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Thread: Purchasing Wood for Turning
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4th December 2012, 10:25 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Purchasing Wood for Turning
I was perusing the American site "Woodworkingtalk.com" today and in the "Best Timber for Turning" thread, the OP stated about cocobolo that, "That will be one of my next purchases". Purchase?? What you talkin' about, Willis?
"Purchase" as in buying, I guess. What a novel idea. Is this an American wood turning thing, or do Australian wood turners do it too?
I am only a novice in this game, but I reckon if it ain't free, it ain't good enough to turn!
Cheers,
"A".
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4th December 2012 10:25 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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4th December 2012, 10:40 PM #2
Free is good, I have however, bought & sold timber for turning.... not just an old bit of pine or a gum tree & I have never bought or sold a lump of mango timber but, some of the nicer stuff that is hard to get in your area is worth paying for.
Cliff.
If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.
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4th December 2012, 10:48 PM #3
Being raised by a bloke that filled a 1/2 acre block with logs stacked 6 foot high left me thinking the same thing before I joined the forum and met people that didn't have much choice. A lot of the blokes in the smoke don't have access to easy timber like we do, nor the room to process and store it. I did actually buy a log once but I usually just trade what I collect myself to get the species I can't get with a chainsaw
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5th December 2012, 06:17 AM #4
It would appear that you have more liberty with chainsaws and wild trees than we do. Just going out and 'helping ourselves' to woodland trees is mostly frowned upon.
However the sound of a chainsaw always attracts and making friends with the local council Parks Authority or Tree Surgeons usually pays dividends, along with that universal saying - 'Buy yourself a drink.'Dragonfly
No-one suspects the dragonfly!
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5th December 2012, 06:38 AM #5Hewer of wood
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When I started I only ever bought blanks face-to-face. Some woods are good to learn on; others aren't, and a reputable supplier can advise. The blanks were all waxed, dry, round and sound - which meant they were ready to turn and finish and no investment in a bandsaw or chainsaw was needed. And there was a wide range of species. Not everyone can wander into the bush and score a lump of Huon or Tiger Myrtle eg.
Cheers, Ern
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5th December 2012, 07:04 AM #6Senior Member
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I haven't bought anything yet, I just harvest the urban forest - whatever is left on the roadside by people over the weekend.
I can't at the moment thought, I've run out of space to put it all!
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5th December 2012, 07:53 AM #7Hewer of wood
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Yeah. That's a drawback of a good find or donation. You often end up up to your ears in it. And blocking down isn't a trivial task. Swapping or sharing is the way to go.
Cheers, Ern
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5th December 2012, 08:08 AM #8
Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhsss don't tell the yanks a fellow here in Oz is making good money selling Burls to them.
I have bought timber for turning Rosewood & Huon & Burl other than that FREE is best.
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5th December 2012, 10:35 AM #9
I tend to buy my burls, all be it reluctantly. But I must confess, usually at whole sale rates and it does involve a little more expenditure.
The rest I glean,swap,beg, borrow, and hassle my local wood loppers sorry 'tree surgeons' Plus I have several well meaning friends who keep an eye out for me and deposit lumps at the front doorInspiration exists, but it has to find you working. Pablo Picasso
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5th December 2012, 11:00 AM #10
Might have to buy a bit of cocobolo one day cos it doesn't seem to grow round here. :S But also I feel that local customers actually like the fact the wood is local as well. I have found a local bloke with a few properties full of drying slabs. He is definitely on my xmas card list.
anne-maria.
Tea Lady
(White with none)
Follow my little workshop/gallery on facebook. things of clay and wood.
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5th December 2012, 12:10 PM #11Hewer of wood
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If you're into selling your work, a story attached to each piece often helps.
Cheers, Ern
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5th December 2012, 12:36 PM #12GOLD MEMBER
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I have turned up my nose at "store bought" timber. I have driveway, side, and back yard full of all kinds of timber, all picked up here and there. I heat with wood, so not all is for turning.
Two months ago I saw an exquisite mushroom made of palm timber in my local hardware and exotic wood supplier. Later a chunk of palm showed up, and after hemming and hawing for 3 weeks I bought it for $27.
Today I sawed off a slab and started a bowl. I used a pruning blade on a reciprocating saw, it took forever and dulled the blade.
I started with a high speed steel bowl gouge which was dull after three passes across the bottom. The carbide tipped Easy finisher did the job, slowly and with piles of fine dust.
See photos for the texture. The blade of the square is 305mm.
I'll start another thread for the palm bowl, so as not to further hijack this one.So much timber, so little time.
Paul
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6th December 2012, 08:59 AM #13
Is there such a thing as free wood.
I often get given logs but there is still a lot of effort, time and expense in breaking them down and drying it. There is the cost of the fuel and oil for a chainsaw, (you need to have spent money on the chainsaw in the first place), there is the bandsaw and the electricity to run it, the consumables such as blades or chains and end sealer, and then you need the space to store the wood as it dries. There is also the cost of transporting it from the location to your home. Perhaps a trailer is needed, these cost money. And then there is the waste. Just as an example, there is a redgum mill near where I live and the owner has told me that 20% of his quota ends up as top grade timber. The rest is second grade, fence posts or chips. And even when all the timber you have stacked and stickered is finally dry there will be lots that can't be used because it is cracked or perhaps the borers have got into it.
If you add up all the money spent on owning all this equipment it would come to quite a lot, not to mention the time. When people ring me up with a the offer of a log I do not contemplate it if they are asking some money for it. I know all too well how much it costs just to get it to usable boards.
THe only free timber is the stuff that is delivered to your workshop ready to turn. Occasionally this happens but not often.
I have tons of timber lying around my place but I still buy the occasional piece of wood. There are some species I can't get or then there are those very special bits of fiddleback or otherwise highly figured timbers that I can't resist.
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6th December 2012, 10:47 AM #14SENIOR MEMBER
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When I first started turning, I was given stuff by family, friends, co-workers, club tutors and of course I picked stuff up from the road side and my own garden/yard. But, because I didn't have any safe and convenient way to re-saw and prepare blanks I also bought ready to turn blanks from a local woodworking/turning supplier, TWW shows and my local club.
Although most of the free stuff can best be described as "ordinary", it serves a purpose. Because I was inexperienced, the same could be said about some of the ones I purchased too.
I've added to my machinery collection especially to prepare my own blanks safely and easily but I still need to purchase most of my timber because strangely enough, species selection is limited in Gold Coast suburbia. I keep looking for harvestable Jarrah burls but don't think one will turn up and while admittedly I have an unlimited free supply of highly figured ironbark through a family member but it just eats my chisels and saw blades. Besides, it's nice to walk out of a timber merchant with 15 to 20 different timber types.
Now that I'm turning pens, my "need" for a greater range of timber species has just increased.
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6th December 2012, 02:54 PM #15
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