NEVER use this to make furniture

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I made a coffee table with construction lumber and I want to share with you a bunch of tips and tricks to make a successful furniture project with 2x material.

I made this table for a friend of mine, yes its a little small but he lives in a tiny condo.

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[BillCoale]

Fantastic content. You have that rare triple threat combination of clearly knowing your sh*t, the ability to distill it into digestible bits, and the presence and humor to make it fun to learn. Edutainment at its best!

[Cocpain]

As a carpenter (cabinets, and furniture, but I have been known to frame from time to time, or build a set of steps) i knew the short falls of mass produced construction lumber in a finished piece. Why i tuned in was to see if you were another one of the "purists" that believe only the finest hardwoods should be used in furniture. Pleasantly surprised that you actually gave quality information about wood selection, and milling practices, and short falls with grain structure, well done.
I would say though, using low quality wood is good for some one new to the craft. It is lower stakes, and with all it's BS you have to work around, if you can turn out quality making something beautiful out of a top notch hard wood is less anxiety inducing seeing how you honed your skills with lower stakes.

[TheBeaker]

If I could add a comment, I built a small boat recently (I try to build one about once every two years) usually out of good grade boat building timber. This time as an exercise I tried to build this one as cheap as possible from reclaimed wood, construction ply etc to see if its possible. If this was a commercial enterprise this would be the most expensive boat build I have done, yes the wood cost near nothing but the extra epoxy, labour, prep work, filler and paint far outweighed any gain in cost of materials. I did learn allot though.

[CristopherCutas]

I want more videos... It feels like seeing Linus Tech Tips but for woodworking. There are so many things I want to learn about being a handyman in general and you seem to be a perfect host for such an audience.

[frankpratt]

Hey Scott, this is hands down the finest video I've ever seen on building furniture with construction lumber. There is a whole lot of solid, accurate and balance info crammed into less than 15 minutes. And the finished piece is probably the only stain job on soft wood that looks really decent, other than maybe sprayed on toner.

Personally, I never build any furniture out of construction lumber that isn't for the shop or some other purely utilitarian purpose.

[matthewmousseau]

Phenomenal breakdown of how the grain affects the end product and how you can use what you have to better effect! Thank you for putting this together.

[ksard]

This is one of the best videos I have seen. Lots of great info and entertaining enough to keep me interested the whole way through. Great job!

[TheHeadincharge]

I think construction grade lumber is great for what it is. The issues occur when people try to turn it into something it isn’t. If you embrace soft pine for what it is, all the knots and imperfections that go along it, then you’re going to have much more success with this wood and it will maintain its benefits of cost effectiveness and easy availability.

[codyhildebrand]

So it is possible to be a scholar, a gentleman and a normal person simultaneously. Well done.

[typeosign]

For pine, I also recommend sealing it with a wood conditioner or thinned down shellac before applying the gel stain. I also highly recommend experimenting with dyes instead of stains. The color can actually look a lot more natural because there isn't nearly as much of a dramatic grain reversal as there is with stains....

I also highly recommend not staining it. Especially when you've taken the time to plane and joint the material to a beautiful finish. Even if you don't love the look of freshly milled pine, it tends to age into some really beautiful colors. A lot of people, especially beginners (including myself), tend to assume applying a stain is part of the finishing process. But if you keep an open mind and let the beauty of the natural wood speak for itself, you'd be surprised at how pretty pine furniture can be.

[pumpkinheadghoul]

FYI: Another reason to purchase 2x12s, as long as you have a table saw to rip them on, rather than purchasing 2x4s is because 2x4s sell much faster than the larger cuts, which means 2x4s will almost always be the freshest boards in the entire store, and have had the least amount of time to dry out, where as 2x12s are much more likely to have sat around much longer and had more time to dry out. You can visit a big box store, pick through a stack of 2x4s and return two days later to find a brand new stock of 2x4s just delivered since you were last there. Doing the same with 2x12s, then return a weeks or a month later and there's a much greater likelihood you'll be picking through the exact same stack of 2x12s you saw sitting there weeks earlier.

[romlyn]

Every beginner wood worker needs to watch this video. Such useful information on how to get wood... I mean how to buy and cut lumber.

[kamikazeslammer]

I'm a total novice, I've used dimensional lumber for a pet gate and all slats were done with mortise and tenon joints. I also have a biscuit joiner I got from a yard sale for like $10. That Venn diagram should at least have a 1 person overlap 😁

Really enjoyed this video!

[wboquist]

One exception to the advice you gave, I think, is for salvaged lumber from older structures. I recently remodeled a kitchen in an mid 20th century tract house that was definitely not high-end construction. Nevertheless, about half of the 2 X 4 studs I removed during the demolition were clear, and the ones that were not clear generally had only one knot in them. Even most of the plaster grounds I removed were cut from clear lumber. And, they were dead straight, with about 20 growth rings per inch. I have reused some of them already, with excellent results.

[jamesjames]

Very well done. First time watching something from you. I really like that you discussed the real cost and considered the waste verses looking for better or more suitable lumber. I have been woodworking for years and have noticed there are some interesting views and techniques on YouTube. People often don't think about true cost. I look forward to seeing more from you

[JohnD-JohnD]

My computer desk that I'm using right now to watch this video was made with construction grade lumber. (joined 2x6's for the top, 2x4's for leg cross supports, and 4x4' legs).
It's about 15 years old, still looks great and still strong as it was when I made it. Took me a couple days to make it, and I think I spent around $50 in wood, and less than $100 for the whole project after stain, glue, screws, etc.. I've made tables and other pieces out of Walnut, Maple, Ash, etc, , as well, and yeah they look nice too, but cost 10X as much.

[tapajapa]

It's an understatement to say I watch a lot of woodworking content on YouTube. I'm shocked I haven't seen your work until now. You're videos have instantly become some of my favorite content. You manage to hit the sweet spot between incredible talent that many can aspire to while simultaneously being approachable and grounded in the realities amateurs face. I can't wait to see what you put out next!

[unstopology]

This video, thoroughly, explains why I have so many barrel sawnas laying around. Thanks!

[mcremona]

Maybe try to cram a bit more info in next time

[Mr-Ling]

This video was suprising, you have great comedy and the pacing of the video was excellent