Stoopid newbie questions on buying wood - can you help me?

[OvalJason]

Hello all

I'm pleased to find this forum. I've been woodworking for 12 months now and have completed basic projects such as putting in wooden fire surrounds back into my Victorian conversion in London using playwood from B&Q.

I now want to move on to what you might call basic cabinet making - but I'm at a complete loss as to how to progress. Can you help me with my stupid newbie questions? I've looked long and hard on the internet but just can't find the answers? Here we go:

I want to make a basic cabinet which has panels of 400mm x 900mm using a hardwood which I'd like to stain black.

1. Are hardwoods available (affordably) in the dimensions 400 x 900mm or do I need to join narrower widths?

2. If I need to join narrower widths, what type of join should I opt for?

3. Are there engineered (?) woods available in the widths I want.

4. Where's the best place to buy hardwoods in the dimensions I require. I've tried load of online shops but I just can't seem to find a decent place. Most seem to cater for wholesalers or be totally dedicated to hardwood doors and flooring. Where are the timber merchants selling hardwood for woodworkers?

If there is a decent thread or website to get started on learning these issues, please let me know.

Thanks very much - Jason

 

[bigjoe]

Hi Jason,
You can buy quite a few different veneered panels ie oak,cherry,ash etc in 1200x2400 sheets, with regards to joining smaller pieces of solid wood together there are quite a few ways to join depending on thicknesses etc.

I would probably go for veneered panels either lipped in solid wood or with the glue on edge banding wich you can stain accordingly.

There are many more experienced folks on here that can expand on this more.

Joe

 

[Night Train]

For suppliers it would help to know where you are.

You could get boards at 400mm wide but I wouldn't recommend working this way as the timber would move and you will get problems with cupping wind and maybe splitting. It would be too unstable and also costly.

Conventionally you would join narrower boards and select thr boards and their orientation for stability.

The method of jointing si also down to your skill and time.

I generally hand plane the jointing edges so that they are mirror smooth, square to the face and very slightly concave. I would then apply and adhesive and rub the joint back and forth to expel air bubles and to get a really fine joint. I would make sure the joint is aligned accurately when I have finished rubbing it. The board would then be left standing on edge until the adhesive has cured.

You could join using biscuits or dowels to align the edges and then cramp up to apply pressure to the joint.

You could cut a tongue and grove (or two groves and a loose tongue) joint and align that way.

What you do will depend on your ability and equipment.

You could also use plywood, blockboard or MDF with a hardwood veneer and lippings around the edge.

 

[OvalJason]

thanks very much for the answers so far. I am based in south London.

I now see that my problem has been to search out such massive panels of (unstable and expensive) wood. I get the impression that the recommended approach is to join panels. I am comfortable with this in that I now have an approach I can at least research and practice.

Any thoughts on where to buy good value hardwood lengths. Is there an online or physical shop where woodworkers in the know buy their wood or should I just trawl the net?

Is Oak a good and stable wood for a novice like me to get started with?

Thanks again for helping. Much appreciated.

 

[mpooley]

south London hardwoods might be a good place to look

 

[OvalJason]

thanks guys you have answered my questions. south london hardwoods looks like a great starting place for me. i'll post pics of the results when i'm done - but this might be some weeks thanks again