The cheapest way to buy lumber is green and rough cut from a sawmill in your area. Because the lumber is still fresh you need to dry it for a while before you can use it for your projects. Your alternatives are to buy dried and dimensioned lumber from distributors or places like Home Depot. These paths are great if your wallet is thick, and you need the boards immediately. I prefer to go with rough cut and prepare it myself.
Once you decide what projects you are going to attempt, and what species you plan to use, you can begin the process. The first thing you need to do is procure the materials. This is a matter of locating a local sawmill and asking if they have any lumber of the species and quality you need. Chances are that they will have a pile lying around somewhere that you can sort through and take your pick of the boards. You might also want to pick a lumber that is a little bit bigger because lumbers shrink when dries up.Since the prices of their prices are already very low asking for discount is not really necessary and if you've been a repeat customer I am sure they will give you a better deal on your next visit
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After bringing the green lumber home you will then need to dry it. Air drying is on of the ways to dry you green lumber this is done by piling your boards directly under the sun but protected from the rain Each 1" thick board will take a year to dry up so if you have like a 4" thick board it takes 4 years. The moisture content of the lumber after it was air dried is 12% - 18% still wet to use but you can now bring it inside your workshop for the rest of the air drying process.The ideal RH of your shop should b 50% for the lumber to dry down to 8% moisture and for you to be able to monitor the humidity you can purchase the rmometer/hygrometer from radio shack that will cost you around $40
One other method for drying a green lumber is by the use of solar kiln . There are a lot of solar kiln plans online. Building it will only cost you around $200. You can place your green lumber inside the kiln to begin drying. Drying the lumber can sometimes depend on your location and the temperature however it usually takes 30-60 days to have it dried or reach the 6%-8% moisture to make it ready for use.
You can start processing the lumber as soon as its dried up. The very first thing you should do is joint one area of your board. This can be done by hand using a hand plane or the simple way by having a jointer. You can then cut the board to your lose to the final length needed. The thickness planer is the next stop for that board. This process will make the board equal in thickness. After you plane the panel right down to your final thickness, afterwards you joint one side possibly by hand or by using a jointer. Cutting the board to the final width is the next process after you have planed the it to your desired thickness. You can use any kind of saw to do this. To set your board to the desired width you can used the edge of the board as guide. You now have a board almost ready for your project, just cut the final length needed and build your project. You will really save a lot of money by processing your own boards for your projects
