How to Square Rough Lumber
Woodworkers looking for lumber different than the sizes available at most building supply stores often choose to buy rough lumber and size it themselves. With the careful use of power saws and rippers, you can square rough lumber to get the size and quality board needed for your project. Squaring rough lumber requires experience in woodworking as well as using planers and jointers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rough Lumber
- Proctective Eye Wear
- Circle Saw
- Table Saw
- Framing Square
- Planer
- Jointer
- Carpenter's Pencil
Instructions
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1
Pick out your rough lumber. Pick out your rough lumber at your local lumber yard. Be sure to get roughly, within range, the right lengths and widths. Choose an oversized board that will give you enough board, maybe even a little error room, to make sure you end up with the size board you need.
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2
Use a framing square to square off each end of the board you are milling. Move down the board far enough to avoid any cracks in each end before making the marks on each side of the board. Using a skill/circle saw, cut your ends square by the mark you made with your square. Cut outside your marks to give you room to further mill your stock.
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3
Cut/rip it to uniform width using your table saw. Set the rip fence to your desired board width. Set your table saw blade so it is as high as the stock you are cutting. Make sure your blade teeth are aligned to the stock so that the bottom of the blade teeth are even with the board height. Use a push board to guide your stock through the saw. Keep your hands a safe distance from your table saw blade.
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4
Squaring rough lumber is a difficult task. Examine your piece of wood. Find the grain direction and the side that has the most dips or cupping in it. Place the cupped side down and pass it through your jointer removing only 1/16 inch of rough material with each pass. Repeat until there are no dips, and your board is smoothed or trued on one side.
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5
Use your thickness planer to true the other side of the board. Do not use the jointer for the second side, since it is difficult to keep it perfectly parallel to the other trued side. The planer will guide the board and keep it exactly to your trued side. Repeat passes until you have honed your board to your desired size.
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6
Squaring your board takes care and patience. Use the jointer to square your edge. Set the jointer fence at 90 degrees, with your cutting depth at 1/16 inch. Place the wood on its face against the jointer fence and push it through with firm, steady pressure. Continue until you are sure the face and edge are square to each other. Mark your other unfinished edge and square it using the table saw, as in step 3. Repeat the above process for squaring the other side of your board you have already prepared.
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Tips & Warnings
Always take special care when running power tools.
Wear safety goggles, tuck in loose clothing. and remove any dangling jewelry.
Unplug power tools as soon as you finish using them.
If you have little or no experience, hire a professional to do this with you a few times before attempting it yourself.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Power Tool cutting image by Paula Gent from Fotolia.com lumber yard image by marilyn barbone from Fotolia.com lumber image by AGITA LEIMANE from Fotolia.com planing a table top image by leemarusa from Fotolia.com
