Hello, does anyone have a source for 12" x 12" x 1/4" solid walnut, cherry boards… finished or unfinished? Or, maybe a good mill where these could be made in quantities of 24 - 48.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Don
Assuming you don’t have a jointer, planer, and tablesaw you’ll probably want to find a small mom & pop cabinet shop near you. 12" is on the wide side for a single board so it’ll likely be glued up and for that you need a jointer so have the cabinet shop do it for you.
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Most affordable wood sources:
- scrounged local stuff — pallets, discarded furniture
- wood which one sources oneself — I harvest crepe myrtle and viburnum dentatum from plants which I planted in my yard
- local lumberyards — get rough cut for the best prices, often they’ll let you take stuff from their scrap pile for short money
- specialty lumberyards — if you’re lucky, one is local, e.g., http://www.dndhardwoodsonline.com/page/12150200
- specialty woodshops such as Woodcraft — I buy from them when stuff is on sale and put it away for when I find a suitable project
- home centers and big box stores — these should be a last resort unless sourcing construction grade lumber, and even then, it’s likely cheaper elsewhere
Tried to list sources here: https://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Vendors#Wood
Thank you… looking into this approach now.
Thanks Will… it appears DND and the others don’t offer 12" wide material.
Yeah, as @Punkinhead noted you’ll need to have that glued up most likely, or use plywood: http://www.dndplywoodonline.com/walnut
Interesting… this might work. How do you suppose this product would v-carve?
Thanks!
Plywood has a rather odd, layered appearance when one V carves, though folks have taken advantage of this for some designs: Cathedral, Game Of The Medieval City
Not to nitpick, I really appreciate the link, Will, but that’s not technically plywood. The two top layers are veneer but they’re glued to a solid wood substrate that’s 1/2" thick. Also, all layers have their grain running in the same direction.
As others have mentioned, that width of either cherry or walnut can be difficult, not impossible, to find. The real thing I’d be concerned with is the thickness you’re talking about. At 1/4" thick and 12" wide, unless you have a frame of some kind holding it, it will bow or potato chip quite a bit while or after you work it. My panel in those pics picked up a 1/8" bow right away but the frame around it kept it in check.
For stability at that thickness, plywood does seem to be the way to go. If he didn’t need so many pieces and had resaw capability, he could make his own shop sawn plywood. That would eliminate a little of the striped effect you mentioned, Will, and be a lot higher quality.
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My current products require v-carve text & designs in 12" x 12" x 1/4" thick walnut finish material with gold enamel paint fill. I’ve been using a product called “Hardwoods” by Rowmark http://www.rowmark.com/HardwoodCollection/hardwood.asp that is constructed of five single-ply, hardwood layers that are laminated together with their wood grains stacked at right angles to each other. It’s beautiful, but intended for laser engraving, not-so-much for v-carve. Jeremy’s evaluation of the material from DND seems to confirm exactly what I need. Thanks again for steering me in that direction… this forum is awesome!
Jeremy, your cathedral game box is absolutely beautiful! Just curious, what program and bits did you use to make the cover? Thank you for your comments regarding the synthetic walnut material from DND… it appears that it will resolve my problem of v-carving smooth images for enamel color filling. Don
Thanks so much! For the top logo and flourish, I used a 1" 90 degree V bit for the lettering and an 1/8" 30 degree for the flourish. The pockets in the walls were cleared first with a 1/4" EM then a 1/8 EM to 1/4" depth then either V carved or chamfered with the same 1" V bit. I used Vcarve Pro for both the CAD and CAM.
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Many thanks… this does look excellent! I will give them a call.
Don
Beware of http://www.dndplywoodonline.com/ They are selling sub-standard walnut veneer plywood, advertised at 1/4" thick that actually measures .185" (unpublished). I realize there is always a nominal variation in plywood thickness, but this is unacceptable. Plus, shipping & handling are excessive and they are clear to point out that is not refundable.
Sorry to hear about that — I’ve only bought their 1/8" thick material and it’s worked out well.
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