3) Next, I used an old chisel to excise the material between the circle defined by the plug cutter and the screw.
Lumber is expensive-so any time I come across cheap cherry, mahogany, or other hardwoods at garage and estate sales, I pounce. Case in point: last summer I scored a beautiful piece of Honduran mahogany measuring 5-ft. long by 6-in. square for a whopping $15. To put that into perspective, let’s assume a board-foot price of $16 if you were to shop for that wood at your local hardwood dealer. My board would have cost me a total of $240 had I purchased it via the conventional route.
Granted, that purchase was the result of sheer luck-and not likely to happen again anytime soon. Sometimes however, you need look no further than the wood under your feet for a treasure trove of great lumber. During some recent renovation work on a 100-year-old sun porch at my home, I was pleasantly surprised when I began to pull up the original 6/4 decking. That decking, covered in multiple layers of grey and black paint, was beautiful doug fir sporting nice straight grain that’s not so easy to find these days. After getting rid of all the nails and resawing away a thin slice of one painted face, I was able to mill up a sizable amount of furniture-ready lumber that would have otherwise found itself in a dumpster.
My next score? After becoming acquainted with the superintendent of a golf club near my home, I went to work helping him source a sawyer willing to mill up some of the beautiful oak and cherry trees he was forced to take down to make way for a new fairway. The club will be using the timbers to build some small bridges traversing various streams on the property. You can bet I’ll be weaseling my way into a few board feet out of that deal.
My point? Lumber isn’t always sourced from dealers and yards. Sometimes a bit of creativity can go a long way towards stock-piling your workshop wood supply.
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3) Next, I used an old chisel to excise the material between the circle defined by the plug cutter and the screw.
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7) Beautiful rift-sawn grain.
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6) With the old paint removed, I was able to mill as usual. These doug fir boards will make great furniture parts
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1) Recently while doing a bit of renovation work at my home, I saw promise in some 100-year-old floor boards. Follow along for the process I used to turn them into great furniture lumber.
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2) The first step was to remove some old screws that no longer had their heads attached. I began by using a plug cutter to cut around the offending screw shanks.
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5) Paint is a big no-no for jointer and planer knives. I've found that the easiest way to clean it away is with a quick and thin resaw cut at the bandsaw.
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4) With the material around the screw shank cleared away, I was able to grab onto the screws using a pair of vise grips, and turn them free.
Comments
I agree! Found wood is like found money.
Not too long ago I was strolling the grounds of a local golf club looking for lost "practice" balls. I stumbled upon a beautiful cherry tree that had been recently felled. Nice clear wood with a gorgeous deep color. Trouble was, it had already been bucked up and largely split. Oh, the horror!
Interesting article.
I have been very fortunate in securing some deals through ads in free weekly papers.
One deal: 67 clear cedar boards 6 ft long x 5" wide x 3/4" that came from a roof on the water tower in San Luis Abispo CA.
The fellow was going to use them for a fence then changed his mind.
Total price: pick them up for free.
Second deal: 26 pieces of wormy oak 2x6's 10-12 feet long.
came from a 100 year old tree in Penn. Was struck by lightning 45 years ago and left to stand before being milled.
Total price: $60.00
Also, from same fellow: 15 pieces of clear pine boards 20-25" wide
x10 feet long x 1 1/2 "
Price: $15.00
Lots of deals out there just takes time to find them
Dr Bob
Fellow Wood Trolls,
Look again at old doors, pallets, discarded furniture and the like.
When I've amassed enough to make it worth while I set up with my "beater" knives and blades to clean up my new found treasure.
Why is it the local dump won't pay me when I come out heavier than when I went in?
Not hardly fair, but I usually fare well.
And happy dumpster diving to all!
We recently replaced a 15 yr old conservatory made from what at the time was claimed to be mahogany but some of which was actually Luan.(Horrible stoff) I kept the large roof beams which looked like Honduras mahogany and so far have made two Versailles planters from them.
I rarely buy wood, Usually I can scrounge up what I need.Once I obtained a Victorian / Edwardian dumb waiter f.o.c. It was an ugly beast. Had it set aside for dismantling when I local antique dealer spotted it and gave me £200 for it. Happy days.
Paul Mc Cann
Yes, Dr. Bob. It takes time. And, a pickup. One must have a good hauler, better one that does not appear expensive.
Be careful what you wish for.
I have been so successful at scavenging pre-loved timber for over 30 years that I have a shipping container and garage bursting at the seams with beautiful boards and blocks that I cannot bear to part with, but don't seem to use as fast as I acquire it.
Maybe I need bigger projects!
I live a few blocks from Rub-Aire-Door co. in Ayer Ma. They throw away lots of pallets from the far East. These woods are mostly unidentifiable but I have found pallets made from purpleheart, wenge, teak, zebrawood, and other exotics in the 25 years I have been mining that source. I too have far more wood than I will ever use but it sure is nice that it's there. Somebody is going to get a windfall when I leave here. PS: Want Ebony? Don't buy by the sq. ft. Peruse E-bay, Craigslist, and other public marketplaces for statues, wall sconces, and other objects made from it and mill your own boards from them. I found an ebony tool box made in Indonesia that contained 9 bd.ft. of flat black wood. For $45.
I pulled up 100 yr old maple flooring out of a factory in Tacoma WA. Moved 3 times with it before finally building my bench top. Each piece had to be straightened one-at-a-time with clamps while I glued & screwed it to a 6/4 plywood slab. Took weeks to finish. All the screw countersinks were filled with walnut plugs. After adding splined edge banding, I had a local millwork run it through their wide belt sanders. The guys in the shop couldn't believe I wasn't using it for a dining room table. SO much nicer than the material I can afford to purchase today. I have a pinterest board that documents the project titled Workbench from reclaimed maple.
Old pianos are a great source for small piece of ebony (sharp and flat keys). We've got an associate are director on staff here who came across an old instrument in a pile of junk and salvaged all the ebony for tiny pulls and other detail pieces on his furniture. All these stories just go to show who creative you can get when searching for this stuff--just keep your eyes open and it'll find you!
Best,
Ed
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