I have some rough cut wood, I don't have a plane, I want to turn them into some crates for storing beer.
Could I just paint them?
Wood – Is painting rough cut wood a reasonable way to smooth it a little
paintingwood
Related Solutions
Do you have enough room to use an electric drill with a 2" hole saw? If not, perhaps a Dremel or similar tool with a routing bit?
Reciprocating Saw
Most fun.
Miter Saw
Fastest.
Circular Saw
Most likely to have on hand.
Jig Saw
Slow.
Hand Saw
Slower.
Butter knife
Slowest.
Pruning Saw
Longest reach.
Fire
Cut right to the chase
Beaver
Requires lots of training, food, and cleanup (thanks @SteveJackson for pointing this method out).
Chain saw
By popular demand (don't use on PT wood)
No affinity to Ridgid, just the first brand in the list when searching for reciprocating saw.
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Best Answer
Painting rough cut lumber will only smooth out the irregularities a very marginal amount. It will take many coats to smooth it out any significant amount. Plus, depending on how rough your rough cut lumber is, you may have trouble with adhesion.
I'd at least hit your wood with a 60 or 80 grit sandpaper to remove the roughest parts.