If you don't want to spend too much on lumber it is best to buy them while it is still green and just been cut by a sawmill. However if you purchase the lumber while it is still fresh means it can't be used for a while. The only alternative will be by purchasing dried lumbers from home improvement shops , that is if you have a lot of money but personally I'd like mine rough cut and prepared by me.

If you already have project in mind you may then plan for the materials you will need. This is a matter of locating a local sawmill and asking if they have any lumber of the species and quality you need. Chances are that they will have a pile lying around somewhere that you can sort through and take your pick of the boards. But remember this, "green lumber will shrink while drying!" So make sure you pick stock that is a little over sized.The prices of the lumber in the sawmill are really affordable so there is really no need for you to ask for more discount but if you've been a frequent customer they might be the one who will offer it to you.

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Drying the lumber will be the next thing you would want to do after bringing it home. Air drying is on of the ways to dry you green lumber this is done by piling your boards directly under the sun but protected from the rain Then you allow it to air-dry for roughly one year for every 1" of thickness. This means that 1" thick boards will air-dry for one year, 2" thick boards will dry for two years, and so on. A lumber can b allowed to dry inside the workshop after a year because it usually has 12%-18% moisture therefore it is not yet ready to be used.If your shop has low humidity you can let your lumber finish drying for a few weeks in there. I suggest that you buy a thermometer/hygrometer from Radio Shack. It is only about $40 and you can buy remote sensors for it to monitor other areas. The humidity in your shop should be under 50%RH to allow your lumber to finish drying down to 8% moisture content.

The other method of drying is to build a solar kiln. Plans for solar kilns can be found on the internet. You don't need much to have these built just a couple of hundred bucks and you have it. The green lumber can be placed immediately inside the solar kiln for it to start drying. Drying the lumber can sometimes depend on your location and the temperature however it usually takes 30-60 days to have it dried or reach the 6%-8% moisture to make it ready for use.

You can start processing the lumber as soon as its dried up. First thing you must do is joint one area of your plank. This can be accomplished by hand using a hand plane or perhaps the simple method by using a jointer. Cutting the board to your desired length is advised. And in order for you to have a uniform thickness you may now run through a thickness planer. This is for you to have an equal thickness . After you plane the board down to the final dimension, then you joint one edge either manually or by making use of a jointer. As soon as the board is planed you can now cut it to the final width. You can have this done by making use of saw to cut the board. To set your board to the desired width you can used the edge of the board as guide. After you have cut the final measurement you can now start building your project. Processing the rough boards yourself can really save you a lot of money than purchasing the ready made one from your home improvements shops