Thread: Tom Garden's Finest Woodworking Timber Stack

Hi,
Sorry that cancer took him so early.
It sounds like he amassed an amazing collection.
I would be interested in taking a look - I'm also north side brisbane.
Let me know when a good time to take a look would be.

Andrew

No offence but the Cedar won’t be Western Red Cedar a North American timber.
It will be Australian Red Cedar one of our local premiere furniture timbers.
Good luck with the sale, a collection like this was bought by the fed guv for the high court as I vaguely remember.
Pity our current guv has zilch appreciation of stuff like this.
H.

Hi, I’d be interested in viewing the timber. The unknown species would be of interest also. My number is 0402 119 757. I’m southwest of Brisbane.

20210730_141739.jpg20210730_141801.jpg20210730_141853.jpg

Here are photos for everyone who was asking. I"m so sorry this system is all a bit new to me still.

No offence taken, you are correct. Growing up Dad always called red cedar either "the good stuff" or "crappy". So I took a guess. No it is not the crappy red cedar. Its the good stuff red cedar. The cedar is dense, dry, heavy and the most beautiful colour. Dad was all about Australian and all about quality. Thank you for letting me know.

Just to clarify, you’re looking for 25 grand for this? Not 2500?

A shade more than 6 cubes @ around $4k per cube =$25,000. Seems fair to me!

That's a tricky legacy to deal with, Julieanne. And a lovely story.

There will be few people with the inclination, space and money to take it all.

You might have to break it up into smaller batches. I know you would have thought about this and will be conscious of the additional work that would involve. One of the Brisbane members here might assist. I wonder whether it's best to have smaller batches with mixed species or single species?

Julieanne

I agree with Scottbr.

Very few hobbyists have 25K to spare or indulge just in timber, although you could be lucky. Consequently, a bulk lot of timber like that would only realistically be sold to a maker of high end furniture, but again is there enough of any one species to suit his requirements? Only an inspection of the stack would identify this.

If it was broken up into smaller lots priced between $100 and $1000, it would probably sell like hot cakes on this Forum, and elsewhere for that matter, depending on the timber itself. Assuming that that your knowledge of the timber is limited to the time when it was your bedroom wall, you will need to enlist a friend with some experience in this area to identify the species (I am guessing that at least some of it was named by your father). Of course there is more work involved, with smaller lots being able to be posted out at the buyers expense and heavier lots still with local pick up, but it will expand your audience. Take a look at the timber for sale section on this Forum in detail to see the sort of "lots" that are popular.

From your description, the red cedar slab if it is good condition would be highly prized for a boardroom table. There are people around who specialise in this type of product. It would be even more attractive if there was other red cedar pieces that could be bundled with it (to suit legs and braces for example.) I would suggest it could be worth upwards of 10K by itself. Probably make that 15K for a slab that size.

People interested in purchasing should contact you by private message (assuming you have that facility available as a new member. I have it in my mind there is some restriction there). The Forum advises not to give out phone numbers or emails in the public areas.

Good luck with this enterprise. It is an extraordinary opportunity.

Regards
Paul

I wonder how hard it would be to extricate and photograph just that cedar slab (and perhaps some companion pieces)?

It could then be posted here as a separate listing and 'shopped around' to people who make large tables.

Originally Posted by scottbr

I wonder how hard it would be to extricate and photograph just that cedar slab (and perhaps some companion pieces)?

It could then be posted here as a separate listing and 'shopped around' to people who make large tables.

You are all absolutely right. It is too much to take as one whole package. Its is too large an amount for a home woodworker and not quite enough for a commercial job.

Plus I think the more people that can carry Dad's spirit in their creations the better.

In addition I have still have the following things from Dad that someone would be interested in.

20 boxes of Dad Library, 15 of mostly really beautiful books on everything from fine woodworking, furniture design, turning
A big box of antique planes that Dad spent years collecting
3 small 15l boxes of every conceivable kind of sharpening stone ever including really white Arkansas (not sure if that is the right word) stones
A suitcase (old box kind) that Dad fitted out himself to house the best of his Marple's chisels (which will kill me to let go of)

I humbly ask, if everyone could be patient until next weekend. I will then have the time and space to spread it all out and photograph each piece or even groups. (Maybe same types of timber? My species identification can be a bit hit and miss). I can upload all the photos 1 December.

My next question is how do I price it all pieced out. Is there some magic formula that makes it easy? Or do I just ask for offers from you all? I want to be as fair and reasonable as possible. I would gladly take any suggestion from you all on this.

Thank you so much all for your kind comments and helpful suggestions. I have learned so much all ready. Its been quite a enjoyable journey so far. I just really want to do the right thing by my Dad.

For your dads memories sake keep the things you treasure.

As to the timber work on a $4k per cubic metre price. So if you have a piece of wood that’s 1150mm long x 125mm wide x 38mm thick that would work out thus 1.150 x 0.125 x 0.038 = .00546 m3 x $4000 = $21.84. Round off as you see fit. Bundle various pieces together for an overall measurement to work it out roughly.

Some timbers will be worth more/less than $4k per cube but I won’t go there. Perhaps ring a timber merchant.

Be aware that some timbers are more/less than $4k per cubic metre.

I don't have much experience or knowledge, since I'm only just getting a toe into buying quality hardwoods from timber yards and wholesalers for my projects recently. And not sure what you already know, but there's are a lot of things that can influence price. I don't want to overwhelm you, but it may help you to know the following:

* Wide boards (150mm+) are often more desirable and attract a higher price
* Thick boards (typically 38mm or 50mm+) are often more desirable and attract a higher price
* Your dad's stack likely contains mostly boards that would achieve a grade of 'select or better' (although this difficult to be sure of). Lower grades (standard, feature) are cheaper.
* It sounds like there may be other special/rare stuff in there too, which obviously has a different value, and very hard to quantify.
* Pack Price (where you take a whole pallet of same species, size, and grade and pay cubic metre) is cheaper than Sort Price (where you select exactly what you need and pay per linear metre).

I do agree with others that breaking it down into smaller lots will likely achieve a better outcome for you, and would likely get this timber into the hands of more people who will appreciate it. I also agree it's a decent idea to get some expert advice to help sort and price it, if you go that way. Possibly pay someone to help you - I don't know anyone in QLD, but I can think of one or two trusted industry people here in VIC who would likely have connections in QLD.

I'm trying to buy Blackwood at the moment, and the prices are remarkable. It's all well above 6k per cubic metre, and buying 0.5m3 at 50mm thickness is about 30% more expensive than buying the exact same total volume of boards in 25mm thickness. That's just changing a single variable, all else being the same.

Your stack is a completely different ball game of course, since it's not retail/wholesale, it's a mixed pack, and has all kinds of variability. So, it can't really be bought in the same way that I'm talking about... I'm probably confusing you with this info. Apologies if that's the case. It's just a bit of a minefield, and my hope is that it helps you with the decisions ahead!

Originally Posted by TomGardensGirls

Thank you so much all for your kind comments and helpful suggestions. I have learned so much all ready. Its been quite a enjoyable journey so far. I just really want to do the right thing by my Dad.

I think there are a few people here going on the journey with you, Julieanne.

Hopefully it's not a rushed journey and you can afford to take your time.