: For those of you builders in the NorthEast U.S., what type of wood do you use
: that isn't too expensive? What have you had excellent luck with? I am
: planning on ripping my own strips and then milling the bead and cove.

: What are your sources for 4/4 rough cut lumber? There is no sense in me
: buying the precut strips if I have the time to do it myself. I figure if I
: start with rough cut 4/4 that I plane down I might be able to use some
: 7/8" wide pieces for a couple of the areas where there is minimal
: bending. You can take the 20% moisture content wood and put it on stickers under cover to air dry for a month to six weeks if it is cedar. If it is pine it will take a lot longer than that, maybe 3 months.

When you purchase your wood you need to make sure the grain orientation is correct for what you are going to make. You will want to end up with vertical grain on the 3/4" dimension, so you start with flat grained rough lumber (4/4). You will probably have a hard time finding this in cedar as most of the western red cedar brought into NE is vertical grain in board form and is pre-milled to 11/16". To resolve this you could rip these boards to 3/4", then split in half to 1/4". Then you will end up with the vertical grain that is generally preferred.

You could also use 5/4 western red cedar decking, but it is milled to 1" so you are really paying 25% more for a net 1" material.

When you mill your strips, rip them over sized by about 1/32" and plane to exactly 1/4" so that they are all consistent.

Michael

: I have a source for some 10% moisture woods, but is the 20% moisture lumber
: you buy at a lumberyard o.k.?

: I really want to get the wood soon and then start the milling process.

: Thank you for the help. It's great to have a place like this to learn from
: the experience and expertise of others.