Perhaps the easiest way that you can buy you lumber is while it is freshly cut by a sawmill. This type of lumber needs to be dried out first before you can use it and if you have a project this will not do. The only alternative will be by purchasing dried lumbers from home improvement shops , that is if you have a lot of money but personally I'd like mine rough cut and prepared by me.

Once you decide what projects you are going to attempt, and what species you plan to use, you can begin the process. The first thing you need to do is procure the materials. This is a matter of locating a local sawmill and asking if they have any lumber of the species and quality you need. Chances are that they will have a pile lying around somewhere that you can sort through and take your pick of the boards. You might also want to pick a lumber that is a little bit bigger because lumbers shrink when dries up.The prices of the lumber in the sawmill are really affordable so there is really no need for you to ask for more discount but if you've been a frequent customer they might be the one who will offer it to you.

For quite a few wonderful guidance on woodworking projects why not try visiting my blog site.

After you get your lumber home, you'll need to decide on how you will dry it. One of the ways to dry your green lumber is by piling the lumbers under the sun but making sure that it is protected from the rain you have to also make sure that every layer is 12"-24" apart Then you allow it to air-dry for roughly one year for every 1" of thickness. This means that 1" thick boards will air-dry for one year, 2" thick boards will dry for two years, and so on. A lumber can b allowed to dry inside the workshop after a year because it usually has 12%-18% moisture therefore it is not yet ready to be used.However since most workshops has low humidity it is advisable for you to purchase a thermometer/ hygrometer that costs around $40 at radio shack so you could monitor the humidity on your shop . The ideal would be 50%RH .

Another way to dry your lumber is by using solar kiln and if you still don't have it you can find the plans online. These kilns can be built for only a couple hundred dollars. As soon as the lumber gets home you can immediately put inside the kiln to have it dried. To dry the lumbers you need to leave it inside the kiln for approximately 1-2 months for it to be ready for use. However it will often times depend on your location, the season and etc.

Processing your lumber can start as soon as it reaches it's ideal moisture content. The very first thing you must do is joint one surface of your plank. This can be done manually with a hand plane or maybe the uncomplicated approach with a jointer. You can then cut the board to your lose to the final length needed. After you have one face flat you then run the board through a thickness planner. This will make the board parallel to the flat face. After you plane the panel into the final thickness, afterwards you joint one side possibly by yourself or by way of a jointer. As soon as the board is planed you can now cut it to the final width. You can use any kind of saw to do this. Using the jointed for reference you can now set your board to your desired width. You're now almost ready to have a board for your project. Processing the rough boards yourself can really save you a lot of money than purchasing the ready made one from your home improvements shops