I am nearly finished dovetailing the carcass of the medium sized tool chest (just two sets of pins left), so it was time to hit up my local box store for some common pine and hobby oak.  As usual, I got weird looks from the contractors and floor staff as I dug through the 1×12 common pine boards for the flattest, clearest stock.

That’s enough for floorboards, trays (other than bottoms) and runners.

After about 30 mins, I had uncovered 24 board feet of common pine that otherwise would qualify as select pine but for some small live knots here and there.  One board has some pith in it, so I will rip it down to glue up a quarter-sawn lid for the tool chest.

This is the very worst board of the four and will do just fine as ship-lapped floorboards.

I never knew my local death star sold 1/4″ and 1/2″ red oak boards.  Best part is, if you’re thorough, you can find quarter- and rift-sawn pieces for the same price as the flat-sawn BS that makes up most of the package.  Stable and straight, with no thicknessing required.

These are destined to be the middle and top tray runners.

The other thing on my agenda is an outdoor bench for a buddy of mine.  I’m using off-cuts from dimensional pine 2×4’s for the frame and will probably use a piece of leftover 1×12 common pine for the seat.  We’ll see.

JPG