Does S3 lumber still needs jointing?

Woodshop
#1

I’m planning on making a coffee table top. Trying to decide if I want to buy rough or s3. If I were to buy S3, it would just be for convenience. I’ve never bought S3 before. I’m curious to know people’s experience with it. Can I go straight to glue up after cutting off the rough edge(that kind of seems hard to imagine)? Or do I have to do some minor jointing first?

If I can’t go straight to glue up, I’ll probably just buy rough. I’d hate to buy S3 at the thickness I want and then have to joint it thinner.

What’s your experience?

#2

This is a good question. I believe that all of the processing or milling of lumber on any of the 4 sides before purchasing is hit and miss; S3 or otherwise. I suspect it meets the minimum requirements of people who make things which are not built to cabinetry tolernances or a coffee table tolerances. I also suspect many don’t have access to proper jointers or planers.

If you have access to a beautiful large joiner like we have at DMS I would buy the rough cut lumber and joint it at DMS. Wood by nature contracts and expands with moisture content and as such you will have the best results with milling it and then gluing it soon thereafter. (Assuming it is completely dried already)

How much work is it to pass your lumber through the jointer a few times? I don’t know what your time or cost contraints are nor your skill at milling but if I were doing it I would purchase the rough lumber and mill it myself. Besides, it is just a beautiful thing to mill a piece of wood and see the grain and figure beneath.

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#3

Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree that it isn’t too hard to mill and I could use the practice anyways. Seems like the safe thing is to do it myself, that takes all of the quality questions out.

Thanks for the response!

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#4

It’s funny he said hit and miss cause that’s actually the term for when they run it through the planner just enough to trim down some of the flat spots but still leave some rough patches hints it’s name! But even with lumber I’ve previously milled perfectly and then I let sit for a period of time in storage I always go back and remill lumber just because wood “breaths” meaning it’ll take in moisture and expand and then release moisture and contract so even a piece that was perfect will always move depending on what stage of the breathing cycle it’s in, so especially when talking about boards that have been milled then traveled across the country on the back of an open air truck they will move considerably just based of moisture in the area in different states so to get great results jointing is always a must

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#5

That and honestly one of my favorite things is getting new lumber and milling it, it’s a lot more enjoyable when you don’t view it as work but instead look at it like you’re creating the materials to literally make anything you want!