Building shit is expensive!

[Kenyth]

I built the three gates for my fence using pressure treated lumber and spring hinges. By the time I was done, I had $130 worth of lumber and hinges! That doesn't include the price of the nails or screws, and I haven't even bought the cane bolt for the double gate yet (another 8 bucks)!

Here I thought DIY was supposed to be cheap!

On the plus side, nail guns are fun!

[kevin7]

Check out your local tract housing development for supplies. I know a dude who built his house courtesy of CP Morgan

[badwhale]

I built the three gates for my fence using pressure treated lumber and spring hinges. By the time I was done, I had $130 worth of lumber and hinges! That doesn't include the price of the nails or screws, and I haven't even bought the cane bolt for the double gate yet (another 8 bucks)!

Here I thought DIY was supposed to be cheap!

On the plus side, nail guns are fun!

Next time, price out a contractor, and you'll change your mind again.

Will

[Kenyth]

It's just funny how quick those "cheap" boards all add up. I screwed up and bought 8ft 2x4's. I needed primarily 3 foot lengths for the frame, so I should have bought 10 ft. ones to minimize the waste.

[Kenyth]

Check out your local tract housing development for supplies. I know a dude who built his house courtesy of CP Morgan

He picked up stuf out of the .........ummmmm....."scrap" pile, right?

[mrtr33]

I've built functional things, such as a frame for the bed of my truck, a workbench, etc. out of 2X4's. I don't use treated lumber, usually. Probably should have with the truck bed frame. Anyways, it wasn't so much that the wood was expensive (I can buy a 2X4X96" for $1.67 here), but the hardware - I think I paid a dollar a bold the last time I put it together. For me, that is where the expense lies.

When I'm building furniture or other household goods, I usually use oak. In part because I don't really know 100% what the finished product is going to look like. I have used black walnut, I have also used birch. For carving, I actually prefer oak. That gets expensive, but I usually don't have tons of that stuff around, either. AND I'm not building a fence out of the stuff.

Another option I've been enjoying since moving back to the south are going around collecting fallen wood, trees in the aftermath of a storm. I picked up some nice logs after a storm took down a few big trees in the past month or so. I realize I need to let that stuff dry out for a while, but am not really sure how long. They are really nice blocks, and I know I want to carve a bowl out of one, but am kind of at a loss as to where to go from here.

[badwhale]

I've built functional things, such as a frame for the bed of my truck, a workbench, etc. out of 2X4's. I don't use treated lumber, usually. Probably should have with the truck bed frame. Anyways, it wasn't so much that the wood was expensive (I can buy a 2X4X96" for $1.67 here), but the hardware - I think I paid a dollar a bold the last time I put it together. For me, that is where the expense lies.

When I'm building furniture or other household goods, I usually use oak. In part because I don't really know 100% what the finished product is going to look like. I have used black walnut, I have also used birch. For carving, I actually prefer oak. That gets expensive, but I usually don't have tons of that stuff around, either. AND I'm not building a fence out of the stuff.

Another option I've been enjoying since moving back to the south are going around collecting fallen wood, trees in the aftermath of a storm. I picked up some nice logs after a storm took down a few big trees in the past month or so. I realize I need to let that stuff dry out for a while, but am not really sure how long. They are really nice blocks, and I know I want to carve a bowl out of one, but am kind of at a loss as to where to go from here.

Find a sawmill who'll cut it up for you. Or you can invest in an alaskan saw.
This will tell you if its dry enough, but plan on it sittin green for about a year (unless you have a solar dryer or something to accelerate)

Will

[Kenyth]

I've built functional things, such as a frame for the bed of my truck, a workbench, etc. out of 2X4's. I don't use treated lumber, usually. Probably should have with the truck bed frame. Anyways, it wasn't so much that the wood was expensive (I can buy a 2X4X96" for $1.67 here), but the hardware - I think I paid a dollar a bold the last time I put it together. For me, that is where the expense lies.

When I'm building furniture or other household goods, I usually use oak. In part because I don't really know 100% what the finished product is going to look like. I have used black walnut, I have also used birch. For carving, I actually prefer oak. That gets expensive, but I usually don't have tons of that stuff around, either. AND I'm not building a fence out of the stuff.

Another option I've been enjoying since moving back to the south are going around collecting fallen wood, trees in the aftermath of a storm. I picked up some nice logs after a storm took down a few big trees in the past month or so. I realize I need to let that stuff dry out for a while, but am not really sure how long. They are really nice blocks, and I know I want to carve a bowl out of one, but am kind of at a loss as to where to go from here.

Drying big logs can take a long time IIRC. There was a show on about milling your own lumber once. You strip the bark and then let it sit on a dry level surface for up to a year depending on the wood and conditions. Then, you mill it and let the rough boards dry some more. Then, you plane the boards.

Outside conditions will deteriorate untreated lumber very quickly. Treated lumber is a little bit less than twice as expensive as untreated. You're correct about hardware though. The hinges were more than a third of the cost of the purchase.

[mrtr33]

Find a sawmill who'll cut it up for you. Or you can invest in an alaskan saw.
This will tell you if its dry enough, but plan on it sittin green for about a year (unless you have a solar dryer or something to accelerate)

Drying big logs can take a long time IIRC. There was a show on about milling your own lumber once. You strip the bark and then let it sit on a dry level surface for up to a year depending on the wood and conditions. Then, you mill it and let the rough boards dry some more. Then, you plane the boards.

I guess I should have been more specific. Sorry for hijacking this thread, Kenyth.

The log had been cut up in order to be thrown away easily. I just went by and picked them up when they were sitting on the side of the road. I got three of them. One is really wide, but maybe only a foot/foot and a half high. The other two are a bit narrower, but probably 2 feet high each. I don't want to plane them down. I want to carve them. They were heavier than all hell.

The wide one I want to make a salad bowl out of. I carve wooden spoons and forks that are about 16-18" long. They are meant to be for salad serving purposes. I usually carve those out of oak, sand the hell out of them (start with 80 grit down to #0000 steel wool) then use mineral oil to finish them. I was hoping to carve a bowl out of the wide one.

I don't mind waiting. I guess my biggest concern is that the wood will crack, flushing my bowl idea down the toilet.

On the untreated lumber: without going too much into detail, the frame on the truck was a temporary thing. Sometimes I needed a frame to carry extra big crap, or contain something, or carry something where I didn't want to purchase a huge truck cover. So, I just built a quickie frame, thinking that one day I would buy the treated lumber, get a custom canvas top, and do it right. Something to sleep under when camping. I've just never gotten that far, that's all. I bet the frame didn't cost $20, but more than half of that was for hardware.

[NullSmurf]

There is a question that I ask myself most every day. Which do I have more of: time or money? There is also the "manly" factor, applied mostly to the humble abode. I sometimes required one of my sons to cut the grass, but I mostly did it because it was a "manly" chore. You built the gate as a manly chore as well. Its your turf.

I'm need a wheelchair "garage" for the side of the house. Daughter's chair is too big to come in the house and luckily, she doesn't need it there. I'm getting one of those $200 Tupperware sheds (this one just big enough for the wheelchair) rather than building one. In this case, I have more money than time.

[DeeDubya]

I built the three gates for my fence using pressure treated lumber and spring hinges. By the time I was done, I had $130 worth of lumber and hinges! That doesn't include the price of the nails or screws, and I haven't even bought the cane bolt for the double gate yet (another 8 bucks)!

Here I thought DIY was supposed to be cheap!

On the plus side, nail guns are fun!

I have an affinity for nail guns. They make projects fun and the coated nails hold really well.

[QUOTE=NullSmurf;125550]There is a question that I ask myself most every day. Which do I have more of: time or money? There is also the "manly" factor, applied mostly to the humble abode. I sometimes required one of my sons to cut the grass, but I mostly did it because it was a "manly" chore. You built the gate as a manly chore as well. Its your turf.

For me it's therapy. Also, very rewarding, even if not the most professional job, I stand back and admire my work. Usually spot a mistake or two, but hey I only pay myself with cigars. Now I can sit back and enjoy a well-earned Camacho.