Salvaging and other sources of wood?

[jarrett]

I've seen posts from folks here that talk about salvaging wood and working with fallen trees, and I'd like to ask advice from everyone. A couple of projects I have in mind don't require dimensioned lumber, so it seems a waste for me to buy it that way just to chop it up with a drawknife.

What are people's strategies to getting wood? Is it searching through craigslist for free wood posts? Talking to tree companies to get their waste (any in Raleigh that are open to that)? Driving around and seeing fallen trees (who do you talk to?) Forest permits?

Is a chainsaw a must have if I want to go this route? What tools are good to have to turn trunks into wood? (Froe, saws, etc?)

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[firefalcon100]

Well for me, I do look at craig's list for free wood sources. Recently I found one from a granite company in raleigh that gives away 1.5 inch thick red oak boards that they use around granite slabs for shipping. They are all rough sawn but they clean up rather nicely.

Micah

 

[froglips]

Here is a tree guy near you who has a few small pieces you might find useful

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showpost.php?p=313412&postcount=5

Lately, I've found a lot of useful stuff in my firewood pile. Some maple, ash and of course red oak.

I think pallet wood can be risky. Besides the plethora of metal bits, you have no clue if its been treated with anything.

Oh, another place I hit is the Home Depot scrap bin. Its hit or miss, but I've picked up a lot of useful 2x stock for a small fraction of the price.

Jim

 

[Mark Gottesman]

A chainsaw is a very useful item to have. Go buy a Stihl, Husqvarna or Echo and enjoy.

+1 on the HD scrap bin. My last purchase were several water-stained red oak stair treads for $5@. Made great fences for sleds etc. Great place to look for small project materials.

I have scavenged old furniture for usable lumber. Takes a bit of prep, but I have more time than money. I have gotten some good mahogany, pine and oak this way. Recently found some bamboo cutting boards on super clearance and think they might make some nice looking tool handles.

I have used pallets for making rough outdoor furniture and garden related items. It is a pain to pull and clean the lumber. I have had better luck when working with custom skids and crates as these are often made with a better grade of lumber and none of the spiral/ring shank nails. Motorcycle dealers use to be a gold mine of exotic woods.

I have never gone from tree to object, so I can't comment on that. I take that back, I have carved some spoons from limbs. I don't want to get into the slippery slope of transforming trees into lumber. I have always wonderrd if the Bradford Pear trees would supply anything usable.

 

[cpw]

If you have the tools to clean it up and make usable stock out of it, there are any number of places to reclaim old wood, but some of them may be more work or trouble they they're worth. Sometimes it just depends on whether you have more time than money. Old structures, especially barns and outbuildings are pretty good because most of the desirable lumber is exposed and easier to get to. You don't have to deal with removing drywall and trim. Houses are usually a lot more work to get the lumber out but a lot of older houses have quality wood in them. We looked at a 1930s bungalow that was framed in oak. Even my parents 1940s cottage had oak joists and floors.

I've never done any salvage in a structure where I didn't know the owner personally, so I don't know what would be involved in making arrangements to scavenge, but if I had the time and inclination I would look into it.

I'm a scrounger anyway going back to my days as a fledgling sculptor. I've cast tons of aluminum but never bought an ounce of it. And no, I'm not talking about melting down soda and beer cans. I'm talking old gas grills, window and door frames, small engines, etc. It's amazing what folks used to set out with the garbage.

 

[Dragon]

[FONT=&quot]Well, since I primarily work with logs and stumps, just driving from place to place on my errand runs nets me some pretty decent scores sometimes. I've picked up lots of Walnut, Maple, Oak, etc. and even gotten a few whole trees given to me to cut down. This past winter I had to let some nice trees get away with still standing because it was just too dang cold most weekends for me to get there and play. I also scavenge pallets from work and other places when time and opportunity allows.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Keep your eyes open and you'll be amazed what you can stumble across sometimes. Let me know if you're looking for anything in particular "log" wise. I've got at least 3 pretty large Sugar Maples to cut this fall and 2 of them look like they may have a good deal of curly figure in them. Might have to do a little begging at one the local sawyers near me to see if we can work something out.[/FONT]

 

[Dean Maiorano]

What size lumber do you need? What kind of lumber do you need (species)?

Have you checked with any of the sawmill owners that are members of this group?

 

[jarrett]

Thanks froglips--that wood pile is 10 minutes away from where I am, so I'll definitely pay them a visit!

I'm mostly looking for easy to shape wood--tulip poplar, white pine, cedar, sassafras. Some are because the missus saw a dough bowl in an antique store, and some are to try and do more coopering. I think most of those woods are not great for firewood, so I'm hopefully just competing against the mulch folks.

I think I need to teach myself how to use a chainsaw.

 

[sawduster]

I have some big hunks of poplar from a felled tree if you would like a couple . tree was cut down about a year ago and cut into sections. It's all outside right now so you may have to cut it up to dry a bit but you're welcome to some . Shoot me a PM if you have any interest :icon_thum

do you have an apartment complex nearby ? check beside the dumpsters near the end of the month when people move. I can't tell you how much furniture I have salvaged ( even chairs ) and took home to cut up into usable stock . Check with the front office . The one near me has no problem with me hauling it away :mrgreen:

My neighbor is a landscaper and is always on the lookout for material for me. Tree trunks, branches etc

 

[RobS.]

I'm going to be cutting down 2 large dead cedars sometime soon. I'm keeping most of the trunk wood but there are several truckloads of limbs. I'm keeping a few of the curved limbs for a grape arbor, but the rest will be firewood if no one wants it so you're welcome to it.
Also have an old house starting to fall down, and I have access to some wide pine boards that are easily 75 years old. I think they are about 5/4 thick. Then there's the 40 acres of woods...
I've offered some of this here for free in the past and got no responses.

I have a friend who gets pallets from a local business. He mostly uses the wood as firewood but he has culled some decent exotic woods for small projects. The business has to pay to have the pallets hauled away so they don't mind him taking them for free.

I used to cruise timber in eastern NC. My experience with loggers was that as they dragged trees to their loading deck in the woods (as they were cutting the trees down) they cut off stump ends, crotches, and other large hunks of wood that they weren't going to use. These wound up in a big ole pile beside the area where they load the logs on the trucks. Just ask and they will probably tell you to help yourself. I've had a couple even help me load some hunks.

 

[CarvedTones]

I have a few odds and ends including a couple of pieces that might be good for a doughbowl and I would be happy to loan you my froe and a mallet for a few days if you wanted to try your hand at that. Just PM me.

A word of warning - after you "learn the ropes" it is really easy to start stockpiling too much and spend a lot of time wrasslin' logs and riving stock instead of actually making stuff. Remember to wear something other than nice work clothes to recover tree lumber; I have stopped on the way home from work just to grab a log or two and just about ruined what I had on a couple of times...

 

[mkepke]

I haven't done a lot of salvaging, but for wood for turning (so we're not talking FAS stuff here) I've picked up stuff from the side of the road and also from arborists taking down damaged trees.

I've found that after a major storm its pretty easy to find salvage wood.

A chainsaw is almost essential, but you can rent one rather than buy. A days rental will yield a lot of blanks/slabs.

-Mark

 

[cpowell]

I have quite a lot of red elm still on the ground from when we felled a tree a few weeks ago. The stuff remaining is the butt log, maybe 40 inch diameter x 12 foot long, and several pieces cut from the trunk just above the butt log. It could be used to make blanks, etc. I don't have a place to stack and dry it but I may try to get an estimate to have it sawn onsite and find a place to keep some.

I gave most of the qood away for firewood and burned thousands of pounds of the smaller limb wood. If you (or anyone else) wants any of what is left you are welcome to it. I think some of the lower trunk pieces may be pretty stuff. It has been dying for a few years so it is not as wet as most green felled tree wood.

LOML wants everything except the butt log gone and we had planned on loading it on a trailer and hauling it off tomorrow or Sunday. If you want to try some of it just let me know.

Chuck