How to smooth out 4x4's? - Page 2

BeanAnimal · #26 07/19/2007, 10:42 AM

Yet another attempt at a witty insult. Now that's the sam we all love!

Reading comprehension sam... it is a key to understanding.

Lets break it down. You appear to be 1 of 2 things.

1) a child who needs supervision and some maturity.

-or-

2) an obnoxious and insufferable adult.

Other choices sam?

Well mannered child?
Thoughtfull child?
Mature adult?
Pleasant adult?
Well balanced person?
Kind person?
Helpfull person?

Plenty of choices sam, they just don't fit you.

hemi18 · #27 07/19/2007, 10:55 AM

bean you're just feeding sam's fire....just ignore him and let's talk about smoothing out 4x4's with fitz and rico....

BeanAnimal · #28 07/19/2007, 10:59 AM

I kinda like his silly attempts at wit. They serve to make us all feel smarter and more grounded

I think if he posts a photo of his furniture it will help us a lot.

As has already been mentioned, treated lumber is out of the question for a piece of finished furnitire. Health nonsense aside, he will not be able to finish it easily.

coralnut99 · #29 07/19/2007, 11:24 AM

Since he's trying to match furniture I doubt it's PT lumber he's looking at. I've seen lumber-grade 4X4's at HD every so often.

If you look through your phone book, you just might find a local sawmill that will be able to cut, and plane one for you. You'll most likeley end up with very square corners, as opposed to the rounded corners on construction lumber. Rounding those off with sandpaper would be a lot easier than trying to make furniture-grade lumber out of what HD sells.

BeanAnimal · #30 07/19/2007, 12:12 PM

yup.. .in this area there are plenty of lumber mills that sell posts and "crib block" to mines. It is all hardwood and not treated (a lot of locust). rough 4x4 and 6x6 are the most common sizes.

Reeferon · #31 07/19/2007, 03:12 PM

I have noticed that HD has better lumber than Lowes. I would buy it there and then dand it down with a vibrating sander.
First use 60 grit, then medium grit, then 220 grit. It should come out real smooth with this procedure

dhogan · #32 07/19/2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by iansfishy
um i think thats a planer. look around -other places will have planed wood

Sorry to get off topic but that isn't a planer. It iis a sander.

As many have mentioned just get a sander, just realize the quality of the wood will depend on your artistic ability.

stringcheese · #33 07/19/2007, 03:36 PM

BUY PREMIUM PRESSURE TREATED BEAMS.
YOU MAY HAVE TO SPECIAL ORDER.

jman77 · #34 07/19/2007, 03:43 PM

pick the best non warped beams at the store...then belt sand if you have to .

Reeferon · #35 07/19/2007, 04:02 PM

a belt sander will be overkill for this type of project.

get a vibrating sander... you will be able to use it for other stuff also

BeanAnimal · #36 07/19/2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by stringcheese
BUY PREMIUM PRESSURE TREATED BEAMS.
YOU MAY HAVE TO SPECIAL ORDER.

Pressure treated lumber is not really suitable for indoor use (prohibited by code) and can also be bad for the reef, as well as being hard to finish nicely.

I used PT 4x4s to build the legs of my inwall stand, but they are primed and painted and I could care less about the code.

Trying to build something furniture grade out of them is another story.

coolfish5 · #37 07/19/2007, 09:22 PM

I built a stand out of cedar, as our local home depot stocked cedar 4x4's and that was the only thing in that size untreated. Just a thought, we used a belt sander to smooth them down and put a light stain and polyurethane on them. Cedar is a darker than pine. But obviously it depends on what you are trying to match.
Just a thought,
John

coralnut99 · #38 07/20/2007, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by coolfish5
I built a stand out of cedar, as our local home depot stocked cedar 4x4's and that was the only thing in that size untreated. Just a thought, we used a belt sander to smooth them down and put a light stain and polyurethane on them. Cedar is a darker than pine. But obviously it depends on what you are trying to match.
Just a thought,
John

Cedar 4X4's must look really nice! Some HD stock cedar, but I've only seen 1 X boards.

Just wanted to note that if you use a solvent-based poly or some other solvent based finish, the pine will darken substantially over time. Depending on the species, it will end up being almost as dark as the cedar does initially, without any staining. Unless you use a water-based finish, or use a sealer before applying a solvent-based finish, the darkening process is inevitable.

slavearm · #39 07/20/2007, 08:33 AM

You guys are retarded. When you want to straighten wood, you use a planer or jointer. For a 4x4 I would highly advocate using a jointer. You can get a cheapo ryobi at home depot for like 150, and should be just big enough for a 4x4. If you plan on doing woodworking in the future, buy something a little better with at least a 6" cutter and a lot longer bed.

coralnut99 · #40 07/20/2007, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by slavearm
You guys are retarded. When you want to straighten wood, you use a planer or jointer. For a 4x4 I would highly advocate using a jointer. You can get a cheapo ryobi at home depot for like 150, and should be just big enough for a 4x4. If you plan on doing woodworking in the future, buy something a little better with at least a 6" cutter and a lot longer bed.

I'm outta here.

slavearm · #41 07/20/2007, 10:56 AM

I was referring to all the bickering going on. Take it as you will.

He did mention the 4x4s were warped, best of luck trying to sand warp out of wood.

samtheman · #42 07/31/2007, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
Pressure treated lumber is not really suitable for indoor use (prohibited by code) and can also be bad for the reef, as well as being hard to finish nicely.

I used PT 4x4s to build the legs of my inwall stand, but they are primed and painted and I could care less about the code.

Trying to build something furniture grade out of them is another story.

I would like to hear the other story.

Lucky Strike · #43 07/31/2007, 09:58 PM

my vote is for unsupervised child, 13ish.

RumLad · #44 08/01/2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Strike
my vote is for unsupervised child, 13ish.

My question would be why is his membership allowed to continue on RC? I know of several members who have been "moved on" for much less offending matters.

As for the wood debate, most HD/Lowes sell cedar 4x4's that are relatively smooth as is. If that's not an option then I would go with the planar/joiner brigade, as the finished product will be much better than with a belt sander in an inexperienced woodworkers hands.

My .02