# Question Of The Week... (2021 week 26)



## ripjack13 (Jun 27, 2021)

*What do you think are some of the biggest myths in woodworking today?*





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**Rules**
There is no minimum post requirement,
primates, woodticks, wood spinners, and leprechauns are welcome to post an answer.
And of course the  and the doc too....
You're gonna need a bigger boat.


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## ripjack13 (Jun 27, 2021)

Thanks everyone for stopping in.
This is the last QotW for the summer. I'll be taking some time off till the last week of September. I'll still be around here on WB, I'm just taking some time off to come up with a new batch of questions....The grand kiddo is getting bigger and staying over on the weekends through the summer and loves fishing, so we'll be doing that and other fun stuff. (and, I'm running low on ideas.)
The monthly 13 Questions Interview series will still be run though.
Thank you all for taking the time to follow along every week and post up your answers.
I look forward to seeing you all again Sunday mornings in 13 weeks.
Cheers....
Marc

Reactions: Like 6 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (Jun 27, 2021)

It is dry- To elaborate " cut last month so well on way to dry" Me- No it is dead. "Cut into lumber last month but was cut down 4 years ago and it is very dry" Me- No it is Very dead.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 3 | Funny 1


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## woodtickgreg (Jun 27, 2021)

Enjoy your time Marc! You deserve it. I absolutely love qotw and will be waiting for its return. 
Biggest myth, air dried lumber isn't any good for furniture building.
I pretty much use it exclusively in my projects and actually find it a little easier to work with than kiln dried lumber as it's not as brittle and splintery. Wood that has been air dried in your area is already at the humidity equilibrium for your are. For me it's about 12% to 18% anything in that range will be stable enough for me to use in furniture projects. Now for a person in a drier climate it would probably need to be lower.
I only see two real advantages to kiln dried lumber, the big one is dry time is far shorter. And the second one is getting the temps up to kill bugs. But I haven't had an issue with either one actually. What people need to understand is that wood is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture as well as releases it, it will find it's own equilibrium for the humidity level in its environment. When you build furniture with wood you have to allow for movement whether its kiln or air dried. So even 8% kiln dried lumber will absorb moister to the humidity level of its environment. I have made projects with bread board ends and they are only flush once when first built, after that they move constantly as much as 1/8" to 1/4" seasonally. In the humid summer here in Michigan they swell, and shrink in the drier winter. So having a moisture meter is only important to know what the moisture level is when you start a project to know if you are in an acceptable range for your area, it's going to constantly change after that.
Plus air dried lumber can usually be purchased for less money than kiln dried for those that buy wood.

Reactions: Like 4 | Informative 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Jun 27, 2021)

Great answer. Thought Rocky was back as long of a reply as it is. Miss Rocky wish he would stop in

Reactions: Agree 5 | Funny 1


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## Lou Currier (Jun 27, 2021)

Thanks @ripjack13 ...abosolutely love the QofTW!! 

I Think a myth is that woodworking is hard to do. I wouldn't say it's easy but as long as you have the right guidance and practice good safety, most anyone can work with wood. I think the two biggest fears are 1. the tools involved (those big saws can be scary ) and 2. some people do not think they have creative abilities). You will never know unless you try....that's how I got into woodturning, I tried it....now my bank account hates me

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jun 28, 2021)

Not sure about biggest... most prevalent is that if so and so sells it, it has to be okay. They are a big name brand and wouldnt sell junk. Truth is , if it ain't solid wood you will probably regret it. And if you haven't had a craftsman on it whether in a factory setting or in a home shop, you will still likely regret it. Not all those "antiques" are all that and a bag of chips either. I need to shoot some pictures of a Frankenstein dresser that my wife bought cause it was old and solid wood. It was also made of 2 different pieces of furniture, one of which was actually a wash stand.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Mike Hill (Jun 29, 2021)

"This is the best finish in the world - so easy to apply and lasts forever with no maintenance"

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1 | Funny 4


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## Mike1950 (Jun 29, 2021)

Solid wood vs ??. They have been using plywood in panels and drawer bottoms for a couple hundred years quite successfully. Wide thin panels of solid wood normally are not stable. Veneer has been used longer. With success. 
Particle board is heavy, low strength and has zero tolerance for water intrusion. Obviously whomever invented it did not have children. 
In our quest to have more nice stuff, buying cheap Chinese crap is not the way. I have quality furniture I bought used in early 70s. Our living room has 2 pieces of furniture built this century. A temporary coffee table 20 years old and a barristers bookcase I built. Buy or built quality stuff that lasts a lifetime. Costs more initially but once you pay for cheap crap 3 or 4 times it is far from cheap.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Mike Hill (Jun 29, 2021)

Not sure if a couple hundred years - I think the first patent on plywood was in mid-1860's. Even then, flat stuff wasn't the big thing but curvy, molded, stuff with glued together thin strips as in some of the bombe style furniture - not really the plywood sheets we know today. That technique probably goes back to the ancients. I swear I saw some I would bet was laminated in the Museum in Cairo. Haven't seen much "plywood" panels used in furniture until after turn of the century. But agree about everything else except need to add Vietnam to the cheap stuff. At one time a whole lot of cheap (but brand name) furniture was coming from Vietnam. They more or less closed down the North Carolina factories with the importation of the cheap stuff. We currently don't have any pieces of furniture from 1700's at home, but have had and still have some from early 1800's and can attest to the longevity of the solid stuff!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike1950 (Jun 29, 2021)

Mike Hill said:


> Not sure if a couple hundred years - I think the first patent on plywood was in mid-1860's. Even then, flat stuff wasn't the big thing but curvy, molded, stuff with glued together thin strips as in some of the bombe style furniture - not really the plywood sheets we know today. That technique probably goes back to the ancients. I swear I saw some I would bet was laminated in the Museum in Cairo. Haven't seen much "plywood" panels used in furniture until after turn of the century. But agree about everything else except need to add Vietnam to the cheap stuff. At one time a whole lot of cheap (but brand name) furniture was coming from Vietnam. They more or less closed down the North Carolina factories with the importation of the cheap stuff. We currently don't have any pieces of furniture from 1700's at home, but have had and still have some from early 1800's and can attest to the longevity of the solid stuff!


Maybe my bad on word plywood but laminated thin strips of wood go way back.

Reactions: +Karma 1


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