from the ends of a section.

After the log has been quartered, he crosscuts it into about 3-foot sections, then slabs off the heart- wood, which, if it is relatively knot-free, he uses later for handles, ribs, and accent strips. Then, Yarger splits the quartered sections into eighths, called billets.

Probably our most useful domestic hardwood, maple produces syrup for pancakes, school desks to scribble on ... and much more in between.

These qualities make it more valuable than heart- wood, which is uniform in color and runs from light reddish brown to dark brown.

Generally straight- grained with a consistent texture, maple also can have a bird's-eye or curly (also called fiddleback) pattern. Many woodworkers find the unique grain patterns of maple burl particularly appealing.

Soft maple, although similar in appearance to hard maple, produces lighter wood with more pronounced grain. Although not as tough, stiff, or heavy as hard maple, soft maple tends to resist warping and twisting better. Its color ranges from pale brown to almost white with brown streaks.

Working properties
Hard maple remains strong when ben;, absorbs shock well, works nicely with both power and hand tools, and resists wear. It also turns well and requires no filling before finishing. Hard maple takes a high polish and has substantial screw- holding power.
Soft maple works even more easily than hard maple. It glues, stains, and finishes well but doesn't take as high a polish as hard maple.

Uses in woodworking
Soft maple, used princi¬pally for lumber, paper pulp, and other industrial applications, continues to be suitable for cabinet frames, unseen parts of upholstered furnkure, and jigs and forms used in woodworking shops.
Hard maple applications include bowling alley sur¬faces, chopping blocks, piano frames, turnings, furniture (particularly figured-wood pieces), lad¬der rungs, rulers, tool handles, even clothes pins.

Cost and availability
Hard maple comes in average lengths of 6' to 12' and average widths of 6" to 10", while soft maple trees tend to produce somewhat wider boards. Both types are widely available and can be bought as lumber, veneer, and turning blocks. Maple is a rela-tively inexpensive hard¬wood, although bird's-eye, curly, and burl varieties can be expensive.

Unlike dimension lumber, which is milled to industry-established nominal thicknesses, widths, and lengths, most cabinet-quality lumber stock comes in random widths and lengths to keep waste to an absolute minimum. In addition, since all furniture has different dimensions, there's no need for dimensionalized stock.

Thickness, though, has been standardized. As you can see from the chart above, for cabinet-quality lumber thickness is expressed in different ways. Don't be confused by this; remember that the quarter designation and the nominal thickness are the same thing.

When you order cabinet-quality lumber, you'll receive a board as long or longer and as wide or wider than the item ordered; the thickness (if surfaced) will be close to that listed in the chart.

In addition to the cabinet-quality lumber available from lumberyards, home centers, and retail specialty stores, you have the option of mailorder buying.

The number of firms offering quality hardwood by mail has mushroomed and you're likely to rind one close to your area of the country. Most firms offer a variety of dimensions and species as well as veneers-and turning blocks. Though you'll be able to order pieces down "A" in thickness, lengths will normally be limited to about 6 feet, since shipping traditionally is done via UPS or parcel post. You can make alternate shipping arrangements for oversize and larger amounts, but you'll have to discuss your purchase on the telephone. Discounts on large orders often apply. Some companies include shipping in their catalog prices; others charge separately.

Mail-order lumber definitely addresses a need for those woodworkers who don't have a supplier nearby. And the quality will be the highest possible for each specie offered.

If you have any questions or are uncertain of your needs before you order, call the company. That way you'll receive the quality lumber exactly what you require.

Note: When ordering by mail from an area of different climate, such as Pennsylvania when your home is in Arizona, Keep this in mind: differences in temperature and humidity cause changes in the wood and so can adversely affect the outcome of a project if you use it right away. So be sure to allow the wood to acclimate in a dry spot in your shop for at least two weeks before working.

One other lumber-purchasing option deserves mention because it sounds attractive to lots of people. And that alternative is green wood. In rural areas you can normally go directly to the logger and purchase a felled and de-limbed log, then hew it yourself, or take it to a mill. Or you can go directly to an area sawyer for the log and for any custom-cutting you desire. In metropolitan areas, you often can find green wood for free from tree- trimming services, water works and parks departments, and county and state highway departments.

Our advice on purchasing quality lumber green wood is brief and to the point: Unless you have prior experience with green wood and know how to bring its moisture content down, stick with kiln-dried material.

Unlike dimension lumber, which manufacturers grade according to its use in construction as full width and length members, hardwood is graded according to the expected number of clear face cuts a board will yield. And, since most hardwood is expected to be made into furniture, these cuts will be from 2 to 7 feet long. For more information on the hardwood grading system, which was developed by the National Hardwood Lumber Association, see the chart above. This same chart also discusses the grading system for white pine, which was formulated by the Western Wood Products Association. In cabinet lumber there are great differences in quality, just as there are in construction lumber, so use the chart as a guide.

Remember, too, that in building a large project such as a table or desk top, you'll generally need the higher grades of lumber because they have fewer defects and are available in greater widths and lengths than lower-grade boards.

Many retail hardwood dealers carry only the highest grades possible to avoid customer complaints and discount requests.

Until the late 1800s, lumber was sold by the pound, so under that system, dry board foot was less expensive than green wood. So obviously something had to be done.

The system of measurement that evolved centers around the board foot, a measurement that covers all the dimensional variables of cabinet- grade lumber - thickness, width, and length.

Today, when you purchase this type of lumber, you buy it by the board foot. Even if the dealer has the boards already priced, he arrived at those prices by first figuring the number of board foot each contained. It's a good practice to double-check the dealer's figures. To do this and also to help you estimate your lumber needs, you should learn how to figure board feet.

A board foot, simply, is equal to 144 cubic inches of wood. Think of it as a piece I inch thick and 12 inches square. Since board footage is always calculated in quarters of an inch thickness, starting at no less than 1 inch (even if you order less than an inch, you'll pay for the i-inch thickness), a 5/4 board 6 inches wide and 72 inches long would be figured like this: 1.25 (thickness) X6 (width) X72 (length)=540. Divide 540 by 144 to determine the number of board feet in the stock. If the board foot length is stated in feet rather than inches, use the same method but divide your total by 12 instead of 144.

Elegant and distinctive, rich in color and figure, and with working properties unequaled, walnut wood is reserved for the woodworker's finest projects. What's behind this exalted position and the matching price?

Walnut Wood - Brief History
Walnut was prized by the Mediterranean civilizations, not for its wood, but for the abundance of nuts the trees produced. During the Roman conquests, it was planted in what is now England, France, and Spain for this reason.

American pioneers used native walnut to make waterwheels and charcoal for gunpowder, and its bark and nut hulls for cloth dyes. Through World War I, airplane manufacturers found walnut wood to their liking for propellers.

While walnut was used to some extent for furniture, gunstocks, and other items prior to the 1600s, it was William and Mary furniture that cast it into the perpetual limelight.

Walnut Wood - Identification
Of the 15 or so species of walnut found from China to the Black Sea, only three enjoy commercial importance in the United States. English Walnut (.Juglans regia), a light- colored, yet beautifully patterned wood, is grown primarily for its nut crop. White walnut wood (Juglans cinerea), commonly called "butternut," though not as strong as other walnut species, has an attractive grain and working characteristics that make it a favorite with wood carvers. Black walnut Juglans nigra), the most recognizable and famous, continues to hold down its place as the world's premier cabinet wood.

All walnut has very white sapwood. Partly to darken the whiter sap- wood to a uniformly dark color, kiln operators who process black walnut steam it prior to kiln- drying. This additional processing also makes the wood easier to stain, and adds to its cost.

Costly also are the veneers made from black walnut's great variety of figures-crotches, swirls, stumpwood, and burls.

Walnut Wood - Working Properties
Once kiln-dried and made into furniture, walnut wood has a very low conrraction and expansion ratio. While it is hard, strong, stiff, resists shock, and doesn't splinter, walnut surprises woodworkers by being quite suitable for steam bending. Walnut wood also works easily with both hand and power tools, and sands and finishes extremely well.

Walnut Wood - Uses in Woodworking
All commercial species of walnut have the desired properties for fine furniture, architectural woodwork, diy woodworking, turning, and carving. Since walnut is highly shock resistant, it remains the traditional choice for gunstocks. And figured walnut veneers are popular in marquetry.

Walnut Wood - Cost and Availability
White walnut (butternut) and black walnut are commonly available through hardwood dealers, though black walnut wood normally comes in narrower and shorter lengths than other domestic lumber. Black walnut wood falls in the high-priced category due to demand, relative scarcity, and processing. At publication time, kiln-dried black walnut wood ranges between $3.50 and $5 per board foot for 4/4 stock (depending upon where you live), while butternut is $1 less per board foot.

Walnut Wood - Source of Supply
The best black walnut comes from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. Butternut grows from Wisconsin and Illinois eastward into the New England states. English walnut wood follows the same range, but the largest groves are in California, where nuts are commercially harvested.

Brief History of Oak

The Greeks and Romans used oak to construct their seagoing vessels because of its strength, toughness, and durability. The Saxons in England fattened their hogs with acorns, and ground the acorn for use as a seasoning. During this same period, landowners used the acorn as part of their daughters’ doweries.