I went to the wood section of Home Depot

[Mahaguru]

and the board like pieces weren't very straight.

There were three sections. First was the 2X4 like pieces of wood in different sizes. Second was the plywood section. Again, they were long, but not broad. Then there was the decorative wood, which was again just long pieces.

I was looking to make a simple table, 4 legs with a rectangular piece of wood on top, 5 feet long, 3 feet wide. There were plenty of options for legs, but I didn't see what I would use for a table top.

 

[Mo0o]

There's a penis joke in there somewhere

 

[tasmanian]

Thats why you buy a planer.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Mahaguru
and the board like pieces weren't very straight.

There were three sections. First was the 2X4 like pieces of wood in different sizes. Second was the plywood section. Again, they were long, but not broad. Then there was the decorative wood, which was again just long pieces.

I was looking to make a simple table, 4 legs with a rectangular piece of wood on top, 5 feet long, 3 feet wide. There were plenty of options for legs, but I didn't see what I would use for a table top.

1) All lumber comes in precut sizes, if you want different sizes you have to ask the store.

2) Home depot gets the terrible wood.

 

[legoman666]

builder's first choice

 

[z0mb13]

Did you get wood?

 

[Terabyte]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
Did you get wood?

Apparently, he couldn't get wood.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Terabyte

Originally posted by: z0mb13
Did you get wood?

Apparently, he couldn't get wood.

He complained of bent wood.

 

[paulney]

You are looking at the wrong grade of wood. If your local HD doesn't have anything better, go to a lumber yard.
They will have a much wider selection and will cut it for you right there, too. The lumber yard staff is much more professional and knowledgeable than a typical lumber section staffer at HD. Prices could be somewhat higher though.

 

[Leros]

Home Depot doesn't have much furniture grade wood.

 

[imported_Devine]

How ghetto of a table are we talking about here? Im pretty sure plywood normally comes in 3'x5', then get a couple long 2"x4" and a circular saw and cut to whatever size you need.

 

[BigJ]

If you're not shopping in the morning or when they drop fresh bundles, you're getting the shit wood that the contractors are smart enough not to buy. All the top choice lumber will go out with them when they come to purchase it in the morning or when the pullers make up job orders for the Pro Desk.

Also, we will do approximate cuts. Cuts can be +/- up to 1/4" in some cases, but typically will be +/- 1/8". We do not shave pieces off of wood when we cut it. So if you need an inch taken off, it ain't happening. We have two saws to cut down plywood or long, thinner pieces of wood (don't expect to get a 6x6 cut). We also do not cut pressure treated lumber.

 

[dawp]

Originally posted by: Devine
How ghetto of a table are we talking about here? Im pretty sure plywood normally comes in 3'x5', then get a couple long 2"x4" and a circular saw and cut to whatever size you need.

plywood come in 4x8 ft sheets as does sheetrock, tho sheetrock also comes on greater lenths. and most places will cut it to a requested size.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Devine
How ghetto of a table are we talking about here? Im pretty sure plywood normally comes in 3'x5', then get a couple long 2"x4" and a circular saw and cut to whatever size you need.

You're thinking of Hardibacker. Most common size stocked at HD for plywood is 4'x8'.

 

[Billb2]

Originally posted by: Mahaguru
Second was the plywood section. Again, they were long, but not broad.

Either you were looking in the wrong place, or they were out of plywood sheets (not likely)

Plywood comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets in thickness from 1/8 inch to 3/4 inch.
It would be hard to miss.
Most places pre-cut it into smaller sizes as a lot of people don't need a full sheet.

And if you can't figure out how to make a table top out of 1 by lumber, maybe table making isn't for you.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Chuckle, I believe the op is looking for a single piece of solid wood 3 feet wide.

 

[loup garou]

I'm having a hard time taking this guy seriously...

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Chuckle, I believe the op is looking for a single piece of solid wood 3 feet wide.

Bulk wood?

 

[Anubis]

he wants a table top plywood wont work, to the OP you are gonna be hard pressed to find say a 3x5 piece of say pine that is 3/4 of an inch thick,

most if not all table tops are boards normally 2x6s or 2x8s that are put together to make the size/shape of the table top, if they arnt made that way they are veenered MDF or particleboard from 1/2-1 inch thick in general.

you can get prefabed table tops but they are expensive, to make your own you will need as i listed above some boards 2/6s or 2/8s to attach to each other ive done this useing 2x4s, its pretty easy

 

[Vette73]

Go to a real wood shop. Lowes, HD, etc... are mostly for builders.

I have bought Wenge, Cedar, cherry, etc... from many places. The Cherry was craigslist. Wenge was a place that imports wood (got it at a great price). Cedar was from a forum of wood workers and this guy cuts wood for the group when he gets enough orders. Funny when I paid him he asked where my truck was. I then pointed him to my Saab.



But to the op. Most wood is joined now. Large flat peices are hard to come by and they can cost a small fortune depending on the wood and grade. I have a 8" FoxShop jointer and a 15" planner that will make all my peices the same thickness and then I join them to make 1 large peice.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Just buy a table. It'll be much easier than trying to track down the appropriate wood and tools and learning how to build a table from scratch.