Woodworking is an amazing hobby to get into, and given enough time and effort, it can be a real art. You could even turn it into a successful business venture. The things you can do with wood are nearly limitless, and you just need the skills, tools, and creative abilities necessary to make your wildest dreams come true.
However, it can be a bit difficult if you don’t understand a few key shortcuts. These can be separated into two main categories; your wood choice and your tool choice. Where you source your timber is very important, especially if you want to create products that are worth any value. Your first step should always be to talk to a Pine Timber Products supplier or similar supplier of other types of wood to get a good idea of the market. After that, you should learn your options for how the wood is cut and shaped.
Here are two important things to remember:
1: Use Cut to Size Timber
First and foremost, you shouldn’t start your woodworking journey off trying to cut all your timber to size on your own. You can very easily end up making mistakes that waste a lot of wood, and you’ll definitely spend a lot more time on your project.
Instead, we recommend buying cut-to-size timber. The supplier waits to cut the log until the customer orders it, even though the lumber is dried and mostly processed. This is because you give the supplier the exact measurements you need, and they cut it to your specifications. You can shop now for the timber, by telling a reputable supplier the size and other requirements of the timber you want.
Even with this method, you will still have to do the bulk of your woodworking on your own. The difference is that you won’t spend tons of man-hours just getting your stock cut to the right size.
This also means that you won’t be making the large cuts that produce a lot of risk for waste generation. So, even if you pay extra to have the service done, you can save big.
2: Planed Timber is Necessary
Cut to size timber is handy, but it’s not 100% necessary. You can spend extra time cutting your boards to the right length for the project. The same cannot be said for planning.
If you’re a beginner, you probably don’t have a proper plane sitting around, and you might not even have a basic hand plane. Even if you do, those things are better for very detailed work on isolated pieces. They’re not great for processing entire pieces of timber quickly.
Planning wood is when you shave material off the top to make it perfectly flat and square. This is key for any project that isn’t rustic, but as we said, you probably don’t have the big tools necessary to do entire boards quickly.
Just buy the wood planned to start with. You won’t have to buy any new tools, and the wood will be ready to go for your project. At most, you might need to sand it a bit.