Popular Woodworking 2008-06 № 169, страница 55

Yup, from the home center. These Egg Crate Shelves (from the August 2006 issue, #156) were built in a couple afternoons with materials and tools from the home center.

materials there, but you also don't have to trek out to some exotic hardwood supplier, learn the foreign language of lumber and spend a ridiculous sum on wood for a purpleheart planter box.

The truth is, you can build a lot of nice things with the run-of-the-mill (literally) lumber and plywood from a home center. You just have to learn how to shop for it.

Let's talk about home-center wood. In gen

eral, you are going to find lots of construction lumber-white pine, yellow pine, Douglas fir and perhaps hemlock. This is sold in thicknesses best for construction: 2x4s, 2x6s,2x8s and so on. There are times you are going to want to pick through this stuff, but when you do, you need to know that it is usually too wet to be used immediately for furniture. If you buy construction lumber, take it home, crosscut it to rough length and let it dry out for a couple weekends before you dive in. You'll be glad you did.

In addition to construction lumber, you'll find hardwoods and softwoods that are thinner and designed to be used for trimwork in a house and even furniture. This stuffhas been planed to ³4" thick and is in convenient fur-niture-sized hunks. But you need to be quite wary of it. Why?

Well, first off, this stuff is far more expensive than wood will be at an old-fashioned lumberyard - convenience costs, I tell you. And though it's quite expensive, the really flat and clear boards are just as overpriced as the warped, knotty and split ones.

So sort though the entire pile of wood when looking for boards. Yes, you might get dirty looks from the employees; but ifyou are going to pay $30 for a pine 1x12, then by God you should get the best one in the store. When you are done, re-assemble the store's wood pile so it's better than you found it.

What sort of furniture woodsare you going to find at the home center? For the most part, lots of pine, red oak, poplar, and s

maple and aspen. You can build a lot of nice stuff using this wood, especially if you are willing to paint your projects (we'll talk about finishing next).

Also, don't forget to visit the moulding section of the home center. You can get away with a lot of store-bought moulding when building furniture - you don't have to have a router. And the nice thing is that most stores sell the moulding by the linear foot, so you can cut what you need right there (and get some practice with a handsaw.)

As far as fasteners go, let me put one little bug in your ear. The worst thing you can do is to buy screws and other fasteners in those little boxes and plastic bags. You know, the ones that have five wood screws in them. Those are, for the most part, made from soft metal and cost too much. If I have to buy screws at a home center, I'll buy a box of 100 or more that are intended for home builders. Heck, I'd buy dry wall screws before I'd buy the little

And as far as glues go, you're in luck. Home centers have a great selection of glue. Just don't buy the no-name stuff. It might be great. It might not. The name brands (Titebond, Pro-bond, Gorilla) don't cost much more.

Finishing Materials

When it comes to finishing materials you are in tremendous luck when it comes to shopping at a home center. Ifyou know what to look for you can achieve almost any kind of finish you desire.

wood How to be clever. The online manual helps you figure out how to do many complex operations with

It's up to you to find the good simple tools. You don't need 10 clamps

stuff. Sighting down the edge ofa board will reveal twisting or cupping.

i flat panel. One clamp and a few well-placed