Although some people find it boring, rough milling is one of my favorite parts of a project. I like the process of getting to know a gnarly rough-cut plank of wood, learning the grain patterns and color that hide just under the surface, and then turning it into perfectly formed components of a piece of furniture. This transformation is the most exciting and dramatic that you’ll encounter throughout the entire construction process. You never quite know what you’ve got until you make that first cut.
I detailed the technical process of rough milling in a previous post (Nightstand Project: Rough Milling the Legs). Today, I just wanted to give you all a quick update on my progress. As you can see below, I’ve been busy milling lumber.
This is about 85% of the parts needed to build two nightstand carcases. Since these pieces are rough milled, none are at their final dimensions yet. They are all approximately 1/4″ too large in thickness and width. Also, they are all extra long to accommodate the tenons that will but cut later.
At this stage, all the parts can start to look alike, so I’m careful to label each piece in white chalk. In some cases, I also mark which dimension I consider to be the “thickness” to avoid errors when I finish mill them later.
I have four carcase parts left to mill. The rough chunks of wood that I plan to use for them are pictured below. The two smaller pieces will yield one part each, and the larger piece of wood will yield two parts.
Since I’m careful to mill my lumber for optimal grain patterns, I usually expect to have a reasonable amount of waste. On this project, however, I’ve been lucky so far. My lumber has cooperated, which means my waste pile is fairly small. I think that a couple of these pieces of wood could still be used later in the project.
This weekend I plan to finish rough milling those last four parts for the carcase, and I’ll start rough milling some 4/4 material for the side and back panels. I won’t finish mill or glue up the panels until right before I’m ready for assembly, however. I want to give them little to no opportunity to twist and warp out on me. Time permitting, I’ll also get back to working on my prototype leg.
Stay tuned!
To view the entire Nightstand Project series, please visit my project page.
