10 Mistakes Buying Wood - Don't Waste Your Money

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Buying Plywood? Make sure to watch this video first! kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3PFhnWvrrF6jMU

[@Jcewazhere]

Easiest way to get 4X8s and 2x4s and such to your house when all you have is a sedan?

[@Kozsomine]

👏🏻👏🏻

[@edsweeney7266]

Thanks. I went to school with Sprague Limbaugh and had I said "I knew that guy......"

[@davidcopplestone2261]

4:16

[@Plazman]

I would not have predicted I would watch a 20-minute video on buying wood. I don't even work with wood, but I found this very educational and entertaining. Thanks!

[@dttrandom]

Please do make a video on buying wood from a lumber supplier/building supplier. I've avoided trying to go there because I feel intimidated thinking that they cater to pros and construction people who buy lots of wood, and would be annoyed by someone looking through the piles just to buy a few boards.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

good feedback, I think a lot of folks feel that way

[@copperhead228]

Yeah I feel the same way.

[@nisarmohammed97]

I used to feel the same here in Trinidad. Isn't as intimidating as I initially thought it would be. I go, look through the stacks of lumber, pack back if necessary and make my purchase. At the end of the day, you're spending YOUR money. Pretty sure the guys at the lumber yard won't mind either

[@briangibbs9926]

I feel the same.

[@timf5963]

I kind of feel the same. Without knowing the "culture" and the people there, I would definitely feel out of place. I'm sure they'd gladly take my money, but I'd still feel like an outsider.

[@markcompall5501]

Very interesting video. If I can add: Keep all of lumber that you don't use. There are plenty of times that you need a small piece of wood and you will already have it from a previous project. Saves money because you've already paid for it and saves time because you already have it.

[@nwa2102]

Another great option is to find a place that sells reclaimed lumber or architectural salvage. You can often get great deals on all kinds of wood. I recently bought some Long-leaf pine from a reclaimed lumber yard. It's a species that's nearly extinct and is about as hard as red oak. So you can find great deals on unusual stuff. An added benefit is that because of the age it's almost all very dry and there's limited wood movement

[@JasonGrissom]

Great video Brad! I really appreciate you going over this topic in the depth you did. I'd definitely like to watch your take on buying lumber at a hardwood store or lumber supply store!

[@zafarsyed6437]

In the past 6 years, I've seen a lot more bark on construction lumber compared to anything I bought prior to 2017. For some reason, in spring 2017, I noticed home depot, lowes, and menards had bark on a couple pieces of 2x8 and larger. Now I see it even on 2x3 and up on construction lumber and rough sawn hardwoods and sadly, even cedar!

[@herrakaarme]

I did manage to get some discount when I asked for it, purposefully selecting pieces with bark. I didn't matter for my purposes. In fact one board was so ridiculous the clerk just told me to take it for free, on top of the stuff I bought. But that was before the lumber shortage and price hikes, so maybe today an employee would just suggest choosing better pieces instead.

[@claptree3217]

My guess would be the mills are trying to squeeze as much profit as possible out of the lumber they're getting, so they've loosened their tolerances.

[@zafarsyed6437]

@claptree3217 Agree with your statement. But, I also think that the older mills had lead sawyers with significantly more skill and/or had on-site inspectors that wouldn't let logs pass through the debarker or barking drum until and unless they had gotten 90-95% of the bark. The rest, they figured, would get cut out. But, as you said, they let their tolerances expand, maybe computerized more of the work, and figured that if they don't hear too many complaints, they can maximize their profits.

[@williammaxwell1919]

Because the trees being harvested are smaller?

[@scottmorris4914]

Great video with good info. In terms of Poplar, it is a “hardwood”, it is just not a “hard” wood. Balsa wood is classified as a hardwod, but is definitely no very hard, even softer than pine.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

yes, I realized I mispoke during editing. it "technically" is a hardwood, but not a hard wood, lol

[@valvenator]

Poplar gets a bad rep because it's such an uneven wood as far as color. Many green, white, brown etc areas depending on the cut. Most people say it's best used with paint but I found it works great with dark oil stains too. I've been able to mimic a nice dark cherry wood look using light coats of Minwax Mahogany oil stain.

[@scottmorris4914]

@@valvenator I like working with it, and I satin it all the time. Looks great.

[@valvenator]

@@scottmorris4914 Have you tried it with lighter stains? I find that the medium darker stains hide the imperfections nicely but still let the grain patterns show through.

[@aloys3511]

PLEASE do a video going to a lumber yard that would be awesome. I would love some tips on how to find a good piece that has a good price. That has been the thing that was keeping me from going for a little bit.

[@louisfbrooks]

I have started getting my hardwood from small saw mills in the area. I live in a rural area so it is either that, the Big Box Store or driving several hours to a real city. It is mostly live edge, flat sawn wood but the selection is good. How about a visit to a saw mill? What to look for, how to estimate how much wood you will get from a piece and that whole board feet thing.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

oh, that sounds like an interesting idea. I have a few around but they are out in the sticks, so for location it's a bit of the opposite for me

[@82tonypr]

I'm getting back in to woodworking after not having done it in Years (Aside from a few small projects). This Video, and your channel overall, has been a Great Help and Inspiration!

[@RB-vr7mq]

Lumber from HD is what it is. It is mass produced/rapidly dried and done so to get it onto the shelves as rapidly as possible. Try as we might to cull the worst, it is just the nature of the beast when it comes to how the wood is purchased in such large quantities. Remember folks, this is mainly construction lumber, and while you can use it for woodworking projects, it is not its main intended purpose. Not trying to talk anyone out of buying from HD, my success sharing check each quarter thanks you for doing so. This is a great video on how to get the most out of what it you will find there.

[@RANDALLOLOGY]

I built a 6 ft long kitchen table from 2X6 yellow pine for the top from Home Depot about 20 years ago. I used dowel pins and routed a V grove between each board it is still strong and solid today. Clear coated it with poly.

[@balzacq]

Pressure treated in the Northwest (at least) is made from Douglas fir and is tinted reddish-brown and has a pattern of incisions to get the chemicals deeper into the wood.

[@johnbjorkman4144]

Another way to save money is using S2S wood (surfaced two sides). For our house renovation, I was doing stained wood trim throughout, so I needed a whole lot of 1x4 and 1x6. The lumber yard had the S2S for less than half the price of anything at the big box stores.

[@Ashitaka1110]

Southern Yellow Pine and Douglas Fir are actually both harder than Poplar. SYP actually has strength characteristics close to Red Oak aside from raw hardness. It will definitely hold up as furniture if made properly.

[@MarkLowCarb]

The select 1x10 x8' pine at Home Depot is great for building vertical wood walls on top of regular drywall for modern houses / condos. - no cutting on site - no sanding on site At least three rows of horizontal 1x3 x8' screwed to the wall (find the beams / condos often have aluminum instead of wood beams) to hold the wood wall. This also offsets the vertical planks to go to the floor over the trim. If the trim is 1in thick. I use a magnet to find the drywall screws to know where the beams are, and pre-drill to make sure I know what's behind (wood or aluminum). I have Home Depot cut one of the ends so they are all the same length, use Samara #120 water based dark brown stain, no stink. I also make channels to be able to pass wires easily behind the wall, for wall mounting a TV or for LED light strips at the top. Now I can put shelving anywhere, or use steel piping shelving. Vertical planks over horizontal will make your wall seem taller.

[@Refract3d]

Hemlock is another outdoor moisture resistant wood that's around half the price of Cedar in my neck of the wood, so worth looking out for. Farmers use it a lot to make fences.

[@rso1411]

Very interesting. I did not know that.

[@harleyhawk7959]

hemlock makes crap deck boards it cracks in the sun, warps.

[@mrcryptozoic817]

I used to have access to commercial 2x8 pallet wood (used for shipping raw 12x12 and 12x16 glass sheets). After denailing, I had both clear pine boards and some very interesting wood where a branch was fully embedded by surrounding clear grain, grain zigzagy and other interesting features. I milled them into unique kitchen cabinets and furniture for an off-the-grid dwelling. If you have a glass shop in your area, ask them if you can get their pallets. They just send them to the landfill.

[@theyuha]

I made my dining table out of lumber from regular lumber, most of my furnature I made. I used BC plywood for surfaces and clear poly and it looks fine to me- also very durable, can walk on it if you want. Nice shoes.

[@danielhanawalt4998]

Most times I'm not doing anything that requires just the best lumber. I pick through it though and don't buy it if it's too wacky. Didn't realize till recently wide boards were better and could cut into 2X4's. Makes sense. A few other things you mentioned that will be helpful I hadn't thought about before. Thanks, good video and info.

[@clellbritt3434]

Great tips and great presentation. A lot of those my dad taught me growing up. For what its worth SYP is not a specific species but rather a group of species. Typically these are the pines of the south and can be loblolly pine, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, or slash pine. Though there are a few other species it can also be but those are the most common and most often planted.

[@anneoreilly4900]

My local building supply store may cost a little more but the quality is there plus the help loading, etc.

[@flynnstone3580]

If you're going to a real lumber yard, give them your list with everything on it including nails, screws, finishes, etc. and ask them for a quote and you'll save some money.👍

[@roncollins1046]

This is all really solid advice; I can back this up by stating that I once spent a quarter-century or so as a residential homebuilder (as a start), and learned early on that material selection is everything when it comes to assuring the best quality in the final product. This applies to framing every bit as much as to finish carpentry. I used to tell the newer guys to always pick their materials wisely even when all of it has been provided by the yard. I would always get on them about using bark-edged (wain) corners on a wall corner or the outer corners of a window or door opening. Hang enough drywall and you find out why: those missing corners can ruin your day. Also having handled literally tens of thousands of boards in a lifetime, sometime hundreds per day, you learn to evaluate every single one in seconds according to all the criteria shown here: bow, crown, twist, cup, knots, checks, etc. Some boards need to be set aside to cut up for blocking, others are way more suitable to be used full-length. When framing walls or any other kind of panel, ALWAYS turn all the crowns in the same direction (every precut stud ever sold has some crown to it), and on floors, ceilings and roofs the crowns must ALWAYS face upward. Twisted lumber can be straightened to some extent if the piece is long enough and the application allows for some restraint by other elements, but mostly I use twisted ones for the short pieces if they can't be avoided. Douglas fir is superb in every respect except that if you don't stack it flat, the stack will assume the shape of the ground it sits on within days, and then every single board has the exact same twist (!) especially if the stack is in open sun. Hem-fir (whitewood) rocks, is far less prone to twisting and is also way lighter to handle, but some yards tend to mix it with the Doug or pine as if interchangeable, and this calls for extra care in selecting pieces on the job. Personally I despise treated lumber, for a thousand good reasons but especially for the toxic splinters, and generally avoid using it: a good oil-based stain or sealant on all six sides of every piece before installation is my preference, but yes, pine for outdoors is a total no-no. If you think you can straighten a cupped 2x10 or 2x12 with screws, you're more likely to split it all the way from end to end for your trouble. Wider boards are worth selecting very, very carefully, and the cup is the worst attribute to accept in my experience.

[@TheSharkShed]

I live in Franklin as well and I can definitely attest to the quality of lumber going down hill. I used to be a Home Depot store manager and we could always tell how bad the supply was by the number of picked over pieces. Lately I see a bigger pile of picked over pieces than I ever did 20 years ago when I worked there. Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@thenext9537]

What I do when I go to Lowes or Homedepot, walk past the lumber yard and I go to the hardwood section. I bring my moisture meter and I test pieces. First I pull all the wood out and go to the very very back where things are dusty. Usually I'll get wood that's in the 8-11% moisture content range. The only reason I go is when I am building a frame underneath a table and I don't want to use a bunch more BF of walnut for a part you can't see anyway. I'll go with some oak or something like that.

[@user-ke4of6uc3n]

1. This was awesome! 2. Now I will have extreme confidence and extreme challenges seeking defect-free lumber.

[@dullahan8191]

Whenever I go into HD I look for the cull wood 70% off and if it good enough to use on future projects that I can manipulate it for what ever job. Just recently I bought a few 16 footers in the cull bin . I was able to use the whole length by clamping it off to the 4x4 posts before attaching. Worked perfect for building a garden fence.

[@MarkLowCarb]

Great video. Of course through years of experience I have come to 75% the same conclusions. You filled that 25% gap, and I wish KZbin was around in the 90's, when I had to learn the hard way - picture books from the library.

[@kumazuma1]

A few comments from someone who works in the forest industry. This is a good video if your trying to make furniture using stud material. What most of this is spf construction grade material. As it comes out of the mill its dried to about 25% moisture, as it sits in the heated store it loses moisture thus the cupping etc. Your right, wider boards come from larger logs. These also have a longer drying time in the kiln which adds to the cost. These wider boards or planks can have internal tension and compression as you've shown by having to put a wedge in your rip cuts. Again these are sawn to be used as a header or joist where this is not a problem. Most of the defects you point out are mostly cosmetic and except for large ingrown knots do not effect the strength of the lumber. Except when thy are in the center of a longer product at a flex point. You should also take cost into account. Wider planks are expensive. Again not saying your not giving out good tips but you should stress this is construction grade stuff, Not finish or furniture grade ...just sayin

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Great info 👍

[@AB-nu5we]

If someone hasn't said it, (in our area we also get) there's also Hemlock pine. It's got a density between Spruce pine (white wood) and Douglas Fir. It's got a light brownish darker grain in with the whiter streaks. It can sometimes be confused with Douglas Fir if you're not paying attention. What others said about Poplar being a hardwood, just softer than most.

[@crazyzee81]

I have made a few things from simple Homedepot lumber that honestly look rustic but I live in a farm area so it works for me. I also have a local lumber yard and when I want the project to look better I buy from them even if its just 2x4's cause the quality and look is amazing from them and the price point is maybe 20% more.

[@DanielinLaTuna]

The price, or the price point? I’m not quite sure what the difference is…

[@crazyzee81]

@@DanielinLaTuna sorry not sure if that is just a phrase around here. I was trying to say if a 2x4 was 4$ at Home Depot it would be like $4.85 at my local lumberyard/shop. That little extra cost is worth it for me cause I know its a better board, and it is local business.

[@speedomars]

Just get kiln dried if you want it straight. Or take the time to splice the wood, or lay it under something heavy after rewetting it. when it dries, it will be straight. or if you are framing, get it into the structure right away, if he twists or bows later, the trim it, or use the let in brace technique.

[@daveleslie4396]

One reason for more bark edges is computer designed log scans at the mill. They maximize usable wood. Some mills get several sizes of dimensional lumber from a single tree.

[@RobDucharme]

I've been building a custom catwalk (literally) system for a client who wants their cat to have easy access to the living room from halfway down the stairs, without the dog annoying her. The box frames I built for fastening to the wall (sort of like rectangular portals) (the catwalk will be mounted under these, eliminating brackets under the catwalks!) is made out of 1x6 planks that I ripped in half and cut into less than 12" sections. So I just needed them to be fairly straight. Being bowed wasn't too much of a concern as long as it wasn't a boomerang. Added a simple chamfer to the edges. They turned out fantastic. Installing the whole thing tomorrow!

[@RobDucharme]

Client was blown away. Fortunately it wasn't literally..

[@reesex3882]

I wished that you had created this video 5 months ago, when I did a woodworking project of making my version of IKEA style Ivar shelves. Some of the pieces of wood that I used had some bends. Now I know what to look for, when I start my next woodworking project, later this Spring.

[@CarlYota]

If you’re going to build stuff with pressure treated lumber just remember that when super wet wood dries it shrinks a lot. When building a deck, for example. You want to build with the wet wood as soon as possible because if you let it dry it can warp dramatically. You want it all attached in place before it dries. I was on a project where one of the stringers for a staircase was a super dry and by the time we cut the notches it was a banana. There was so much tension in it it was jamming the saw blade. And then we had to force it into place with a wicked bow to deal with. This wouldn’t have happened if it was wet wood. I can’t imagine building furniture with this stuff. Best case scenario it’s going to shrink. And it’s treated with toxic chemicals. So you really want to build a chair out of that? It’s rough framing lumber or fence posts. Just use cedar.

[@IzzyIkigai]

When I built stuff for my balcony i just went for the douglas fir decking floorboards, cheap as they come, good basic size to build other stuff from like raised plant beds or seating. I liked having a bit of a structure to the wood as well and the wood has been as tough as they come and I can get it as local wood instead of some expensive, devastating-to-nature, imported wood. Only meh thing about it is that if you don't treat it like at least once or twice a year UV will give it the ugliest gray patina instead of the lovely red to yellow hues.

[@quinlan92]

YES! Im seeing lots more bark edged lumber and skuffed edges in the Northwest

[@WalnutBun]

With the clearance lumber, don't automatically toss the parts of the wood you don't need or can't use for your current project. Assuming you have the space, store it and use it later for scrap wood. It doesn't matter if one side of the board has spray paint or something on it if that side is pressed up against the wall or the floor, after all.

[@davidcurtis5398]

I went to a good lumber company once and saw brown and black 2 X 10 framing lumber. The boards were just older but clients would not use them because the client would see the "dirty" lumber and gripe. I bought a lot for less than 1/2 price, got great lumber, and got older more solid lumber. And saved a lot of money. Who will see this wood when it is inside the house or any walls??? The best lumber I have ever worked with was siding off of old barns that were going to be taken down or burned. Free, old growth, and straight.Maybe ugly but put it through a planer and it will be great.

[@normbograham]

I found some purple lumber at home depot (70% off), and there was a warp. Funny enough, I put it on concrete, and let it sit a while, and the warp removed itself. Not everything needs to be perfect. the wood under my water heater for example, that is cut to 20" and sits between the water heater and the concrete blocks.

[@panda_dva2261]

Once you buy a house you just start diving into a bunch of stuff you never ever would think about. Ive gone down the power tool hole, now im going down the wood hole

[@reedgrele6673]

Southern CT here. In 2008 I built a free floating deck and stairs using Home Depot pressure treated lumber. Over the years I have had to repair or replace about 35% of the boards due to rot. The wood affected wasn't in contact with the ground. The deck is located on my hillside about 60' above my home. It gets sun for at least half of the day, and mold hasn't been an issue. I stained it after letting it dry for a year, then cleaned and maintained continuously every year since, and still I get rot. It has been re-stained at least 3 times over the past 15 years, and this season I've switched to Deckover with the non-slip ingredient. Did I get a bad batch of “pressure treated” lumber? I don't expect it to last forever, but it seems like it shouldn't be rotting, especially since it's not touching the soil.

[@FourCornersRealtors]

We are building a house and never seen so much bad wood before. We asked one place and they said it was because of the supply/demand. It's not getting enough time to dry from the time it is cut to the time it is sold. Your lucky to find enough good wood these days!

[@michaelogden5958]

I'm in central Texas, in the boonies. There are one and a half places here to get lumber. I'm no carpenter or craftsman. The only lumber I use is to make crude shop shelves and benches. Even so, about 80% of the stuff here in town is too cringy even for my utilitarian use. Great videos! Thanks!

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

2:14 - Guilty. In the past while sorting through stacks of 2x4's I would avoid the lighter ones and gravitate towards the heavier ones, somehow assuming I was getting more bang for the buck. I learned, eventually. Great helpful tips.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

lol, right. it's a bit counterintuitive

[@flagmichael]

Interesting... a bathroom scale would be a good indicator of moisture content among pieces of identical wood the same size.

[@rla1000]

Good tips. In my area, Lowe's *generally* has better framing lumber and better hardwood boards than the Depot. But not always. Fortunately I have a "real" lumber store in my area for consistently better lumber and hardwoods, like 1x, 5/4, 8/4 and 12 - 16 foot lengths, but it is a hike to get there. If I need "perfect" 2x4s (oxymoron), I generally buy 2x6s and rip to size. They universally tend to be straighter, drier, with fewer knots and defects than 2x4s. For example, I did a curved wall for a walk-in shower in my master bath, tiled on one side and flex-rocked on the other, which had to be framed perfectly so I ripped straight 2x6s to size, for 8-in. on center 2x4 studs. For painted trim, I always use poplar.

[@MaxwellSmart6425]

One thing I have found is Home Depot uses pressure-treated pine and you can feel it by how late it is and better quality lumber yards will use pressure treated fur which is heavier a better quality. Home Depot’s hardwood is cut to precise measurements and I was able to build a kitchen without much modification to the wood

[@jean-philippeproulx2004]

There’s also several different grades in construction lumber, so if you’re checking in a pile of « stud grade » wood you might be there for a long time before building your pretty bench 😅

[@kke]

Looking at the end grain also reveals if the wood has been speed grown at a tree farm or if it has been growing for a long time, as an old tree will have more rings, which makes it harder. In the northern Europe spruce and larch are good for outdoors, especially the latter.

[@TheCookster64]

Home Depot and Lowes has nice flat floors. If you don't feel secure about visually checking boards lay it on the floor, all four sides. Easy!

[@pkmd7582]

Great video for choosing lumber. I would not use treated lumber for making outdoor furniture. The older preservatives contained chromium, copper and arsenic. The newer formulas are different, but are they safe to sit against you skin?

[@veeshan222]

i worked in a sawmill in Australia for awhile and in regards to your species part, you can get the exact same species from the same plot of land with same growth cycle u can get pieces that different colours not sure why though but occasionally you see a piece that is randomly much lighter or darker than the other pieces but it still the exact same species. in regard to the go big section aswell atleast in Australia ur larger boards come from the same tree as ur 2x4s you just get alot more 2x4s from same tree since any larger boarders that dont meet sound test gets sent back which then gets split to smaller boards through a giant twin bandsaw machine where they either chop them in half or smaller boards to remove the wane (bark section) Pine tree here tend to be around the 27 year mark at the youngest and 32 year at the older mark, you do get more larger boards from section at the base of the tree though so less branches generaly to make knots from

[@MartinMCade]

I bought a pile of 2x12s from Home Depot right before COVID started. I looked through their stack every few days to find 1 or 2 worth buying. I stacked them with spacers for a year or so, then brought them from Georgia to Colorado with me where they have been aging for the past year. They might be about ready for a project or two. :D

[@stevedrake360]

Excellent video, the best I've seen on choosing wood! The humor you inject in there is very entertaining, too. What could be better than learning while having fun?!

[@loribrooks6736]

I would love to have you do a video on buying from a lumberyard ..pros and cons perhaps. Love your channel!

[@davegravel3740]

Don't know if it helps anyone but the stores around me have the southern yellow pine (SYP) separate from the rest of the SPF lumber at the back of the stores. Good advice about the different line species. Also m SYP being harder than other pine makes it a better wood for workbenches.

[@maxwellhouse750]

I agree on non-matching wood colors but then I saw your cabinets are different colors. That might drive me a bit batty considering how nice your shop is. Perhaps it is just the lighting, but all those cabinets on the right are more amber.

[@brucelee3388]

In my part of the World, the surviving timber yards also do their 'shopping around' and you find the price of common pine is only cents per foot (metre) less than the 'premium' clear pine from the Big Store, so you only buy from the timber yard when you need timber longer than 8ft (2.4m). They are basically surviving on the building/contractor trade who need longer timber.

[@SpiritintheSky.]

Splendidly thorough.

[@antcommander1367]

Few notifications from finnish perpective tip nro.1: well atleast in cup you can manage that by saw in half, in twist (or propeller) you can't save it without losing wood. the worst that i've seen 270° propeller in 2,5 m board. nro.3: those that have bark in corner is called ''waney edge'', usually cheaper. and those witch don't have bark is ''square-edged''. so it's not defect, it has different use. knots are fine, if they are good quality knots and in end product they are beatifull. though they will weaken it. nro.7 there's no wrong wood for outdoor use, only wrong treatment and lack of maintenance. i use pine in outdoor projects. not left untreated, like you said it will rot. using pine tar will solve that issue well and it will last long (10-15 years) before have to re-treatment. Nro.8 and 9 planning, what are you gonna use for project and what cost. checking timber prize at internet what are needed in project.

[@johnlee7085]

I’ve been seeing what is essentially a game changer for a bunch of this; KDHT. Kiln dried heat treated. There are some downsides, but besides removing the excess moisture, when it is heat treated it also cooks off the parts of the wood that lead to rot and bug smorgasbords.

[@WillN2Go1]

Have you done a video on the shop tools needed to size, surface and prepare rough cut wood for a project? You need a bandsaw (for ripping), a jointer, surface planer, and then of course a tablesaw. To make mortises... I had a machine, but it had a problem, so I just reverted to drilling and chopped them out. Same results, but not at a production rate. Now, you don't personally need to own all these tools, but if you know someone who has them and will help you out. Once you have access to these basic shop tools you can find a hardwood or specialty lumberyard and begin buying rough cut lumber. You'll get a much better selection than anything you'll find at Home F'n Depot. For me in Los Angeles this has always been Bonhoff. And there's a video of Sam Maloof making one of his famous rockers. Might only be available as a DVD. He uses his tablesaw as a surface planer. A lot of great tips in the video, but he also does some things that even he says are not safe unless you really know what you're doing. But you're not going to pick up a trick that's risky without him mentioning it.

[@dankcoyote]

First step, leave Home Depot and go to a local yard. You sometimes find good high density 2x4 but generally if you’re building finished exposed work with fir you want to be using CVG fir, not #2 studs.

[@ShotGunner5609]

Honestly I've been doing alot of online ordered these past 2 years and the home depot pickers have been really good about getting me straight boards. Nothings been so bad ive had to refuse it. But your milage will always very. I have a small business account and definitely buy more than a few boards a year.

[@handles438]

man, I think my local box store is the last on the route for wood deliveries. Our 2x4s have the exposed bark, sap, cracks, AND the wet noodle profile. Also had a 2x10 that was cupped so bad I'm pretty sure I could have eaten soup out of it.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Maybe some wooden rain gutters??

[@copperhead228]

​@@Fixthisbuildthat wooden rain gutters. 😂😂😂

[@MilesMcNallyLuthierie]

Being a deck builder here in Michigan I can confirm that the defects like bark and knots are so much more common now. This is part in partial to the influx in lumber price and demands during the lockdowns, at that point and time it was harder to get lumber out to the stores or companies that provide lumber so the companies producing were sending anything and everything they had including these defects. I've seen it from the box stores and even the more privatized companies that we use to get our deck lumber.

[@aprilgeneric8027]

there was no shortage of lumber, infact there were train sidinggs and train yards and distributor yards loaded with dozens of train consist of hundreds of cars nothing but wood. they drove up the price by letting it sit on the rail cars and not unloading it. it's all over the internet on youtube if you search. i saw it in several minneapolis rail yards had to be about 1,000 cars fully loaded. it's just like the osb and plywood 'shortage' of 2007

[@patrickhaupt5723]

Same thing here in Wisconsin. It's hard to find a single piece of wood without bark on it.

[@TheShockwaveDragon]

I don't work in the lumber industry specifically, but I HAVE worked on many different production floors in my time and I'm willing to bet the old hands that did the job properly, probably either quit or moved on to other positions once the pandemic cleared everyone out, leaving the judgment calls on what is 'good enough' to ship out to the greenhorns that either weren't trained very well in the first place, or flat out don't care. I've seen it happen more than a few times before, and especially after the pandemic.

[@frotobaggins7169]

When sorting wood, the number 1 golden rule is Stack and face the lumber as you sort, never leave the bunk a huge mess and never, never toss boards aside in to other bundles. No one wants to come after you can have to deal with the big mess you made. Many yards won't let you sort wood for this reason.

[@patrickhaupt5723]

If a yard won't let me pick through the stack then I'm buying somewhere else.

[@davidcurtis5398]

If they let you sort through the lumber piles, leave the piles better than when you came in. Then you will never have a problem.

[@TheComingGlory]

@@davidcurtis5398 Even better is for the store to remove the defect lumber or order from a saw mill that makes a quality product and not the junk found at places like Home Despot.

[@makodaniel4885]

If yhe wood they have is good to begin with you dont wind up with messy bunks

[@tomooo2637]

With respect to knots etc. In Europe we have C16 , C24 and other quality measures. In summary c16 : kiln dried with some defects c24 : kiln dried with very few defects. Of course you still need to check your wood, but if you get wood to these specifications, you can reject wood that does not conform to the specs.

[@ContentToHover]

Please do talk about buying wood at a lumber yard! I've never used anything but plywood and 2x4s and I'm always intimidated by the different format of shopping

[@jsmxwll]

I've had good luck with woodworker's source for buying hardwood online. Big and small orders, never done me dirty.

[@GoCoyote]

You can find "cabinet" grade wood in "construction" grade lumber all the time. The main issue is getting it dry without warping. Lumber companies will try and sort out the higher grade wood because they get more money for it, but sometimes they just have to fill an order, and don't bother.

[@lucianprescott8357]

I don’t discount any of the lumber you mentioned; even the twisted noodle. I have an elderly neighbor who does crafts with wood on a small scale. I often buy the twisted boards as she only needs a small 2x2 piece for a craft. I do the cutting for her and throw the pieces in a box for her to work with. Results, she doesn’t spend a ton of money on premium grade as pieces that small is hardly noticeable.

[@ReverendTed]

Definitely interested in a video on buying wood from a building supply or lumberyard.

[@korelzenga2305]

Combining two colors (types) of wood: ‘that would just look odd and weird to me. . . . . And yes, I know I have problems.’ That remark just killed me. 😂 And I directly recognized myself in such behavior. Great video! I already knew quite a few of the criteria you mention, but I also learned a couple of new ones, plus suggestions for a different approach when buying wood. Keep up the good work! Regards from the Netherlands. Btw. lumber over here is far more expensive than in the US, so choosing the right wood for any given project pays off.

[@WTDoorley]

Thanks for the advice. I'm a beginner, more of a sawdust generator than a woodworker, so every tip is useful. So I, for one, would appreciate some tips on buying from a lumberyard. Home Depot is easy, like a supermarket. At the lumberyard I'd actually have to talk to people and explain what I want. I don't even know where to start.

[@sapelesteve]

Terrific video Brad! There are excellent sources for purchasing wood online. However, you also have to pay shipping charges! You can avoid these charges if more than a certain amount of board feet is purchased. I recently purchased Maple & Walnut online and the wood that I received was fantastic! It often takes some searching but you can find very good sources online. 👍👍🔨🔨

[@SQLJedi]

Most of the #1 2x4s from Canada go to the US, so all we have left in Canada are #2 2x4s with bark exposed edges (wain).

[@joelmorgan2392]

Did you visit my local Box stores? lol It's a chore everyday going through the bins looking for good wood to use. Being in a small town I have two box stores and MCCoys, so I end up having to order my wood from big city and use them quick very high humidity in my area. MCCoys won't even let you pick out your wood you buy and they load so I don't spend money if I can't pick out the wood I use. Thanks for the Shout out to Matthew Peech You both are in my top 5 of go to for ideas and tips on building better.

[@mariarusso1325]

Hi Joel how are you doing today. Hope you are having a good weather 😊

[@jonathanmarois9009]

I work on a forklift in a lumber yard. Was nice to learn more about the wood I touch everyday.

[@lemonysnick5171]

Definitely getting a lot of that bark on the edges of the 2x4s in CA. If they're nice and straight and flat, I'll use them for places where it doesn't matter

[@joebloe6263]

This is why I’m partial to metal framing-just too many problems with wood and it’s getting increasingly expensive as well

[@viracocha03]

I just went to grab some lumber to make a bench top and i was shocked at how bad the lumber was. almost EVERY board had bark exposed edges and was unbelievably knotty, cracked and warped. Edited to add, I'm in eastern Canada.

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

yeah, selection has gotten worse since covid I think

[@viracocha03]

@@Fixthisbuildthat yeah, I'm fairly new to wood working(couple months) but I have had to buy lumber countless times over my life for other things, I don't ever remember having such a hard time getting a dozen decent boards. Appreciate the video and the reply.

[@noidont8149]

woow I have wood sitting in my basement that floods setting straighter than what was in that store. and yea the bark on the wood has become very common I only really noticed it during the pandemic but it was pretty much a take it or leave deal it and for my purposes it was never going to be seen anyway but it could actually be cool if your building a tree fort for your kid or something like that

[@ibtarnine]

My local Lowes has 8' x 8 x 1 s4s pine boards for like $6-8. I would recommend any beginner woodworkers check out their local stores to see if they're carrying cheap boards like these, they're really great to work with if you don't have a jointer and a planer yet. I think this is going to vary by region though, if you're in the south you probably aren't going to find these, but it's still worth checking.

[@jthepickle7]

I'm not embarrassed or afraid to put half of the stack I'm looking through in the isle - to get to the new, un-looked-through pieces (agree to first check end grain). For my project I buy the wood ASAP and sticker it in the shop. At 8% the wood will go through its deformation. Sometimes long splits in wide lumber are your friend. Make the split your new straight edge and rip the plank in half, with the split as your guide. (usually done at a proper lumber yard with the more expensive woods, not at Lowe's) "Select" S4S wood is super expensive and usually NOT 3/4" but is 11/16" and can also be more narrow.

[@bruce8468]

Framing material easy enough to make straight. And much easier when you have Canadian number one material to pick from

[@jeremyandaliforrest794]

Great video, keep up the great work. Just wanted to let you know that Douglas fir and southern yellow pine are their own separate species that are not included in the Spruce-pine-fir species according to the NDS

[@Wallflowa]

Yes... Lumber yard wood as well. Please and thank you. I usually buy from the BBS and really have to spend a great deal of time sorting out the culls. I think the lumber yard will be a bit more expensive, but clearer and so many more choices especially for hardwoods. Great advice for the BBS by the way.

[@chrisbrannan3784]

Ditto

[@Multipew]

Sawmiller here. Regarding moisture content I think it's worth saying that the driest wood is not always the best, and picking that piece that's at 8% might be a mistake. Wood doesn't just dry and then stop. Over time it reaches equilibrium with the air humidity around it. The relative air humidity in different environments is very variable. I know for example that the rocking chair in my kitchen is at 9% but the shelves in my workshop are over 13%. If I make something with a board at 8% and then keep it in the workshop, it'll actually absorb water from the air over time to reach equilibrium at 13%, and warping will occur. Tldr: pick the board that is at the closest moisture content to where it'll end up, not just the driest.

[@Lefishn]

When i build decks with pressure treat i 100% buy the wettest deck board wood all from same pile. Install when wet with no gaps that way when dries you get uniform gaps plus when wet its straight so once dries its already screwed down and dries straight. If you install dry you will have 90% warped wood to have to starighten every board you lay whichbis a lot of work. Larger dimension boards for joists are less chance to warp so those look for dry straight boards but as far as deck boards or fence boards go buy the wet ones and install same day

[@Onewheelordeal]

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LUMBERYARD!! Took mine for granted and now it's closed I have several HD/Menards near me and will usually have to look through the entire stack at around 3-4 different locations to collect what I need

[@Fixthisbuildthat]

Good point. I always get my hardwoods from the local lumberyards. But unfortunately the one that has good stuff has a bunch of jerks working there. So I tend to avoid it.

[@moodberry]

These are all good tips. Thank you. But what I find maddening is when I go pick out lumber that has already been picked over, there are almost zero good ones in the stack. My time was wasted even going to the store because I can't find enough boards to do the job.

[@BigMikeDaGr8]

YES to a lumber yard 101 video please... and soon, Summer is coming.

[@chrissynen]

I’m Australian and when I was living in Ontario I let some Home Depot/Lowes employees know that in Aus i used to call warped wood: boomerangs. It was always received well except once when the guy turned and said to me “you’re a long way from Australia, around here we call them hockey sticks”

[@joshwalty9408]

Great video! thanks for the tips! As a new woodworker I would love to see a video on buying from a local lumber yard in small quantities. They have a Rockler here but man is it expensive!!!!

[@robertkerby2581]

I really liked your careful explanations, and your excellent advice! Well done!

[@mariarusso1325]

Hi Robert how are you doing today. Hope you are having a good weather 😊

[@rosehawke2577]

Occasionally lumber that is heavy for its size isn't wet, it's old growth. SYP especially can be quite weighty. You can tell if that's the case by looking at the growth rings on the ends.

[@ryanwilson_canada]

Hm. Irving. From my home province. Who also owns Kent up here in Canada, im surprised they sell to HD. But NB is 80-85% forest. So i suppose that makes sense. I recognized the logo. They also own majesta paper towel and tissue, and toilet paper. I guess they're further over north america than i thought.

[@GeoffryWK]

Nothing wrong with pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine for outdoor use. I used it for a large chicken run 10 years ago and it was still good after 5 years when I dismantled the coop. I still have it for my open air outdoor garden equipment shed.