While setting up shop and during the building process you will need to buy all kinds of wood from your local lumber yard or home improvement store.  The types of wood you will need includes 2x4s, 2x6s, 1x2s, plywood, and select trim wood in various sizes.  This type of wood is not supplied in your kit because it is much more cost effective to buy it yourself.  Why?  Because someone has to sort through endless stacks of wood to find pieces that are of high enough quality.  You can do it or pay someone else to do it.  It's far cheaper if you do it.

On the other hand, buying a kit is cost effective because it reduces your build time, increases accuracy, and saves shipping costs.  Yes, you can save some money by obtaining and cutting your own plywood, but you probably cannot cut it as well or as fast.

But back to selecting your wood.

No matter what kind of wood you need, you MUST sort through the stack to find good pieces.  You're looking for straight, flat, clear, and no splits.  Let's say you are looking for 2x6s to build your vaka table (strongback).  You want 12 foot lengths that will yield a good working table.  A twist in the board or a bent board along the strong axis is unaccpetable.  You might have to go through a whole stack just to find 4 boards.  Take your time and only accept the best.

Note that good 8 foot lengths are easier to find sometimes.  This means that if you are buying a piece that will be cut into smaller pieces, get 8 footers instead of 12 footers.  If you really need the length then get the 12 footers.

Plywood is similar.  Always look for the flatest piece with the fewest dings.  And usually the extra cost to get a better grade is worth it because there will be fewer voids in the plys.

Save all your scraps and short end pieces until the entire project is finished.  You'll probably find a use for them at some point when making some ad hoc jig.

        

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion