Main > Woodworking
Woodworking questions (non-arcade related)
AtomSmasher:
--- Quote from: clite_rad on April 25, 2006, 11:03:19 pm --- One suggestion might be to use oak/maple plywood for the longer and wider pieces - you could rip a couple of 4x8 sheets into the larger/longer pieces; then you would just front them with a small strip of matching hardwood to hide the edges of the ply [or use t-molding on the edges - a nice green would look good ;)]. This would cut the costs of using hardwood for the whole project (it also may be hard to find hardwood in the width that you need). This technique is used in many pieces of furniture - the plywood is more stable than striaght hardwood which also makes for less problems with warping.
--- End quote ---
I like this idea, and it would allow me to use oak and save money. I haven't done the calculations, but I think I'd only need two 4x8 sheets for the whole project. Each sheet is around $40, plus the cost of the 2x4s and trim it would probably total about $100 for the wood, which is $50 less then my original calculations of using pine. What do you think? Is going with oak plywood a good idea? You guys obviously know more about wood then me :)
Looking online, it looks like home depot only carries 3/4 inch thick oak plywood, which would mean I'd need to redo my calculations since they were done assuming 1'' thick wood was used. I know plywood is stronger then regular wood so 3/4'' should be strong enough, or do you think I should check out the local lumber yard and see if they have it 1'' thick? I should probably just buy from the lumber yard anyways since it'll probably be cheaper.
Pyro:
3/4" thickness is standard for what is commonly called 1x in the lumber industry. 3/4" is plenty strong to do what you need. The net thickness of lumber these days is less than the nominal size... ie: 2x4 is actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", 1x12 is actually 3/4" (sometimes even 5/8" or 11/16") x 11 1/2", etc.
Pyro
tivogre:
Poplar is a good strong hardwood that is not too expensive.
I made my sister-in-law some tables from poplar and a dye finish (as I suggested above).
AtomSmasher:
I had some free time today so I went and got 2 sheets of oak plywood and a couple 2x4s. I haven't decided how I'm going to stain (or dye) it, but I figure I can at least start cutting. Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm sure it'll be a lot better with oak plywood then it would have been with pine (which is what I originally was going to use), plus it's cheaper to build, which is always a plus.
Pyro:
Good luck with your project! Maybe we'll see some pics in Project Announcements :)
Pyro
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