Fantastic content. You have that rare triple threat combination of clearly knowing your sh*t, the ability to distill it into digestible bits, and the presence and humor to make it fun to learn. Edutainment at its best!
As a carpenter (cabinets, and furniture, but I have been known to frame from time to time, or build a set of steps) i knew the short falls of mass produced construction lumber in a finished piece. Why i tuned in was to see if you were another one of the "purists" that believe only the finest hardwoods should be used in furniture. Pleasantly surprised that you actually gave quality information about wood selection, and milling practices, and short falls with grain structure, well done. I would say though, using low quality wood is good for some one new to the craft. It is lower stakes, and with all it's BS you have to work around, if you can turn out quality making something beautiful out of a top notch hard wood is less anxiety inducing seeing how you honed your skills with lower stakes.
@@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 If all I did was joinery, I can swing a hammer with the best of them too. I also am sure you know all about rough trade... Doctor.
@@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 OK, sorry, that was uncalled for, it's been a long day, and I am salty. To clarify, I wish I could make a living just doing furniture, and finish work, but since I started my company almost 20yrs ago I realized that wouldn't be an option. Over the years I have seen the talent pool dry up in all of the wood craft fields, so I would be stupid not to fill the gaps to make that money, because in the end, that's all anyone is in it for.
@@Cocpain i didnt mean to appear rude. just that in UK at least i think joiner is a very much more skilled job than carpenter, and cabinetmaker is top of class. i am not either or any of the above. i have made a few nice bits of furniture and window frames using traditional techniques (no metal or glue) and even made a bodging lathe in the forest, and it was slow laborious work and very rewarding to see a nice finished product. even so i cant help but wince at the prices some people demand for wood slab desks and tables, or maybe its just a youtube meme, or money laundering like modern art. one of my best friends trained as a joiner and i remember (many years ago) him bringing home his final college project, a welsh dresser he made for his mum. that was a beauty. sorry if i rubbed you the wrong way, and wish you all the best in your work.
@@Cocpain, I’m grateful that you admitted to your poor attitude and tried to amend. Humility is a sign of a strong person. Also, I think it’s great for others to see. I, myself, try to do it, even though i can delete my entries. That option is under the three dots just to the right.
Hey Scott, this is hands down the finest video I've ever seen on building furniture with construction lumber. There is a whole lot of solid, accurate and balance info crammed into less than 15 minutes. And the finished piece is probably the only stain job on soft wood that looks really decent, other than maybe sprayed on toner. Personally, I never build any furniture out of construction lumber that isn't for the shop or some other purely utilitarian purpose.
If I could add a comment, I built a small boat recently (I try to build one about once every two years) usually out of good grade boat building timber. This time as an exercise I tried to build this one as cheap as possible from reclaimed wood, construction ply etc to see if its possible. If this was a commercial enterprise this would be the most expensive boat build I have done, yes the wood cost near nothing but the extra epoxy, labour, prep work, filler and paint far outweighed any gain in cost of materials. I did learn allot though.
@@cryterion7770 I would love to do that if you lived in New Zealand near me however, its a hobby for me I do it for therapy and give away the boats to family and friends. Today I am fitting rowlocks to a sailing dinghy for my grandchildren.
@@HiThereFriend1 I'm a legend in my own lunchtime. But the Grandchildren children and ever suffering wife seem to like me a bit. But then family is the fun in life. There are heaps of equals and heaps of cooler guys and gals, you might be one too, I think so :).
I want more videos... It feels like seeing Linus Tech Tips but for woodworking. There are so many things I want to learn about being a handyman in general and you seem to be a perfect host for such an audience.
I think construction grade lumber is great for what it is. The issues occur when people try to turn it into something it isn’t. If you embrace soft pine for what it is, all the knots and imperfections that go along it, then you’re going to have much more success with this wood and it will maintain its benefits of cost effectiveness and easy availability.
I like using it for rough projects that probably will never get painted. Recently designed a hammock weaving stand in Autocad so will now build it out of 2X4. Probably can't achieve as good a look as a hardwood might, but this application doesn't really require finesse or fine lines. :)
I noticed how he also stated they skipped a bit on the drying process they actually don’t skip on it to save money. You WANT it pretty wet. Construction lumber they use nail guns and so on if you dry out wood a nail gun will spilt it every time. You need to drill a hole then hammer a nail/screw or.
Very well done. First time watching something from you. I really like that you discussed the real cost and considered the waste verses looking for better or more suitable lumber. I have been woodworking for years and have noticed there are some interesting views and techniques on RU-vid. People often don't think about true cost. I look forward to seeing more from you
Went to price poplar for my kids toybox at HD. Got up to something like 300 before checking an actual lumber store and ended up paying 150, even after paying for s3s finishing. Never go to a box store if you have a real lumber warehouse reasonably close. It's ALWAYS cheaper. Always.
@@richardcagle5475 Even better is to find the mom and pop saw mills if you have them in your area. I bought all of my poplar for cabinets kiln dried from a local sawmill for FAR less than any store. Yes, I had to run them through a planer, but you're probably going to have to do that anyway after cutting the boards.
@@jasonjohnson1404 dude even when I have them put s3s on them for me I almost always have work to do to them. There's a guy down the road that runs something out of his home. Bout to just stop by an knock. Know an ax throwing dude that gets his logs from there, but I feel odd just knocking on his door being like "you got wood? I like wood"
I'm a total novice, I've used dimensional lumber for a pet gate and all slats were done with mortise and tenon joints. I also have a biscuit joiner I got from a yard sale for like $10. That Venn diagram should at least have a 1 person overlap 😁 Really enjoyed this video!
Yeah. I used a lot of joinery on construction timber products as I was growing up and learning woodworking. Didn't have money for hardwood until much later and even then only for specific projects.
For pine, I also recommend sealing it with a wood conditioner or thinned down shellac before applying the gel stain. I also highly recommend experimenting with dyes instead of stains. The color can actually look a lot more natural because there isn't nearly as much of a dramatic grain reversal as there is with stains.... I also highly recommend not staining it. Especially when you've taken the time to plane and joint the material to a beautiful finish. Even if you don't love the look of freshly milled pine, it tends to age into some really beautiful colors. A lot of people, especially beginners (including myself), tend to assume applying a stain is part of the finishing process. But if you keep an open mind and let the beauty of the natural wood speak for itself, you'd be surprised at how pretty pine furniture can be.
One exception to the advice you gave, I think, is for salvaged lumber from older structures. I recently remodeled a kitchen in an mid 20th century tract house that was definitely not high-end construction. Nevertheless, about half of the 2 X 4 studs I removed during the demolition were clear, and the ones that were not clear generally had only one knot in them. Even most of the plaster grounds I removed were cut from clear lumber. And, they were dead straight, with about 20 growth rings per inch. I have reused some of them already, with excellent results.
It's an understatement to say I watch a lot of woodworking content on RU-vid. I'm shocked I haven't seen your work until now. You're videos have instantly become some of my favorite content. You manage to hit the sweet spot between incredible talent that many can aspire to while simultaneously being approachable and grounded in the realities amateurs face. I can't wait to see what you put out next!
True, this channel is one of the best! All the channels are really good. But this one is damn funny, and I was laughing out loud when he said you can dent pine boards by just looking at them! hahaha. That's so true. You end up with a big smash in a board after you've meticulously sanded it, only to realize that you laid the board down on a little spec of dirt and it put a big dent in it. You have to build a clean room just to sand pine boards otherwise they self destruct from a pebble touching them.
My computer desk that I'm using right now to watch this video was made with construction grade lumber. (joined 2x6's for the top, 2x4's for leg cross supports, and 4x4' legs). It's about 15 years old, still looks great and still strong as it was when I made it. Took me a couple days to make it, and I think I spent around $50 in wood, and less than $100 for the whole project after stain, glue, screws, etc.. I've made tables and other pieces out of Walnut, Maple, Ash, etc,, as well, and yeah they look nice too, but cost 10X as much.
I would consider that this was 15 years ago. I'd imagine that the manufacturing methods and costs for construction lumber has changed since then significantly.
Same. I have a desk that my grandfather built me in 1986 that I use to this day. It has at least 3 different wood types I can identify. It is indeed soft and has dented a bit over the years, but is still 100% straight despite nearly 40 years of abuse, being moved, stored in humid environments, etc. Knots and all. Of course the lumber market is vastly different than it was 40 years ago, so it probably would cost a lot more relatively to build now. I have considered refinishing it as it's in a very old fashioned dark stain/varnish.... but then it wouldn't be the same.
Scott, you are easy to listen at a nice fast pace. Keep up the good work you remind me of a top notch college professor. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work.
FYI: Another reason to purchase 2x12s, as long as you have a table saw to rip them on, rather than purchasing 2x4s is because 2x4s sell much faster than the larger cuts, which means 2x4s will almost always be the freshest boards in the entire store, and have had the least amount of time to dry out, where as 2x12s are much more likely to have sat around much longer and had more time to dry out. You can visit a big box store, pick through a stack of 2x4s and return two days later to find a brand new stock of 2x4s just delivered since you were last there. Doing the same with 2x12s, then return a weeks or a month later and there's a much greater likelihood you'll be picking through the exact same stack of 2x12s you saw sitting there weeks earlier.
@@ScottWalshWoodworking I wouldn't say that, if the video was as dry as you want that construction lumber to be, no one would have watched the entire video - you had the right mix, keep up the good work
Scott - I can't believe with all the RU-vid woodworking-related channels that I subscribe that I had never come across of your work before, but shame on me! What a superb video this is. I can't believe the amount of helpful information you've crammed in here along with some really enjoyable comedy. You've got a new subscriber - or two (forwarded this to my son). Keep up the great work!
Great video, Scott. I like your style! You did a great job of explaining how a good piece of furniture can be produced from construction materials with basic tools and techniques. However, you also made it clear to beginning woodworkers why you should not do this. You did great to wind up with 40% unusable waste, probably because you spent a lot of time selecting boards and knew what to look for. So doubling the rough stock to get the usable yield you need would be a reasonable.approach. When you add to that the TIME it takes to select material and harvest what you need, add the cost of stain and the TIME to apply it - and if you put any reasonable $ amount to your TIME, the end result is always that going to a hardwood supplier and getting some walnut would be the better option in terms of cost, appearance and durability. All that said (and I’m getting long here,) I don’t know a woodworker (me included) who has not passed through this “gee, I can do this with construction/pallet/crate wood and save some real money” stage. Maybe a necessary detour on our developmental journey where much is learned. Well done, Scott!
Indeed, it's almost a rite of passage for us! Woodworking is an expensive hobby to get into, so it's not unreasonable to expect that beginners would gravitate towards construction lumber since they probably are spending hand over fist to get some tools setup.
About 15 years ago I built a kitchen table that was 6 ft. Long out of construction lumber. I used dowels for each board. Kept the rolled edges then used a "V" groved router bit along the top of each grove. Got legs from a surplus store. It is still strong, tight, and no warping after all those years.
I just have to compliment you, sir; you are the first RU-vidr I think I've seen that actually uses a bleeping blade guard on your table saw! I'm honestly not sure why folks seem so adverse to keeping their fingers, but it's a breath of fresh air to see you protecting yours!
Well done and not goofy. Call it "entertaining". You managed to cram what I learned in my 64 years into 14:24. BTW, I'm from the swamps of NC where all lumber is available and SYP pays a LOT of wages. That you made ANYTHING decent out of CanFor SPF is admirable! Hat tip to the Canada's finest export, RUSH!
Its a pleasure to watch your video during lunch time. After some homeoffice work I will go to my garden and work with the lovely wood and keep your tips in my head for the next project! There is a lot to do! KR from Germany
You are excellent *air guitar* at explaining these concepts! A ton of the other woodworking channels use way, way, WAY too much woodworker lingo and get long winded. I really appreciate the format that this video took and your simple, comical and highly effective perspective over these concepts.
You touch on all the stuff no one else considers. This is one of the VERY FEW woodworking channels I subscribe to because your insight is UNIQUE! Caio!
Your video helped us allot. We were just about ready to start making farmhouse table & benches out of construction wood (pine) instead of the costly hardwoods. But your video opened our eyes to the true cost differential between the two general types of wood. It is about the same cost either way, plus a lot less hassle with hardwoods (more marketable too). So, you helped us a BUNCH!! Thank you. Kansas USA
2:13. To be correct, in North America, both what you call "flatsawn" and "crap-sawn" are 2 versions of what is actually called 'plain sawn' or 'plainsawn'. You are right about quartersawn however, though it is not true quartersawn since you derived it from the edge of what is actually a center flatsawn piece (your 'crapsawn' board). Also, not to be nitpicky, but i) denatured alcohol is _specifically not_ "pure ethanol" as you claim (if it were, you'd be able to drink it, and it is adulterated with methanol specifically to prevent you from drinking it), and ii) you absolutely can buy it in Canada, I buy jugs of the stuff from Amazon, and my Rona carries it.
Really appreciate how much information you packed into this video. Loved the pacing and general production (different camera angles and what not). Also enjoyed your humor. Definitely subbing to see more of your content!
This brilliant production appears to bring you many viewers and subscribers. And rightfully so! The topic is original, haven't seen others cover this. The information is very useful. And the unrivaled entertainment level is what made me subscribe many videos ago. Thanks again!
Metalworker here. I don't woodwork and have been known to make a snide comment here and there. But this creator is really enjoyable to watch. Well done!
Okay I watch a lot of woodworking videos here on RU-vid and this is one of the funniest while still being incredibly informative. Thank you for the rapid pace and excellent explanations. Don't forget about us beginners and please continue making content that shows simple techniques we can all benefit from. Thanks so much! Just subscribed and rang the bell.
thank you so much for the examples. there are so many videos out there talking about the pit but never what examples would you use them for. definitely learned something new today!
I'm glad YT does the preview on the feed now. The winded statement of, "This one looks great!" was humorous enough to draw me in to watch the entire video. Good tips. Will try to remember moving forward!
Regarding the pitch pocket, I have found that the use of a heat gun on the "low" setting can do wonders to crystallize the pitch to a damn near solid state. This works especially well with red pine, where the wood is slightly less susceptible to burning or browning under direct heat. The trick is to heat it just until the pitch boils/smokes, then stop and let it cool. The bigger pockets may require one or two repetitions of this, but the results are a hardened pitch that doesn't run. Edit: If you still want to remove the pitch altogether, acetone works far better in my experience. We flatten mostly white pine, and acetone is our go-to solvent for pine pitch on the blades. It damn near instantly dissolves ls the stuff.
A very good point. Kiln dried wood, when properly done (not like the big box garbage) will have hard pitch you can sand without loading your sandpaper (those little bumps that add to the scratch pattern).
@@RobertWarrenGilmore In my experience, acetone has little to no effect on the wood itself. Sometimes it may leave a very light "water stain" in lighter grained pine, but that's nothing that some 220 grit sandpaper can't take care of in a few light passes. 99% of the time though, I have no issue with it.
this is the most valuable wood-shop video I've seen in years. Should be the #1 prerequisite course on RU-vid before us amateurs are allowed to move on to other wood-shop videos.
I have never heard anyone talk about using construction lumber for furniture in this way, trying to salvage good pieces from each board. I learned a lot from this video. You got a new sub here. Off to watch your other vids man. Bye!
You hit the nail on the head for sure. Great looking table and another quality video Scott! I built my coffee tables using the same process you did here.
this channel is exactly what millenials need to get into wood skills - it totally speaks to them - dude has a knack for wood and knowing their audience
Crap sawn! 🤣 That Venn diagram! 🤣 So funny and informative too. I'm angry with YT algorithms that this channel doesn't get exposed to more people. Like WTF. This is good stuff!
Great video! I've been subscribed to a bunch of other woodworking channels, and have somehow managed to miss a lot of the info you covered, so thanks. I would suggest using a wood conditioner to prevent the blotches you spoke about when staining. Even with gel stain, it's a great safety net to make sure you get an even color.
You are one of the few people on social media who differentiated the terms "vertical grain" and "quarter sawn" when talking about softwoods and hardwoods, and for this one reason I'm gonna follow you. PS: I'm a journeyman cabinetmaker here in Canada.
you know, when I wrote that joke, I fully expected there to be videos out there of barrel saunas rolling down grassy hills. I was very disappointed when I couldn't find any examples of this. I might have to change that.
This was awesome and your BYE cut at the end was just concise and hilarious. I’m a beginner woodworker with basic circle saw and a drill to make my first projects. Will be watching more videos!!
Awesome to have found your channel - and I'm especially excited to have more Canadian perspective in my feed. I am just about ready to make the jump from pine to harder woods, especially as my hand tool collection grows. This was a great build to watch, though, and you've got good wisdoms!
I just built a large desk, specifically selecting wood with lots of imperfections, and knots. glued up and varnished, with white accents. looks spectacular. I'll keep it.
This was extremely useful, especially the 2x12 recommendation: I hadn't thought of that. I actually like the look of pine, and I'm willing to accept knot imperfections: I'm building furniture for me, not others, and I know what I like. The problem of waste is an interesting issue, but I'm an enthusiastic jig-builder for my table saw, and crappy wood can always be turned into push-sticks and other sacrificial cutting guides (this can enhance safety with ancient table saws like mine, which lacks a riving knife and blade cover). I might recommend trying to glue the painter's tape to the clamping blocks first, to avoid any CA squeeze out to the underlying wood. There's actually no reason for the glue except to simulate double sided sticky tape. It's only to keep the wood blocks from shifting while you apply the clamps. There are other ways to do this ... including having a helper, and no tape or glue at all. By the way, high power rocket people use thinned CA glue to toughen up balsa surfaces --- this would work for pine, too. Years ago I built a surprisingly nice looking bedside table with some semi-mortise-tenon action going on. It met its demise in a strange but amusing way. It turns out that raccoons liked to travel past my bed just outside the window. My (adorable, but huge) dog friend "Ruby" would pounce upon that table to bark furiously at the raccoons (at 3:00 AM, of course. It's amazing that I haven't died of heart attack). But her repetitive jumping on the table broke all the glue joints. I discovered this when I moved the table, and it fell apart in my hands. The mortise-tenon joints held it together while it was standing there, but ... well Ruby's boisterous trampolining turned it into kindling. I miss the table, but I do laugh to think about how it met its demise.
This is so helpful - thank you! I started woodworking just before the wood prices soared and I haven't been able to do much. This opens another avenue. I guess that means I'm going to be in that Venn diagram, now. I'm definitely one of those romantics using only hand tools, but, also, my disabilities require I sit while working, so power tools are dangerous, and Japanese hand tools are both made for working while sitting, and work on the pull, which gives me strength I cannot get from a push tool.
Found your channel from the woodworking from RU-vid group on FB. Nicely done on this video sir. I love it. You did a great job explaining why 2X12 are a much better choice as well as your introduction to Crap sawn. I agree, cut the pitch and go on, it is essentially 1/4 sawn on both sides of the pith. Again, thanks for sharing and Keep up the fun videos. New sub here, Yeas I watched the commercials and clicked the bell. Have a blessed week. Dale
Also useful, if you happen to put a Dent into Wood, you can pretty easily use a soldering Iron oder a Clothing Iron and a Wet Towel to steam the Dent out of the Wood. The hot Steam and Water will cause the dented Fibers of the Wood to go back to their original Form. I´ve had great Results, it works best on soft Woods, but also works on Hardwood. As long as the Fibers of the Wood are just dented in and not actually torn.
My rabbit enclosure agrees. The rabbits looked at it, and now there are notches missing all over the place. untreated fresh construction lumber is apparently a delicious snack.
Thank you for an excellent educational video on selecting wood for furniture building. The instruction on treating pitch pockets was very helpful and taught me how to treat them.
First time watching you. Really liked the video. Goofiness is fine, I know this wasn't really a step by step how to make a table video and it was extremely informative. I liked the way you avoided unwanted parts. Also shows the actual cost of not using "100%" of the wood, which no one ever does anyway. I subscribed and am looking forward to more videos.
Many thanks for this tip.... Im 59 and been wood working my whole life, and i thought this young guy can't teach me anything. I was pleasantly surprised.
Great episode. Funny and informative, great job 🙂 There is just one tiny thing. Imho, you used pocket screws wrong. Holes should be on the outer surface to let screws dive deeper into the wood. In your approach the tip goes outside the board, which means it grabs the second board just a bit. In the opposite direction, there would be more 'meat' to grab :-)
I just watched this video for the second time, mostly by accident. I clicked on it and realized I've already watched it (and subscribed to the channel because of it), but it's entertaining and informational, so eff it, let's watch it again! Nice video!
Just a note: It doesn't matter if you have a hardwood or softwood, Quarter Sawn lumber is the same. It comes from the same part of the tree, and is cut the same way. Those 2 pieces on either side of the pith are Quarter Sawn Pine, as soon as you cut them out of that board
he was referring to the fact that the hardwood will already be cut that way, and it will be described as quarter sawn at the yard while he had to mill this.
The best video on the subject. Here is a small tip - you can use steam to get rid of small defects from instruments: take a piece of wet cloth, apply it to a bump or a small pit, then press it with a hot iron for 20 seconds. Steam goes into the fibers and lifts them up, filling a damaged place. Only works with small marks\damages.
Quick tip for DIYers, go straight to the stack that says KD-HT at the box stores. Most in California at least don't stock anything above 2x4, but it'll take forever to let a green 2x12 dry. The cost of the extra labor to deal with construction lumber is far outweighed by the cost of hardwood. I suggest only using it if you don't mind donating your time or, you got it for free.
Great video, and that table looks wonderful. Love the Rush t-shirt! I've been using ash for all of my furniture work as it's much cheaper than oak, better quality than any construction lumber. $1.35 a bd ft for ash? Nice deal!
Great job! I like the way you speak quickly with no "uh...uh...uh" to distract from your message. Don't change a thing. Best regards from someone who flew for two weeks out of Cold Lake Air Base. Super folks there.
Hey great video, so many things I never knew I needed to know about wood, thank you. Also well shot and produced 👏🏻. Subscribed and looking forward to that sqeet bench, getting ready to build one myself
I have to give you a bit of thanks, this video is the one that resparked my interest in woodworking. An utter trove of information for an amateur like me, and presented in an entertaining way as well. I'm still only at the point of where I've pulled out my parent's old table saw, and where I'm measuring and cutting some trash wood that's been lying around, but the first step's the hardest, and I wanted to give props to you for helping with that mental barrier. Now, to actually stick with it this time. xd
The best quick-to-build butt joint, bar none, is a combo of a Festool Domino biscuit and pocket hole screws. The strength is in the domino and the pocket screws let you build WITHOUT glue. Everything is then KD, a knock-down joint. I can sand and finish on the individual pieces, THEN put the thing together without worrying about messy glue joints, dripping stain, hard-to-sand corners, etc. Someone puts a major dent in a leg? Just replace it. Big scratch? Take it apart, sand the scratch out and refinish. Make sure to mark what stain and finish are on the piece, heh. Put wheels on heavy pieces to save everyone's backs when moving and use KD joints as much as possible so heavy assemblies like solid wood bed frames can be easily assembled on-site.
You can nake furniture out of any wood product you want. I am a cabinet maker of more than 50 years experience. Hopefully, when and if you reach that stage, you will realise that too. Keep it up, you'll get there one day.
