For inexpensive wood, I’ve contacted a local Lawn Equipment/Tractor Store for their used crates/pallets. I have found full 4 x 4 oak members ranging in length from 4′ to 8′. I also find oak 1″ x 4″ to 6″ planks, maple, cheap pine but….I have some cedar too!
Although it requires some work to disassemble and load the lumber into my truck and the wood has nail/staple holes, once jointed and planed, these pieces of wood make some nice furniture. Using the nail holes and some distress adds to some of the pieces I’ve made.
I made an oak TV stand for my son and daughter-in-law for Christmas. I’ll post some pictures next time.
Oh, the wood is free except for labor, this store in Ga has to pay to remove the opened crates/used pallets.
Replies
Watch out for the nails. Pallets typcially use a ringshank or spiral nail which don't come out easy if at all. Often there are false savings in such wood. It takes a lot of time and it's often just as cheap or cheaper to buy the wood direct. Also it's not kiln dried so it will have to sit longer. Not trying to burst your bubble but just trying to compare free wood to bought wood.
We sell antique lumber and get more money for "character" wood with holes and splits.
I guess the idea of using this type of wood, would depend on the person. If you have more time then money, it would make sense. If time is limited I would be a little leary of it.
Doug M
There is a certain appeal to the use of an otherwise discarded material which many WW'ers experience and enjoy.
When I first started WW'ing, my young daughter and I used to go to the bike shop and gather that same material. I have some fond memories of her sitting in the driveway pounding and pulling out nails (mostly bending them over) while I was cutting off the nailed sections on the old RAS.
I still have several 5 gal. buckets of short pieces, sorted by thickness. I've used the stock on several projects and was happy with the outcome.
It is pretty labor intensive however and at this stage I would have to agree with the poster that said basically; if money is short then it's worth while but if time is short, it's not.
Best Regards,
Mack
"Close enough for government work=measured with a micrometer, marked with chalk and cut with an axe"
I have "purchased" a lot of Mahogany this way. At my place of employ we receive Mahogany lumber on flats made of the same material. It is 2x4 in cross section by 18-20 feet long. On top of those there are 1x6-12's. It is a bit of work but where else do you find that kind of would for $0.05 a board foot.
Good find
Derek
Derek,The secret is most of your hard woods are shipped on flats of the same lumber and no nails. I've reclaimed tons of 4x4's and 4x6's of mahogany, purpleheart, and other out of country woods. Meanwhile, walnut, maple, poplar, oak, poplar, poplar, elm, poplar are often used for the domestic stuff. Most of it is good enough and the not so good i resaw and make panels.
Go on and use the wood, there is nothing wrong with saving a buck now and then. I use reclaimed wood all the time and have made many nice projects with it. As long an you are willing to do a little extra work in cleaning up the lumber and understand that some of it might be junk I think it's OK. I can remember my grandfather using apple boxes to build all types of furniture, stools , cabinets, boxes and such, some of it is still in use today. I understand this is not Fine Furniture but sometimes "Fine" is relative. Now days with times like they are some of us may not be able to purchase expensive material to practice our craft. So use it and feel good about it.
ZABO
Two of my neighbors have "collected" skids and crates. One has used the wood to make lawn furniture and a picket fence while the other fed the wood to his wood stove to heat his house.
depending on where you are you have almost found the golden rainbow..
Pallets are a good source of "cheap" wood even better is going to the place that supplies the pallet mill with wood.. 17 cents a bd. ft. is what the average pallet mill pays for wood.. the wonderful thing is the wood they get usually has the most character. interesting grain and unique figure.
Every major city in the country has pallet mills as does every large manufacturing plant. There are plenty of small and medium sized sawmills that supply wood to them.
One other source of cheap wood is sawmills which sell railroad ties.. the national price of a railroad tie is $20.00 that's for a hardwood timber that is 7 inches by 9 inches by 8 1/2 feet long..
IF a sawmill has railroad ties it also has a lot of the wood they slab off the tree to get to the tie..
I've salvaged wood from a couple pallets and it is very labour intensive. The nails are tough to pull - I find it is easiest to cross-cut the boards around the nails. I have salvaged two lignum vitae stringers riddled with nail holes which will probably be turned into small details (plugs, pins, knobs, etc). I have also salvaged some of the most beautiful wood I have ever seen - spalted london plane. It has blues, purples, greens, and orange in it.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
After years of wanting to build a new workbench (one that does skip across the floor when I use a handplane) I finally found the right wood. Free pallets/crates. My Father-in-law calls it making a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Another source of free wood came from my own yard. We needed to take down a black ash. I slabbed it into 6 X 6"s with a chainsaw, then to 2" slabs with a bandsaw. Someday it will become 4 or 5 Shaker rockers. I was able to turn a bowl with a piece of the root I grubbed out of the ground. Very interesting grain.
Craigs list has a lot of "free wood" ads in the summer. I found this to be a great source for bowl turning stock. I did have one painful experience. I answered one of the "free wood" ads. The owner had 40 inch diameter oak taken down. The tree service had already chunked it into 16 inch lengths. Too bad, I could have hired a portable bandsaw mill and had lots of oak lumber milled.
Maybe next time.
Bill
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled