Stock Selection

Before you mill the stock, you must select it. Look for any cupping, bow, crook, or twist in the larger lumber from which you intend to cut your individual pieces. Try not to waste wood, but organize your cuts so that you remove most of the defects and inconsistencies in the larger board by dividing it, rather than having a lot of planing to do. Remember, you do want to maintain similar grain and coloration in the rough lumber, and if you can bandsaw along the deepest part of the cup on a cupped board, the resulting pieces will be flatter than the original, similar in appearance and will require less work to square up. If the piece is bowed, shorten it by crosscutting to subdivide the bow. A bow may occur in the middle of the board or nearer the ends, but whatever your situation is, bowed lumber is probably best suited for making the shorter pieces you require. Crooked lumber must be shortened by cutting off the crook. The resulting pieces will be relatively straight and you can use them to mill parts that are suited to the length of the boards leftover. Twisted wood will have to be shortened to remove the twist, and it may take more than one cut. Knotty wood, unless you plan to feature the knots, will require you to work around the knotty bits. Planning is key here. You will lose probably 1/4 of an inch of material from each side, more if there is still a bit of cup or twist to the board, so make sure that you cut it 1/2 in wider and use wood at least 1/2 inch thicker, in the rough, before you start. One thing is certain, if you find that you are left with too many short pieces and not enough long ones when you are done, then you have chosen your raw lumber poorly. Don't be disheartened, it isn't something you learn right away. Proper stock selection takes quite a bit of forethought and practice.