Question for woodworkers

[newideas2013]

I'm interested in starting some basic furniture building and was curious about buying rough lumber. I've never been anywhere other then big box stores like Home Depot where they carry dimensional lumber and 3/4" panels.

On things like custom dining room tables where do you find thick table tops? Say you want a surface 4'x2' about 2" thick of solid wood. Could you find boards as wide as 2' at a thickness of 8/4" at a lumber yard or must you glue multiple boards together lengthwise to create such a surface?

[Random]

Depends on where you are.  Yes, you can glue up pieces, but best if they are well matched.  This is not a lumber yard or box store purchase.  You need a yard that specializes in hardwoods.  You may also want to find a custom sawmill if such a thing exists near you.  Finally, older trees on an urban environment can be a source of great wood if they are being taken down for safety purposes.  Yu need to find a good custom sawyer for this.

[newideas2013]

Would you say your common dining room table or dresser top or even coffee table is glued together to create the illusion of being a 1 piece top, or is it actually a 1 piece top? Can glued pieces loom so natural they simply look like 1 piece to the naked eye, especially after sanding and wood staining?

[Jamesqf]

This depends on what you consider "common".  A lot of seemingly-solid wood articles are in fact veneers of expensive/rare wood over either cheaper wood or plywood.

Now I am far from an expert, but I believe there's a pretty practical reason for this.  Wood tends to warp as it dries, so unless your large piece of wood is carefully cured (and properly sawn in the first place), your finished article may warp months or years after it's finished.

[gooki]

For table tops you usually joint (glue and clamp) equal widths of timber together. Proper construction should allow for expansion/contraction of the wood.

If you can't be bothered with this look into bamboo panels.

[Woodshark]

Short answer is yes, local lumberyards can get you 8/4 lumber. Just ask.   Long answer is that stuff s EXPENSIVE.   Questions to ask yourself before hand. Do you really need 8/4 or just like the look?  Also, do you have a joiner and planer to prep the lumber?  Do you have room to store it while it acclimates?  How are you going to glue it up? How are you going to flatten it?  It's all a lot of work. Much easier (and more stable) to veneer a thin piece of solid wood over furniture grade plywood and wrap the edges in solid wood to match.

 You might be a pro with tons of tools or you might be a beginner, I don't know. But for anyone looking for easy to build tables and other home projects I would recommend looking at ana-white.com.