Thread: Big Timber?

Originally Posted by zebedy

With respect my friend - you're dreaming. We produce the heaviest, premium dimension furniture in Australia, but the best we can get is American White Oak or Walnut in 3" x whatever width. Buy a chainsaw, visit a farmer and knock yourself out - the world's changed.

There are a few things I haven't gleaned about this post, primarily what "Premium Dimension Furniture" is. It's the middle bit I don't get: all furniture has dimension - three, in fact.

Nor can it be discerned which post you are responding to

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

fletty and I were at the Uki Mill recently, and they had some 100mm thick slabs which I think were Southern Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta). Uki is less than 2 hours from Brisbane CBD. They are probably dry - they didn't look like they'd been moved in *quite some time*. Stacked, stickered and strapped, so should be pretty flat.

Originally Posted by magnum

You could try to contact wood millers around Mullimbimby (closer to you) for local timbers and they could probably cut the timber to your specification.

Yes, Uki is 30km via the crow (click the map link). However, there is a problem with getting it milled now - it won't be usable (without a kiln) for 4-5 years. The cost of putting 100mm thick timber into a kiln is likely to be prohibitive, because of the time it will tie the kiln up for.

Ken Maclean from Mullum(bimby) Mobile Milling (0412 963 114) will mill whatever you like (I imagine) in a huge variety of species depending upon what he has currently in stock, but the drying will still be the problem.

Originally Posted by zebedy

With respect my friend - you're dreaming. We produce the heaviest, premium dimension furniture in Australia, but the best we can get is American White Oak or Walnut in 3" x whatever width. Buy a chainsaw, visit a farmer and knock yourself out - the world's changed.

If the best you can get is 3" thick White Oak or American Walnut you need to find a better timber supplier. Just sayin'

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

There are a few things I haven't gleaned about this post, primarily what "Premium Dimension Furniture" is. It's the middle bit I don't get: all furniture has dimension - three, in fact.

Nor can it be discerned which post you are responding to

Sorry Fence Furniture, the thread is 'big timber' so in that sense please read 'premium furniture grade timbers in large dimensions used to make solid wood furniture'. The point being, premium furniture grade, air and age seasoned timber is rare in the 6" post dimensions Whistlingcoyote was after. Most of the larger Australian KD sticks we come across these days have so much power in them, they turn into bananas when we break the pack. Buy the time you get the stock dar, you've chipped 30% of it.

Yes and no John.G. I'm saying the best lumber coming through the place is in those dimensions from our preferred merchants. Larger stock is available, but false economy when you break a pack and find bananas and boomerangs. We'll occasionally pick over 4" Blackwood and New Guinea Rosewood, but still windup book matching and laminating.

True. Moreover, kiln drying large dimension Australian hardwoods seems uneconomical to produce. There's probably a business model that Boral came up with years ago related to turning anything straight and clear into flooring and F27 appearance grade 290x45s or wood chips.

Hi Simon,
My suggestion is to ring Lucas Mill in Vic., ask for contact details of any mill owners in your area, like us they may have access to logs they can cut to the size you require.

Graham

Originally Posted by rustynail

A wise old native american once said, " When all of the buffalo have gone from the prairie and all the fish have gone from the rivers, will the white man be able to eat his dollar?"

No, first were going to eat all the insects . Then we’ll start on each other .

In 39 years of going to the Melbourne furniture grade timber yards I’ve never seen one stick of 3” US Black Walnut . Or any other Walnut that thickness . 2” and less is all I’ve noticed . Plenty of Oak at 3” . Is that just down here we’re missing out on imported Walnut at 3” ?
Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

In 39 years of going to the Melbourne furniture grade timber yards I’ve never seen one stick of 3” US Black Walnut . Or any other Walnut that thickness . 2” and less is all I’ve noticed . Plenty of Oak at 3” . Is that just down here we’re missing out on imported Walnut at 3” ?
Rob

Hi Rob
Locally I can get 12/4 walnut is small quantities. 8/4 is much more plentiful.

I think it is less an issue of cost and more related to the mass of a top built from 3" thick boards. Much too difficult to handle on a regular basis.

For the sake of repeating myself, Thor's Hammer here has at least a thousand tons of massive timbers sitting "out the back".

Out The Back — Thor's Hammer

Some of it is colossal, 100 years old, recovered and de-nailed and at super prices.

I'm certain they will ship to you.

Edit: here are some that are 250x60 100 Year Old Timbers From Ultimo — Thor's Hammer

Originally Posted by auscab

No, first were going to eat all the insects . Then we’ll start on each other .

I'm getting to the stage were I think they are both one and the same.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

There are a few things I haven't gleaned about this post, primarily what "Premium Dimension Furniture" is. It's the middle bit I don't get: all furniture has dimension - three, in fact.

the context and the way it was put suggests to me that "Premium Dimension Furniture" is big chunky stuff. The sort of furniture that is left behind when you sell because it's too big and/or awkward to move. Stuff that is likely to end up on the side of the road after a move or two -- so keep your eyes out.
(There was a comment recently about a forumite's brother buying and sometime later selling a place where the table was part of the deal because it was just too big to move.)

Originally Posted by rustynail

I'm getting to the stage were I think they are both one and the same.

Tsk tsk tsk. Ken you are confusing insects with politicians, not humans.