Starting a furniture building project is always exciting, but it can also be intimidating. There can be a lot of parts in a piece of furniture. Where do you begin? In the past, cutting diagrams were provided for projects as an aid to getting started, but we are not including the cutting diagrams anymore as they are based on perfect and therefore imaginary boards.
As woodworkers we know that perfect boards don’t exist and that dealing with variations in color, grain, defects and random widths are all part of the challenge of building with wood. After nearly 50 years of building projects in the Woodsmith production shop we just knew it was time to move on from imaginary cut diagrams and explain the simple and effective approach that we use at Woodsmith to break down lumber and make the most out of the species of wood we chose to work with.
MAKE A LIST
The best way to start any woodworking project is by making a complete materials list with part names and final dimensions. If you are building a Woodsmith project, we have already made the parts list for you. I like to break down the parts list further by creating separate lists for parts requiring a different thickness of lumber to be purchased (4/4, 5/4, 6/4, etc.) From the lists, calculate the total board feet required of each thickness of lumber.
Quick Tip!: Determining the board feet of lumber required for a project is easy with a handy app or online calculator.
With those numbers figured out, it is time to head off to your lumber dealer. Of course, you will need to buy extra board footage to account for knots, splits, and the waste that comes with laying out parts on lumber; I recommend 20%-25%. Yes, hardwood lumber is very expensive, but you want to make sure that you have enough lumber to make good choices. Ugly panels, sapwood, and defects will cause nothing but regret every time you look at your project, and if there are a few extra boards at the completion of the project then you’ve got material for this year’s holiday gifts — win win.
If you would like to save money, consider using less expensive secondary woods such as poplar or alder for drawer boxes, cabinet backs, and parts that are out of sight. That’s what the old masters did!
Another money-saving option is to use hardwood plywood for components such as shelving and backs. Some projects demand all solid wood, some don’t. If your project includes plywood, follow the same basic steps that are outlined here for solid wood. While plywood is generally consistent you still need to use good judgement with grain and color.
Back in the shop stand your lumber against a wall or lay it out on your workbench to get a full view. Spend some time getting acquainted with your lumber noting the color, grain, and any issues such as knots or splits. Mark any defects with white chalk.
Carefully inspect your lumber for defects and mark them with chalk to avoid an “uh-oh’” moment later on.
PRIORITY PIECES
Don’t try to lay out all your parts at once. It’s a daunting challenge for a large project and is unnecessary. Instead start by pulling out your parts list and prioritizing the parts for which appearance is very important, such as a tabletop, the sides of a bookcase, or large door panels.
Lay these parts out on your lumber and cut them to rough length. Next, take note of drawer fronts that you will want to have attractive grain and to be laid out continuously from the same board. Don’t worry about the smaller parts right now. Just concentrate on the parts that stand out and need special attention.
As you cut out parts and boards to glue up panels, carefully label each board and check them off your parts list. I use painter’s tape and a Sharpie. Good housekeeping now pays off down the road.
Parts such as stiles and rails often look best with straight continuous grain. You may need to establish a new working edge on a board.
FOLLOW THE GRAIN
With the large, appearance-grade parts dealt with move on to parts that show but are of a size that can be fit into shorter boards, narrow boards, or around defects. This might include door stiles and rails, brackets, facia, or glass stops. With long, narrow parts make it a priority to line the grain up with the length of the part. This may mean that a new edge will need to be established on the board that runs parallel to the grain before ripping it to size. This is easy to do using a circular saw or band saw, as shown at the bottom of the previous page. As with the large parts, careful attention to grain pays dividends later with a cohesive-looking project.
Finally let’s lay out the parts that are hidden or don’t show much. To be efficient with your lumber, glue up smaller boards into larger ones and use the wood that was culled out earlier for having a bit of sap, a small knot, or other blemishes.
As you lay out your projects parts you may want to process them to get started building. Then as each section of the project is completed, lay out and process more parts following the sequence of prioritizing.
With the simple, organized approach of creating a parts list and laying them out from the most to the least important in appearance, a pile of rough lumber can be transformed into a beautiful project with confidence.
