Hey fellas. I am wondering about where I could acquire a good source for free or inexpensive wood to practice with. I am not expecting miracles. Any ideas, other than chopping down my own trees and getting the environmentalist freaks on my case?
Zeke
Cheap Zeke asks:
Move to someplace where various freaks are less likely to be a problem. Failing that, try local sawmills, buy green, sticker and stack and season wood yourself. Expect about a 50% loss most of the time. You'll still save a lot of money.
Charlie Self
"Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal." Alexander Hamilton
You can get free pallets, but removing the nails is time-consuming. I get lots of free wood from trees that are cut down in the neighborhood--red and white oak, wild cherry, walnut, apple, maple, sourwood, dogwood, hiclory, popular, beech, pine, etc. Have to dry it, but I've turned many things green. You be surprised how many trees fall from storms or just people wanting to remove a tree from their property. I guess I'm lucky to be in Tennessee--more kinds of trees than I can name.
make friends with a cabinet shop owner. you'll get truckloads of scraps. small pieces, but nice stuff, once you sort out the mdf and melamine. Bridger
Yep, I'm agreeing with Bridger, here (actually, he beat me to the punch). I've been getting free wood from a cabinet shop for years- I just pull it out of their dumpster, and I've gotten some amazing stuff, as well as a lot of face frame stock (you have to rip it to get rid of the slot, and then glue it up to get any kind of large width, but heck- I've got glue and clamps a'plenty). They supply me with red and white oak, maple, assorted plywood and mdf (very handy for jigs and other things), and lately some pecan, of all things. You might find, as I have, that getting your wood in odd sizes really stokes your creativity- using this wood has inspired me to come up with some fairly original stuff. Don't think this is a "skulking" thing- they know perfectly well that I get wood out of their dumpster, and they are all happy about it- the dumpster is by a bay door that is open most of the time, and if they see me out there, they are liable to haul out the can full of cutoffs for me to sort through. The economics of the trade dictate that they just won't be able to use quite a bit of wood, and they are happy to see it go to use. One other thing- if you are going to do it this way, be careful to not make a mess or be a bother in any way- good manners go a long way when obtaining free wood! As I type, I'm getting ready to apply the poly finish to some coopered banks that I am going to be dropping off at said cabinet shop Wednesday for Christmas presents- they are great guys, and a huge help to me, so it seems like the least I can do!
Steve
'Sorry that you are a few years late for this idea, but the OP brings back a memory:
About 40 years ago in NYC a buddy of mine opened a business selling some sort of cheap home decorating crap that he was importing from someplace in Asia. As his business grew, the pallets of merchandize kept arriving more and more frequently.
Only after he had discarded scores of these pallets did he discover that they were all teak!
Many of our woodworking friends enjoyed the fruits of that discovery for years...
All the best for the holidays and the New Year,
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.