Replies

1. 
   Troy | Mar 04, 2007 07:54am | #1

   A local kitchen cabinet maker was telling me a couple of years ago that the price had gone up quite a bit then. I think that it was becoming more popular. Also seem to remember reading that one of the big lumber companies got in trouble for price fixing alder around as well.

   Troy

2. 
   Sean2112 | Mar 04, 2007 08:05am | #2

   Alder and knotty alder cabinets and doors are all the rage here in NW Arkansas. It doesn't surprise me a bit at its soaring price. The good old supply and demand dynamic. It's a pity it's no longer a well kept secret.

   Regards,

   Sean

3. 
   oldusty | Mar 04, 2007 08:52am | #3

   Hi Dave ,

                Much of the Alder has come from the Pacific Northwest region including B.C. . Since there is so little logging going on up here in recent years the supply of Alder , Doug Fir , Pine and Cedar has been scant at best , supply is down demand is high the grades have fallen the boards are narrow and full of defects .

        Years ago I was told the finest Alder logs are shipped to Japan , apparently Alder makes the best fax paper available.

      Check with your suppliers for Western Maple if you can find it . It was highly under utilized for years and a great replacement for Alder , some are using Beech to replace Alder .

         We need to stop shipping raw logs to Japan , make them buy our standard dimension lumber and we could save our mills and keep many jobs here in the states .

                    dusty

1. 
   jeff100 | Mar 04, 2007 01:04pm | #4

   I live in Alder country out here in the great NW.  Somebody is gonna have to explain to me what the big deal is with alder.  I've burned tons of it in my wood stove and it's an inferior wood IMO.  Can't split it, it's brittle and dangerous to log.  Doesn't seem very strong, rots easily if left on the ground.  Leaves a lot of ash if burning it for heat, doesn't put out near the BTU's that other good hardwoods do.  From my experiences, maple is far superior wood in strength and looks, and heat output, although I don't burn maple anymore now that I am a rabid woodworker. 

   So...alder...why???

   Jeff

   PS - Name that domestic wood, rumor is the best XXX logs are shipped to Japan.  I hear this all the time.  Don't know the truth of it except for construction timber like Fir and Hemlock (just the best clear logs of course) and cedar.  Those I know for a fact get sold to Japan for top dollar.  I've been told they take the best cedar logs and sink them in salt water till they are used...That's the rumor anyway....;->)

   Jeff

1. 
   oldusty | Mar 04, 2007 07:20pm | #5

   Hi Jeff ,

               To answer your question of   " why ? "

                  Alder with a clear natural lacquer or other coated type finish is a buttery smooth to swirling Beautiful Wood .

              We have made miles of Alder cabinets in the last 30 years , it works fair to medium , gets fuzzy and grain switches some , with some blotching when staining .B.C. produces the Alder we see for commercial sales for the most part.

         However :  In your direct area Alder is considered more of a weed isn't it ?

             Port Orford Cedar is stored in their  harbor's not sure about the others .

                        regards            dusty

2. 
   Kevin | Mar 04, 2007 07:58pm | #6

   Going back to the early 80's when I worked in several furniture factories, Alder was prized because it could be stained to look reasonably close to both Maple and Cherry without having to incur the higher costs of both making and finishing furniture out of either hardwoods. I still routinely see the kind of faux-Maple wooden chairs and student desks at garage sales that I used to stain by the dozen back in the day.

   BTW, the Alder we used back then came from the general region of Northeastern Oregon. Or at least that's where the mill was located.

3. 
   forestgirl | Mar 05, 2007 10:12am | #10

   Jeff, alder is a great wood for mimicing other woods, it's easy to work (a little fuzzy sometimes), and if you take the right anti-blotching approach, easy to finish.  I love it with a walnut stain and a semi-gloss finish.  In some instances it can be simply shellaced (small items).  It is soft, so not for tables, but less wear-threatened items are fine.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

4. 
   melonhead | Mar 05, 2007 03:15am | #7

   Thanksall:

    

   Here is a link that should help explain what has happened to alder prices in at least the Pacific Northwest and likely to prices overall. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/304441_scotusweyerhaeuser21.html 

   I live in the Seattle area and have always been mistified as to the prices of alder and big leaf maple, both of which grow in this area like weeds, but seem to be somewhat hard to find and expensive. Then one time I went on a fishing trip out of Port Angeles ,Washington, a small port city in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The logging output of, virtually, the entire Olympic Peninsula moves through that city either by truck, to local mills , or , mostly, by ship to Asia. It isn't a rumor! I've seen the ships being loaded with logs ... lots and lots of logs!

   Bill

1. 
   oldusty | Mar 05, 2007 08:54am | #8

   Hi Bill ,

             That's an interesting case in the link .

          As you know the unfortunate truth is the ones who own the timber rights properties and holdings of trees can actually make more money by simply harvesting and selling the raw logs then by sawing and producing finished lumber , while keeping employees and mills working .

       Again imo if we stopped exporting raw logs the wages would stay at home .

       The timber Barons have gotten a taste of easy money , some fallers and log trucks and drivers , no mills or people to work in them . They earn more dollars for less hassle .  Progress !

             regards               dusty

                       

5. 
   forestgirl | Mar 05, 2007 10:09am | #9

   I don't know about the price going up, but the quality in my area (Great Northwest) has certainly gone down in the last couple of years.  Have a heckuva time finding decent alder, and it's gotten to where when I see some good stuff, I just buy it to have it on hand.

   Alders a fairly fast-growing tree, but it seems rather weak and easily damaged in storms and stuff.  We have it growing all over the place here, but they come down with frightening regularity.  Not that many big alders around.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

6. 
   dduchi | Mar 05, 2007 08:08pm | #11

   Dave - It is true-alder is getting more and more expensive.   I manage a forest products plant that specializes in Alder.  The main reason for the increase in cost is size of the log.  What has happened is that alder logs are yielding less superior and more Frame/Premium Frame.  So naturally you and i are seeing increased pricing In Superior Grade Alder.  Not so much with Knotty alder.   Obviously the increased demand has caused the increase in pricing but overall It is the size of the log that the mills are running.

   Hope this helps.

   Darren