How To Make DIY Wood Paneling From Scrap Lumber And A Table Saw S11

I am making beautiful wood paneling for my tiny house using just a table saw and scrap lumber.

This is lumber from a closed down lumber yard. The wood was sitting outside untouched for ten years. Insects, sun, rain and wind have worked on the wood all these years. Normally this wood would not be useful for anything at first glance. I was going to burn it.

But when I cut open a piece to use as a furring strip, I found the most beautiful wood inside, under that filthy, dark exterior.

Even the rot is superficial and only goes about 1/8 inch deep in most places. Some parts have been ruined by insects and these parts can be cut away and burnt.

First I set the rip fence to the thickness I want my paneling to be. I am making mine about 3/8 inch thick.

Next I set the table saw blade at just over 1.5 inches high and cut the short edges off the 2x4. First cut all the way through one side. Then turn the board over and cut off the other end.

Now you have two long 1.5 inch wide strips of paneling about 3/8 inches thick.

Next I raised the table saw blade to just over 3 inches high. Then I cut the board through the thickness along the whole length of the board, giving me a nice, long piece of paneling for my tiny house on wheels.

I can get two narrow strips and three wider strips of paneling from a single 2x4.

I also have a nice, fine piece of veneer which I can use for other projects later. This is the left over scrap piece that gets shaved off the last cut of wood.

You can set your table saw to cut the 2x4 in equal sections and have nothing left over if you want. My wood is aged and weathered and of varying thicknesses so it is not a perfect science.

You can make paneling like this with new or used lumber and save a lot.

If you buy paneling like this, you will pay between 14 to 17 dollars per 18 square feet of coverage.

Two 2x4 by 8 foot long boards will give you 16 square feet of coverage for about $4 and some change. That is a huge savings overall when you add up the cost of covering an entire home with paneling.

I am using scrap lumber I got for free and a used junk table saw which I also got for free.

So far I have used about 1.5 gallons of fuel and a new blade for the saw when I got it which I am still using. This is a total investment of about $33 for three walls of my house so far. Not a bad investment for a tiny house on wheels.

You can get fancy and also cut lap joints in the wood if you want. The table saw will do this nicely as well. I will be doing this in a later video with my pallet wood.

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