Again - I love the way that you share what you know. I'd love to suggest a video where you and Rob share more of your background - where you learned what you learned, where you have worked, and how you progressed to your own shop. I know that Jon has shared a little of his background over the years - I'd really enjoy hearing about how a young guy like yourself has developed such amazing skills.
Specialty supplier is the way to go. Our prices are higher down here but still cheaper and better than big box. I can email them a BF request, have is surfaced 2 sides and straitlined, then delivered for a $60 flat fee all within a 1 week turnaround. Fantastic solution for my small shop!
Folks should be comfortable taking advantage of the surfacing and straight line ripping services offered. Many of the mills will use double sided planers and provide a superior quality to what can be done at home. I prefer to get my 4/4 stock surfaced to 13/16”. Depending on how thick the boards were sawn it’s likely they will clean up at 13/16. Also, Thanks for the plans.
Another great video. I love the finished bench. I agree with all the points you made about buying rough lumber. I just completed siding a barn with board and batten White Oak. I wanted to make the point that milling rough lumber yourself is very time intensive, particularly if you are using smaller benchtop machines like I did. Depending on the size of your project, I would definitely consider having the mill do some of the finishing work. One other comment, is that there are lots of opportunities to pick up rough lumber on marketplace, and sometimes at even better prices than you'll find at a mill. Overall, it's well worth the effort in my opinion to buy rough lumber, and avoid the crap at the box stores.
Even if you had the equipment to process it it’s worth the money just for the time saving. Especially on a large project. I don’t get all this fraction business though. You crazy yanks. Bench looks great by the way.
