99% of Beginners Don't Know These 5 Mistakes Ruin Wood!

These 5 woodworking tips will help you store your lumber so it doesn't warp, twist and crack as much. I wish I had known about these woodworking tricks when I started. This video is not sponsored. Some product links are Amazon and other affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission. This helps support my channel so I can continue to make content like this.

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[Woodworks]

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Hardwood Suppliers I Use:
You'll receive wood that's dry and ready to use from these dealers:

Other Tools/Equipment I'm Asked About Often:

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Other useful links:

[handles]

I know I'm not the greatest woodworker around and have an awful long way to go, but I tell you what, when it comes to sitting around and doing nothing while the wood acclimates, I'm the best you'll ever see.

[MarkHolladay]

Really good advice I have a mill just under a mile away (I know what a blessing) and the fella who runs it has become one of my best friends. when wood a couple of years ago was skyrocketing he was selling me 1 1/4 " by 12" by 14" pine and poplar for $ 10.00 a plank and has been doing the same up to today I remolded our ranch home with all wood walls and floors and it turned out great I made wood hangers in my garage I have a 12 ft slab to joist so plenty of room for the 250 planks to dry out in. After serving in the Army in the 70's I started a small flat work concrete company and a small drywall one as well after 30 years of hanging drywall and pouring concrete I worked in a mine for a few years done a lot of trades but this retirement is by far the hardest work I've ever done but it's also the most fun I've had here deep in the mountains of TN/NC my wife and I are having a blast I put in a 3000 sq ft raised bed garden for her and we have 40 egg layers neighbors are far and few but great folks. we just celebrated our 40th and this old Christian is enjoying every day I refuse to retire when working on our little ranch is so much fun. Blessings :)

[paulhare]

I bought 3 bumper dragging loads of 16' pressure treated 2 bys "cull lumber" from Home Depot for a cabin I was building, about $100 a truck load. Seriously twisted up junk. I stacked them all in a block of sorts and ratchet strapped them tightly together and left them in the woods for acouple of months uncovered. They all straightend out perfectly.

[puntabachata]

Somebody share this video with Home Depot and their suppliers. They need it desperately.

[noyopacific]

I liked that you mentioned a dehumidifier. Once I was at my local lumber yard and noticed an odd unit if utility 1 X 4 Douglas fir that was of exceptional quality (all heart, vertical grain with very few knots) and less than 15% of the cost of clear heart, VG, kiln dried. My wife and I both LOVE Douglas fir. I picked out a lot of it. Put it in a room, stacked it with stickers, bound it with straps and turned on the dehumidifier for several weeks. The result was fantastic. We trimmed our guest cabin with it and it looked fantastic. It cost us less than $300 to trim a cabin with wood that would have otherwise cost almost $2, 000. Thanks for the video Matt !!!

[GraemePayneMarine]

I totally agree with the dehumidifier. I have had one in my shop for several years. It was initially there for MY comfort, but I soon noticed that the wood was acting nicer as well. Of course in the winter I am running a small humidifier instead, again for MY comfort. (I am up in central Maryland, so the air does get cold and dry.) At the start of the day the humidity may be as low as 20%, but even after running all day it only goes up to 30% so I'm not too worried about that.

[HalsPals]

I recently purchased redwood 2x4's and clamped them together to prevent warping as they dried. It worked and were good to go when I was ready for the project.

[fredyquiroz]

Very true.
I made a desk for my son, I bought the lumber about a year before I even decided to build him the desk. The lumber was from Home Depot, when I used it the pine 2X10s were so dry and light weight. Much easier to work with. I know that 1 year is a very long time but letting it dry does make a big difference. I think you see more of the twisting and bowing on projects that call for longer lengths. I build a dinning bench for a buddy that was 8 feet long and the top twisted within a week… I used the lumber right away after I bought it….


Lesson learned

[thereseboogades]

Great Information; thanks so much! Nice shop! I LOVE your t-shirt. ❤

[youflatscreentube]

I’m an novice, but a little tip I picked up to help prevent wood from shape-shifting is to always try and do the same thing on both sides on it; don’t just plane one side, or seal one side, etc.

[billwalter]

When I buy construction lumber, not only do I stack it off the ground supported as you suggest. But I stack it tightly together and wrap it every 4 feet or so with ratchet straps.
It takes longer to dry/acclimate, but all the warping forces cancel out and my lumber stays arrow straight. This works especially well with that dripping wet treated lumber.

[tomwilson]

Learning all time. Every day is a school day

[RaivoLaanemets]

Thanks for the video! Storing beams and planks directly on the concrete floor was exactly the mistake I was doing so far! No splits and cracks but slight twisting.

[MrSeaneboy]

Excellent topic ol boy. As a new woodworker I had an oak nightstand with Brazilian cherry top split after 3 months...both of them. Wood movement is a huge factor and one not discussed enough, not even close imo. One technique I've used with success is clamping boards together.

[boobbyjz]

Great video! Wood storage has been my most recent project.

Really glad to see your back to woodworking videos, and not just pitching tools. Love that there’s a reason to come watch again!

[poopee]

Lol...
I literally live on a family owned (going on 3rd generation) circle saw mill, and we almost do the opposite. We let our logs sit for years outside if possible, then cut it to order. After that, it sits outside off the ground until the client can pick it up...
of course, we deal mostly with construction stuff like lumber and turned logs so it needs to be able to adapt to random climates.

The blued pine though!

[devdoesitbest]

When I was cleaning out my grandfather's garage I found this perfect piece of 2x4 pine
It has to be the straightest piece of wood I've ever seen (at least compared to home Depot) especially for 200lbs of scrap wood sitting on it

[FixItFrench]

I use those exact wood storage racks. Personally I think anything you can store “overhead” you should. It not only protects your wood, but it really clears up space in the shop as well👍🏼

[niccolealdrich]

Here's a tip for you:
If you accidentally get an unwanted hammer mark in your wood, as long as it doesn't break or splinter, you can use a damp cloth with an iron to pull out the mark 😉