Cheap Zeke asks:
>
>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?
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
http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/myhomepage/business.html
On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 08:16:55 GMT, Cheap Zeke <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>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
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
On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 17:20:51 -0600, "Steve Kreitler"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>> >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
>
>> 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
>
> www.postalbanks.com
>
'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,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
> >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
> 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
www.postalbanks.com
I use wood from palest, I have found hickory, pine, walnut and oak
"Cheap Zeke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> 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
>
On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 08:16:55 GMT, Cheap Zeke <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>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
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.