# How I Found Free And Inexpensive Wood Over The Past Three Months



## tkleff (Feb 5, 2012)

Hi, 

I'm a newbie. I'm also frugal -- OK, maybe even cheap. My bet is that at some point some new woodworkers will want to find cheap or even free wood or lumber. This is the story of how I managed to do that over the past three months. 

I intend to use the lumber to build: 

1) a very functional and non-fancy, miter saw table, 
2) a chicken coop; 
3) a dog house (a second one, let's see if I can sell one this time!); 
4) maybe a standup desk. 
5) a bed for me and the mrs. 

As a newbie at woodworking, I wanted to get better at the craft -- but, to do so, requires materials. I hate paying retail for stuff that is fungible and it really doesn't matter if it is used. And, I really hate paying retail for wood, when I KNOW I'm going to screw up a project and need to scrap the wood. 

So, this is my story of how I bought 150+ boards and 10 sheets of plywood, over three months, for about $110. 

FEBRUARY-2011

In February 2011, this woodworking disease was in full bloom. I just finished my first "real" project (an air conditioned doghouse) and I wanted to build more. But, I didn't want to spend $100's of dollars on lumber to build doghouses, workbenches, etc. 

So, I hit craigslist and sought "lumber" "wood", "2x4s", "2x6s", "2x8s". I also posted that I was willing to pick up wood that others were getting rid of or wood from a demolition. The ad offering to grab wood from others, produced zero -- I mean not even a phone call. 

But, -- at least in Los Angeles -- every day or two, there was something of interest to me in terms of lumber. But, it turns out, the free stuff goes RIGHT AWAY -- I mean within an hour or two. Well, I work 9-5 -- I've got a new kid -- so, I can't always just run out. 

FREE WOOD
But, by the first week of March, I found a guy about 10 miles from me, that had torn down his entire trellis. All treated lumber -- with some nails floating around -- but lots of wood -- some of the pieces 12'+. I went up there, loaded about 10-12 pieces, and promised to return in a few days when the weekend arrived to get the rest. But, by the time I got back there -- he'd given away the rest of the wood to a few other people. 

In hindsight, I could have taken much more wood, had I just brought a saws all with me so that I could cut some of the boards in half so I could more easily get them home in my pick up (they would have fit in the lower part of the cab). 

I also got a lead on some wood in another part of town, drove over to the location (it was a thrift store) and found a few small triangles of plywood (less than a square foot) and a few boards, less than 2 feet in length. I told the woman who ran the store, thanks but no thanks. 

I did grab a few wood shelves from an office that closed. While it's a thick hardwood plywood -- and I'll make good use of it -- there are lots of nails in it. It seemed like a mediocre find at the time. 

I probably made more than 25 phone calls, emails, and texts in search of free wood after that -- but never got anything. 

LATE MARCH - PLYWOOD
I scoured the garage sale listings -- and did a bunch of searches -- and found there was a nearby garage sale where a guy was selling plywood he had just pulled out of his 10 year long storage locker. 

I gave him $10 bucks and took home about 7-8 sheets of 4x8 plywood; 3-4 sheets of 3/4 inch, and 3-4 sheets of 1/2inch or so. 

PAID WOOD

$60 BATCH OF ABOUT 70 BOARDS FROM GUY WHO HAD WAY TOO MUCH STUFF (AND IT TURNED OUT SOME OF THE WOOD WAS ROTTED ANYHOW). 

About two weeks ago, I found a guy selling about 70 2x4s, a few 4x4 posts and a few 2x6s. I went over at night to inspect and offer. Unfortunately, he was a bit of a hoarder. So, it wasn't safe to pull the wood out of his place at night (and there was no light in the backyard). I gave him a $20 downpayment on our negotiated $60 deal (about $0.70/8 foot 2x4). 

When I came back two days later, we pulled the wood out. It turns out the wood had been in the weather for more than a decade. The bottom third was completely rotted. He gave me some extra wood, but it was too much for too little. Nonetheless, I took a truckload of wood home. after I got home, i tested each piece of wood for its strength -- about 10 of the 60-70 or so pieces I took home failed (they cracked in half) so I threw them out. 

So, I probably paid nearly $1 per usable board -- about $0.50 on the dollar. (that said, my friend, a struggling mom with two kids, desperately wanted a chicken coop -- that old wood will do just fine for the chicken coop; she fully understands my limited skills, the distressed wood, and short-term lifespan of the chicken coop). So, this was WAY too much in my view -- particularly since I can buy the same lumber, brand new, in the exact quantity I need, from Home Depot for about $2 per 2x4 x 8 foot board. Live and learn. 

In fact, I promised myself those days were done. 

Last night, I checked again to see if there was some wood around. there was some stuff around, so I sent emails. I'm always surprised to see how much of a secondary market there is for building materials. some of the larger wood collections had been purchased. 

then, I found someone selling -- what they thought was $2k worth of retail lumber -- for $500 bucks. But, they had to sell it today, because they were moving out tomorrow. I texted. He called back within a minute. 

I was pretty honest: I told him there's no way he's going to get anything close to retail, or anything close to $500. I didn't want to waste his time, and he didn't want to waste my time. 

this time, I went in prepared. I brought a simple spreadsheet with me. First, the top of the spreadsheet told me the retail price of lumber that he had. 2x4 @ 8 feet were $1.97. 4x4 posts at 10 feet were $14. So, I figured if I could figure the retail cost, I could then work from that number, to a discounted distressed seller number. 

So, here's the mini-system I came up with to lock in my numbers: 

2x4s @ 4' or less: _____
2x4s @ 4'-6': _____
2x4s @ 7-8': _____

I figured for the 4' boards, I would simply assign a value of $1 -- half the cost of the 8' board. Same thing for the other boards. Then, I went to his lumber pile and counted all the boards. I came up with the approximate retail cost of all his lumber. 

I was able to show him that his board lumber (he had plywood, but I didn't really want it -- I have too much as it is) -- had a retail value of about $500. and, no reason for me to pay retail here. He agreed and said how about $200. I said, no way. I'd be willing to give you $0.08 on the dollar, or $40 bucks. He asked me to come up to $50 and I agreed. 

I had to make two trips -- and on the second trip, they brought out extra wood, threw it in with the deal and even gave me a 10 pound box of wood screws. I'll make good use of all the wood, I promise! 

In any event, turns out experience really helps. This system -- where I can estimate the retail cost of the wood -- and then figure my percentage discount from that number -- is a much better system. (Turns out, knowledge IS power). I will use this system in the future. However, I now have several hundred board feet, that can be ripped, cross-cut, and refined down into several outstanding projects. And, when I totally screw up a project and have to start again, I can feel great about having wasted $5 worth of wood . 

I'll post a photo in the light (here's the downside though: I unloaded wood into back yard tonight. Of course, it's raining like crazy in California now -- so now I have a bunch of wet/weathered cheap lumber. . . oh well.). 

--Craig. 

ps - comments, criticisms and flogging are welcome.


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## Jmpreiks (Jan 2, 2012)

Interesting post. Pallets can also be a good source of some oak and other hardwood boards.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

A man I can relate to! What I for a good source of free wood in peoples garbage. I'm always on the look out for maple headboards. Once trimmed up the size is quite large. Another source is places like Good Will where I find table leaves for about $1 dollar each. Some are oak some mahogany. Some are veneered some are solid. For the veneered ones I simply put them through the planer. Another spot is the culled lumber box at Home Depot. Anything pine or 3/4" Melinite (sp)white board I'll pick up. This is what I make jigs and cabinets out of


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Great post starting this thread!!


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

mgmine said:


> A man I can relate to! What I for a good source of free wood in peoples garbage. I'm always on the look out for maple headboards. Once trimmed up the size is quite large. Another source is places like Good Will where I find table leaves for about $1 dollar each. Some are oak some mahogany. Some are veneered some are solid. For the veneered ones I simply put them through the planer. Another spot is the culled lumber box at Home Depot. Anything pine or 3/4" Melinite (sp)white board I'll pick up. This is what I make jigs and cabinets out of


i go to home depot alot ... what is the deal with the culled lumber box? do they give that stuff away?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I've got a s*** load of lumber you can have for free...you just have to take it away!
If I don't have the yard finished and immaculate by SWMBOJr's wedding in Aug, _I'll _be buying your doghouse... 
Up here, I can't burn it outdoors, I have to pay the highest rate at the dump...they grind the wood into hogfuel...and nobody i know wants it (they have their _own_ lumber hoard).
On the burning it outdoors part, we're allowed to have "ceremonial" fires...
I should have celebrated Earth day with one!


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

The culled lumber is lumber that they can't sell. It is usually cutoffs. Say they have a 8 foot 1x8 the has a split half way up the board. They cut off the bad end and sell the rest. They sell it for 50 cents or a dollar or maybe two. It depends on who is pricing it. They paint the end yellow or red or green. You can see how much the board is by looking at the color of the end. Every Home Depot I have been in has the cart. It is somewhere in the lumber section.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

mgmine, i have seen that cart ... i'm going to ask mine at what they do with it. i was not familiar with that term, culled. thanks

last week, i noticed a cart outside my HD in the back with a bunch of culled wood that was being discarded. i asked about it at the desk and they gave it to me.


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Wow I never thought about Craigslist, thanks Craig 

I used to buy culled lumber from our local Home Depot then they got a new manager and he over priced everything so that its more expensive that a whole piece. I can’t wait to to catch him and tell him what I think about it. I sometimes see people standing in line with a piece and I always ask them if they looked at the regular price.

I once found a 6” piece of Oak in the trash at Lowe's that would have been perfect something I was working on. When I asked if I could have it, they said nothing leaves the store for free and it would cost me a dollar, but the regular price was 80 cents per ft so I tossed it back in the trash can.


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## wood-of-1kind (Apr 29, 2012)

Get to know "furniture" manufacturers in your area and "ask" if you can have some of their "waste"(off-cuts?). Rather than paying for a disposal fee, you may be able to score some of this free wood. 

We manufacture furniture here and I am always on the look out for some nice figured hardwoods that are thown out on a daily basis. Keep on networking with "wood people" and let them know how you can use some of their waste. You would be surprised how generous some can be.

Tree cutting in your area? Be on the lookout and ask for downed trees in your neighbourhood. "Wood is good" especially so when it's FREE.


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## monty.smith (May 2, 2012)

Im a complete scavenger

Always on the hunt for any types of wood. 

4x4x 10 red oak poasts 1.75 ea
1x6x24" santos mahogony (free)
3/4" full sheets of oak ply (free)
4"x24"x8' x2 laminated Oak railroad decking 75.00 ea
This cabnit makers bench cost me a total of 158.00 in met

Just at the right place at the right time, Craigs list and KSL.com if in the area.


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

monty.smith said:


> Im a complete scavenger
> 
> Always on the hunt for any types of wood.
> 
> ...


Hi Monty,
Very nice score, I'm jealous


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## mark greenbaum (Sep 26, 2010)

What about dumpsters at new home construction site? Building in Mid TN is starting to pick up again, and the home sites have huge dumpsters. I cannot hoard anymore, because we're trying to sell our house, and the garage is already slammed full. But I see all kinds of materials in these dumspters. I've heard it said if it's too short to be a stud, or already has a cut made in it, they toss it. Plywood, 2x's, you name it - if they use it to build a home, it gets tossed and goes to the land fill. I'd think asking permission from the Job Superintendent or Foreman, would yield a yes, go ahead (during a lunch break - for safety's sake). I've made a few guitar bodies and necks from dunnage and scraps from Home Depot & Lowe's, as well as magic wands for a Harry Potter themed birthday party. I love free stuff, and to pay for what's going to the dump is against my religion.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

my favorite is still the free big paint stirrers at home depot. they usually let me take 10 at a time, and i glue them 2 or 3 thick. Glued 3 thick, they are 3/4" by 1 1/2". it is sort of like free strips of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood

i use them for all kinds of things. my current project of the cleat and hook organization system is perfectly suited for them


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

Hi Craig,

This has turned out to be a very interesting thread. Thank's for starting it.

Two weekends ago I scored what turned out to be a nice little stash of white oak. One of my uncles operates a property management company, apartment and house rental type stuff. A tenant that had walked on a lease and left in a hurry left a broken futon fold up bed and several sofa cushions by the dumpster area in a small apartment complex that the building owner happened to live in one of the units.

The stuff was left out on a Friday night, tagged by the owner with 'please remove and take it to the dump yourself' type notes.

Mid day saturday, my brother got (who works for my uncle as a number cruncher) got a call asking if he wanted the 'dump run job' (incidental clean ups like this are contracted out on an as needed basis, we get a lot of the work). Anyway, the owner who lives on site was in a huff to get it out of there now, so we took the job.

We got it out of there before it got rained on or otherwise soiled.

The bed was made out of 2" x 2" and 3" x 3/4" white oak post slats. I ended up with 16 of the 1x3 like slats and 6 of the 2x2 ish posts, a half dozen oddball hinges and a dozen barrel-nut and bolt sets. A couple of the posts were cracked close to where the hinges went into them, rendering flimsy to the point of unusable in couch mode.

I have also picked some stuff up off of Craig's list, using pretty much the same strategy for pricing and tactics in bargaining that you use!.

Over a year, my wood spread sheet has grown to be quite large and tracks prices per unit, sq in, sq foot, cu in from different retail sources. A couple months ago when my habit of using 2x4 boards for anything possible (just because they are cheap!) was starting to kick my butt on weight issues, I upgraded the spreadsheet by adding a weight column to it for design purposes.

I have also learned over this last year a lot of the reasons beneath the huge variance in price of one board vs. another. The way wood is processed in mills depends generally on it's target market for 'application/use'.

Two years ago I didn't know or appreciate what S4S means when buying lumber...

Particulars in the milling process have real world impact on what they sell the product to lumber yards for, both big and small. The rationale used by the yards on how much they mark it up varies with the wind!

When I feel the need to pick up some more wood (not likely to happen soon!), I might start making the rounds at thrift stores looking for broken furniture made with descent quality woods. Craig's list is a regular thing for me these days. Other than that, who knows, whatever falls in my lap from the 'great woodpile of chance' is always welcome!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*S4s*



wbh1963 said:


> Hi Craig,
> 
> This has turned out to be a very interesting thread. Thank's for starting it.
> 
> ...




Hey Bill;

"S4S" ... with the flooding of the market by SPF framing lumber one might think it stands for S**t 4 Sale, pardon my French. (You didn't mention that it actually stands for 'Sanded 4 Sides...there are other options, especially in Cedar sales. 'Sanded 1 side 2 Edges' [S12E] is fairly common.)

Lumber is actually priced at the contract level, by the rail car load, by Lumber Traders. You and I don't even appear in the calculation! It's a very fluid and international market...the prices change by the minute.
Timber / Lumber eMarket : eTrader - View Marketplace


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

I tossed it out their with a definition as bait so that people interested in what it meant would Google it and/or ask.

I always took the first S to mean 'Surfaced', but sanded is close enough I suppose...

The huge differences between the maximum highs and minimum lows that wood (or any traded commodity item for that matter, but wood in particular) is sold for has always kind fascinated me.

Western Redcedar _(Thuja Plicata)_ price variations are in a world of their own for amount of distance between the bottom of the market and top of it. I suspect a huge amount of the cedar sold for use as fence pickets has never seen the inside of a drying kiln.... Decking, Surfaced Crafting Boards, Fence Framing and Siding products on the other hand seem to be dried to a moisture level appropriate to the application, Crafting boards being the best dried and most expensive.

There are companies in my area that will give decent prices by the 'unit' (a pallet big enough to hold the boards, however long they have been cut to). Those prices don't do the daily dance as much as 'container level' pricing does, but they follow the core market prices a lot closer than retail prices do.





DaninVan said:


> Hey Bill;
> 
> "S4S" ... with the flooding of the market by SPF framing lumber one might think it stands for S**t 4 Sale, pardon my French. (You didn't mention that it actually stands for 'Sanded 4 Sides...there are other options, especially in Cedar sales. 'Sanded 1 side 2 Edges' [S12E] is fairly common.)
> 
> ...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Bill; I'm very fortunate to have a small family owned Cedar mill about a mile away. They only have two grades 'Clear' and ' You want _what!_?'
the locals just pick their own pieces from the lifts, as they're hand stacked directly from the greenchain. The wood's so wet that you can literally wring water out of it. 
I usually buy a bunch, stack and sticker it it in a dry location, and then have lovely stain ready stock on hand when I need it. Their major market is as you said, exterior fencing and the like...by the semi trailer load.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

I can hear the 'small world' song again Dan....



DaninVan said:


> Bill; I'm very fortunate to have a small family owned Cedar mill about a mile away. They only have two grades 'Clear' and ' You want _what!_?'


There are a couple different family operated micro mills operating in my area. I have thought about culturing a relation ship with one or more of them if and when I actually figure out what I want to purchase in 'truck load' quantities....




DaninVan said:


> the locals just pick their own pieces from the lifts, as they're hand stacked directly from the greenchain.


Not sure what a green chain is, but green is a very good color....so it sounds good in concept already.



DaninVan said:


> The wood's so wet that you can literally wring water out of it.


There is a fencing contractor / lumber yard a few miles from where I live that sells a lot of lumber milled for fencing & decking at much better prices than the big boxes let it go for. They don't put any energy into helping it dry out, so my first batch from them is exactly what motivated me to learn about air drying, stickering and the like.




DaninVan said:


> I usually buy a bunch, stack and sticker it it in a dry location, and then have lovely stain ready stock on hand when I need it.



Just curious here, on a couple points, drying and surfacing.

have you tried the microwave mini kiln thing out yet? I have read about it some, and when the right used oven presents itself as an opportunity, I want to give it a try. Doing it that way dedicates a machine to the purpose and doesn't put the one used for food in the home at any undue risk...

I picked up a cheapo moisture meter from the Everett HF on the premise that some idea is better than none and gambling 10 bucks that it would be useful to some degree wasn't that much. Do you bother with meters for stuff you are air drying, or just kind of flow with the 'seems right to me' principle. I have found that running a plane across the edge of a board a few times just sings out the detail of how dry it is (or isn't). The sound and tactile vibrations are a good indicator, though far from 'numeric'.

Any ideas or recommendations on thickness planer brands/models well suited to Thuja? One of my concerns is in coping with the huge variance in moisture content that I would be inclined to throw at a planer. Most only have to deal with 5 to 15 as a range. 5 to 40 is closer to the range I work with, most of that being under 20.






DaninVan said:


> Their major market is as you said, exterior fencing and the like...by the semi trailer load.


It's good to hear that family mills still have some market to operate in (that hasn't been conquered and assimilated by the giganti-corps). Contractors the size of the fencing company close to me are happy to buy the stuff by the truck load....

Thuja (pretty much the entire genus) is unique in that a huge portion of it's applications just don't need the 'industrial strength' processing (surfacing and kiln-drying) that most other species do need before they have 'commodity level' acceptance in the market.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Bill;
Green chain...
Sawmills eTool: Additional Green Chain Images
My 'kiln' is the one Mother Nature operates. 
Bill, like you, I just go with the way the Cedar feels; a couple of passes with the planer pretty quickly lets me know that it's still to damp, but yes I do have a moisture meter which I _should_ use more religiously...
My planer is a Delta 'portable' 12 1/2". Does everything I need, for a reasonable price.
Way less than DeWalt.
For stuff like bargeboards and fascia, I don't care if it's _not_ less than 10% moisture content. The new 100% acrylic exterior stains can be used on wood with up to 20% moisture (but personally I think that's pushing the limits).


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Heh...
There _was_ a small custom kiln operator, right next to the Cedar mill. Burnt down. Makes the concept of a solar kiln look more appealing...except for the rain 6 months of the year.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks for the link, looks like a staging area (line shaped even) for green lumber!

Delta 12 1/2 eh.....(taking notes here)

Well at this point, it could be a Ryobi and have to turn out faster than using a scrub plane does...





DaninVan said:


> Hey, Bill;
> Green chain...
> Sawmills eTool: Additional Green Chain Images
> My 'kiln' is the one Mother Nature operates.
> ...


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

DaninVan said:


> Heh...
> There _was_ a small custom kiln operator, right next to the Cedar mill. Burnt down. Makes the concept of a solar kiln look more appealing...except for the rain 6 months of the year.


I have thought about trying to set up a green house style style drying shack/shed or whatever you want to call it. Solar powered widgets (fans for air flow) might help, but as you say with the rain, it might not help that much when the forced air is almost as wet as the boards are. Then again if the fans were controlled by a barometer gizmo capable of detecting the humidity swings in real time, who knows!

I don't think I would ever crank out production quantities from a microwave, but it would be fun to have a way to do up on demand small pieces for impulse projects.

It definitely needs to be less than 10 for box joint cutting. I have had zero luck doing dovetails with air dried cedar, but kiln sized decking can be micro-milled down into thinner thicknesses and dovetailed up.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Well lookee what I just found!
Delta /Invicta Planer 13" - Vancouver Tools & Hardware For Sale - Kijiji Vancouver Canada.
That's been there since May 8th, so either it's gone, or people have been low-balling the seller(?). Sounds like a pretty good deal.


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## wbh1963 (Oct 11, 2011)

DaninVan said:


> Well lookee what I just found!
> Delta /Invicta Planer 13" - Vancouver Tools & Hardware For Sale - Kijiji Vancouver Canada.
> That's been there since May 8th, so either it's gone, or people have been low-balling the seller(?). Sounds like a pretty good deal.


That unit looks a lot more heavy duty than the crap I have been looking at. I guess my real problem with getting a thickness planer is my insane desire to get 1000 bucks worth of machine for 100 to 150....

I think what the seller is fighting is the cheap crap is too easy to find new in the 250 to 300 price range and most of the people that know enough about the craft to appreciate the difference, all-ready have a thickness planer.

I wonder where the darn thing is actually made. You know how those border crossings can go.....to declare, or not to declare, that is the question!


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

*Cheap Wood*

All good sources.

Adding to those, what I can think of off the top of my head:

Mills. Around here, the mills cut off the ends of logs after they've sat in the yard // before milling. They seem to cut the mill logs to a standard length so the mill ends end up varied sizes and lengths. Price, some yards free, others $5 for a pickup load.

Jobsites. I remember this from working for a custom builder... Round about the time we were shifting from structural to finish work, we had to get the "excess" off the jobsite. This included 2x4's through 36" Beams. A few times it was easier and more cost effective to give it away and continue working than to spend the time to clear it. Although my friend and I did get some nice wood, approved as long as it was on "our own time," instead of on the clock. (One was a 8"x24"x16' beam that someone miscut) Before final inspection we went through the same cleanup, but had nicer wood. My old boss always wanted to err on having too much materials rather than to have 5 carpenters waiting around if we ran out.

Machinery distributers. Great source of hardwood pallets. Hardwood because of the weight. Good source because pallets for machinery are usually odd sizes and not returned. Besides "machinery," check small to medium tractor dealers such as kubota and such. The small or non-farm non-commercial type tractors are usually shipped in pre-assembled pieces, shipped on hardwood pallets, then assembled at the dealer.

Other pallet source- Soft drink distributors. The standard sizes they return, but the odd sizes they don't and are up for grabs.

Fine furniture stores. Usually if a piece was scratched, scarred or damaged in either shipping or out on the display floor, then they consider that piece "unsalable." You'd be surprised how much of our furniture ("fixed") was free that way... or of the exotic hardwoods -- all that I salvaged from unsalable pieces that they were throwing away.

When they repair or rebuilt piers. Usually what they take up to replace is given away if you haul it off. My friend did this and ended up with some very nice wood.

Around here, small or private mills. There's 2 here that have a lot of hardwoods that don't show up at lumber yards/stores. Some of the private guy's here have their milling down to an art. I have one that mills for me for the price of the gas. He can do 34 feet. Another can do 14 long and charges me 14 cents a board foot. I think the going rate around here is 27 cents a board foot. (Been looking into milling jigs for one of my chain saws.)


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Just remembered another source. I have a friend/customer that goes around and disassembles barns for people. He re-claims the wood for his woodworking.

He says when he see's a barn falling down, he goes up and asks...


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

I think I may have just hit the mother load in free red oak. I work in a large diameter steel pipe mill (24" - 56" dia., .25" - 1.00" wall, 40' to 80' long). We ship by rail and use 10' 6x8 untreated red oak ties as the base supports; 12 per car. The old ones that are too far gone have to be replaced regularly (between 20 and 60 a day). I checked and the old ties that get replaced are just destined for the dump - no recycling, reclaim, ... nothing - such a waste. Many are too far gone but some just have enough bad spots to warrant replacement. The rest is good stuff just under the weathered surface, maybe 1/4" down or less.

I just got the high sign from my boss to pick out any and all that I want.

Now where did I put my chain saw ... ?

GCG


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

...
'Patrick's Distressed Oak Furniture Inc.'


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Craig, (as well as anyone out there reading this)
This is an interesting thread! This subject has popped-up from time-to-time and I get some good ideas from the different points-of-view. Most any business that has a loading dock has lumber to give-away, if you know who to ask and how to ask...
When you see 18-wheeler trucks going up and down the road, be rest assured that 99% of what is on them will be off-loaded with a forklift. Forklifts need access to the underside of crates, and therefore lumber is most often what is making-up that narrow space, because it is widely available and comparatively cheap. Find who is in the warehouse that drives the forklift, and that person will be able to point you in the right direction. In the colder months this wood is practically fought-over for firewood, but in the warmer months they are often glad for you to take it.
Don't expect them to load it for you, don't expect them to cull it for you and do be prepared to remove nails, staples, metal or fabric straps. Do not leave a mess! Clean-up anything that gets messy as a result of your visit. Be appreciative and courteous. Do not block their docks or ramps or employee parking and get in and out in a minimum of time. Be appreciative and you will start having them call you. I have several people that call me when they have "cull wood" in the summer months, but in the winter; things get different when the pretty receptionist needs firewood.
One of the companies that I get this kind of wood from, pick-out the good boards for me. The products that they sell are extremely heavy and the bundles are (metal) strapped to heavy wooden spacers. The wood is not always good quality, but I have seen wonderful boards of red and white oak, hickory, sycamore, maple and believe or not: walnut. I have a lot of things that I've made with this lumber and often it gets cut and used in my fireplace. Warning: use a metal detector if you're in doubt about nails or screws. Always use carbide cutting edges...and stay safe!


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## monty.smith (May 2, 2012)

Ok so here in Utah in the Orem area is a little shop, presently they are trying to recoupe losses, I am getting rough cut Mahogany for 5.36 a board foot, and figured maple for the same. Maple
Is becoming slim Pickens but there is quite a. It of the Mahogany left. Timberline wood workers center street in Orem


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

Here's a look at the reclaimed Red Oak I mentioned earlier. I haven't sorted it yet. I barely had time to unload it from my Xterra into my garage. I had to cut the boards in half to fit them for transport. Next time I'll rent a trailer.

The other three photos are what they look like when they come in, how they're used on the rail car, and how they look when I get them.

GCG


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Why are they using Oak?! What a crying shame...good for you though. Nice catch!


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Nice score! 

I’ve had a 7’ dia. wooden wire reel at one of my communication facilities for 25 years. I was never able to pick it up and it was kind of handy as a makeshift outside work bench so I would just push it around with my truck to keep the critters from nesting under it. 

Well this year vandals managed to use it as a scaffold to steal our security cameras and climb over our security fence. I was then ordered to get rid of it, so when I took it all apart I noticed that the slats in the inside looked like pretty interesting wood. I’m not sure yet what kind of wood it is because it’s pretty weathered, but it reminds me of Mahogany. It’s probably not anything special and the only reason I’m interested is because I once found a pallet made entirely of Mahogany.

I haven’t brought any home yet because I want to plane a piece down some to see if I can identify it. One of my coworkers wants to use it as firewood when he goes camping if it turns out not to be worth my while


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> Why are they using Oak?! What a crying shame...good for you though. Nice catch!


Each car carries 80' sticks of large dia. thick wall steel pipe. Up to 9 per car. The largest/heaviest we make will weigh as much as a city bus. It takes dense wood to stand up to it.


GCG


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I assume that the cost of getting the wood back to the factory, post delivery, is prohibitive? You'd think that if there were regular clients, they'd have put in place recovery plans like they have for cable spools(?).
Some of my suppliers up here charge a deposit on pallets ($25); that way they _ know_ they're coming back!


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

We are the factory. We ship to pipeline project sites by rail. The cars come back to us and our shipping guys mark the timbers that they don't feel will make another trip. Most of it is in really bad shape. I suppose it might be good for pulp wood, but there's not enough to justify that use. Actually, the wood belongs to the rail company and they have contracted workers on our site to replace the used timbers. They make the decision to reclaim or dispose. Once it's in (or destined for) a dumpster I get a crack at it.

GCG


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Aha! The old 'Christmas prezzy' for the railroad guys might be in order...


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

i was at my local ACE hardware store today. i noticed that the garden stakes are made out of 1" by 1" red oak, and the 4 foot long pieces are $2.99.

they look like they would be great as cross pieces on my router skiis.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Chris Curl said:


> i was at my local ACE hardware store today. i noticed that the garden stakes are made out of 1" by 1" red oak, and the 4 foot long pieces are $2.99.
> 
> they look like they would be great as cross pieces on my router skiis.


1/3 BF for 2.99 is NOT cheap!


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

Dmeadows said:


> 1/3 BF for 2.99 is NOT cheap!


maybe so, but i was comparing it to the closest thing they have at my local big box store, which is 1x2 oak, and that runs $2.09 per foot.


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## Joerkd (Jul 31, 2012)

New here also. cL is a great place to start. A buddy and I just bought 15,000 lbs of rough saw oak and cherry for 950. Not sure of the board ft but its all 6" to 12" width, and 8-12' length by 1-3" thick. A guy hoarded wood for years and passed away. His wife was selling the wood and about 20 vintage tractors. Stuffed it in a buddy's warehouse. Took 2 trips with a large equipment trailer and a powerful truck.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Joe; welcome!


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## EastoftheDitch (Aug 3, 2011)

I combined my frugality with community service for my best free wood score. Two days after the last election, hundreds of political posters were still up blighting the community with visual pollution, particularly those of the opposite political party. Since no one else was doing it, one evening I cleaned up our community by putting those signs in the back of my truck - 3 loads full. I came home, removed the signs and screws that held them together and salvaged 140 barely used 2x4x8. Not wanting to litter myself, when finished, I loaded up the printed cardboard signs and dropped them off late one night at the party's own headquarters next to their dumpster. I wasn't going to load it for them.
This spring when I built a 10x20' storage shed to dry my lumber, I got a particular thrill thinking that my structural lumber had been donated by the opposite political party.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

EastoftheDitch said:


> I combined my frugality with community service for my best free wood score. Two days after the last election, hundreds of political posters were still up blighting the community with visual pollution, particularly those of the opposite political party. Since no one else was doing it, one evening I cleaned up our community by putting those signs in the back of my truck - 3 loads full. I came home, removed the signs and screws that held them together and salvaged 140 barely used 2x4x8. Not wanting to litter myself, when finished, I loaded up the printed cardboard signs and dropped them off late one night at the party's own headquarters next to their dumpster. I wasn't going to load it for them.
> This spring when I built a 10x20' storage shed to dry my lumber, I got a particular thrill thinking that my structural lumber had been donated by the opposite political party.


No disrespect intended, and i really don't care which party--but that borders on theft (maybe over the border), possibly tresspassing, and the politicos tend to get very touchy about the defacing of their stuff. Plus ...they know all the attorneys/judges and are not shy about lawsuits and prosecution. Cheap as i am--that'll be the last place i'd grab lumber!!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

greenacres2 said:


> No disrespect intended, and i really don't care which party--but that borders on theft (maybe over the border), possibly tresspassing, and the politicos tend to get very touchy about the defacing of their stuff. Plus ...they know all the attorneys/judges and are not shy about lawsuits and prosecution. Cheap as i am--that'll be the last place i'd grab lumber!!


Seems like 'fair turnabout' to me as the winning party will have _their_ hands in _your_ pocket fastern' you can spit!


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

DaninVan said:


> Seems like 'fair turnabout' to me as the winning party will have _their_ hands in _your_ pocket fastern' you can spit!


Shoot--here in the USA both sides keep their hands in our pockets, for some reason they don't need to win to do that!! And, i gotta admit, the signs get to be a blight on the landscape pretty quickly. 

That said, in most jurisdictions here the signs have to be on private property, inside the right-of-way (or perhaps sidewalk depending on locality and IF you have sidewalks). And, i honestly think it would be safer to mess with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service, our federal tax collecting agency) than with local politicians!! 

"It was so cold in Washington last winter that a Congressman was seen with his hands in his own pockets!!"


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

greenacres2 said:


> Shoot--here in the USA both sides keep their hands in our pockets, for some reason they don't need to win to do that!! And, i gotta admit, the signs get to be a blight on the landscape pretty quickly.
> 
> That said, in most jurisdictions here the signs have to be on private property, inside the right-of-way (or perhaps sidewalk depending on locality and IF you have sidewalks). And, i honestly think it would be safer to mess with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service, our federal tax collecting agency) than with local politicians!!
> 
> "It was so cold in Washington last winter that a Congressman was seen with his hands in his own pockets!!"


I love that last line!!


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Now for real input on the original topic!!

I think i mentioned a deal i got on Craigslist recently, but here's a few examples currently close to me:

Nice Planed, Kiln-Dried Hickory Lumber--Price Reduced (this is tempting--10" to 15" wide hickory for $1.70 is pretty good)

planed cedar lumber (not the cheapest cedar around, but S2S for a good start. That curvy 10' piece has a sexy look to me!!)

hard wood (this one might go cheap for small projects, end grain cutting boards?)

Maple and Poplar (this one really has my attention...but i'm out of space. If the maple is only be 50% usable it would still be a pretty good deal)

No interest in any of these, just wanted to use them as examples of what you might find. And...most of these folks will listen to a reasonable offer.


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## rebel60 (Jul 28, 2012)

I just got these useing Freecycle, here in the UK
3 nice wooden tabletops from a local Italian remonstrant.


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## al m (Dec 13, 2012)

I buy hardwood cut offs at a private mill.usually 3' or 4' 4/4 rough cut,kiln dried maple or oak at .50 a baord foot.Cherry is .75.I don't mind that it is not 8' or more,fits in the trunk of my car.I am building new kitchen cabinets out of maple and most pieces I need are less than 32" I am lucky to live in a area of plentiful hardwood.


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## TRBaker (Jul 5, 2012)

Every road project in your area will usually involve tree removal to widen the highway. If you talk to the job site foreman, you can usually arrange for the cut logs to be given to you free of charge if you are willing to haul them off. A friend of mine framed his whole house with logs from one highway expansion project. All you need to do is find a local saw mill that will cut the logs up into lumber. Often these logs are something other than pine and can save you a ton of money for thousands of board feet of hardwood.


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