Thread: best place to get wood

sort of depends, what sort of timber are you after?

Since you have posted in the Woodturning section I assume that you are after turning blanks. I have recently spoken to Len Smith of The Woodsmith in Croydon? and he said he has some very nice turning blanks.
Len is moving away from tools etc to focus on supplying blanks and finishes. The WOODSMITH Pty Ltd Home Page,Woodturning Supplies, Woodturning Timber, Woodturning Tools, Woodturning Accessories, Woodcarvers Supplies
It's best you phone or email him as his warehouse is only open on Fridays.

If it is turning wood you want then you have to learn to scavenge when ever the chance presents. Buying ready cut turning blanks will soon drain the budget if that is your only source. I have bought the odd blank now and then if it is something I cant get laying around but mostly I find all I need from the local area. Most people will let you have a lump or two when the tree loppers are there if uou ask and of course you pay with something turned. Council at times cut back roadside trees and often just leave the wood by the roadside. The great thing about turning is that the wood is just laying around out there. A modest chain saw can be had for the cost of a few blanks. Get into scavenge mode and get looking.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by mat_au

hey all need to find the best place to find wood i know of pops shed is there any other places?

Gday Matt, I desperately need to offload a heap of blanks. I have bowl blanks to 20" diameter and spindle blanks up to 6" square. The 'cheap pen blanks for sale' thread started by me a while back has some pics and a list of some of the woods I have. I live in Coburg but I might be able to load up the van & come to you if you give me an idea of what sizes you would like. Anyone else who wants wood is welcome to contact me.

Chair bottoms make trays or shallow bowls, bed head and foot boards have nice posts for spindles. If they are too big to fit in one piece banging the head board diagonally will usually spring the joints so they will fall to pieces.

Around here older furniture is rock maple. Some times pallets are made with fairly thick runners, and those holding motorcycles sometimes have very nice timber. I had some with 3 X 4 inch section with a fair distance between nails, really nice reddish wood.

If you have a "nice" car keep a sheet of plastic and an old blanket in the trunk / boot so that you may snatch up the odd log or crotch left along the road.

Look into dumpsters / skips. If one of your friends spots you inside a dumpster and toots his / her horn, grin and wave.

I heat with wood. I looked into a dumpster two doors down from me where a church is being remodeled. I got 5 days heating and a bunch of kindling in an hour. Mostly 2 X 4 & 2 X 6 inch timber 18 inches long. Fits right into the stove.

Photos, load of walnut, cherry crotch, cherry block - stick is 20 inches / 500 mm long, all free, left along the road for pick up by the city or the first turner / burner to come along.

lol, paul39 glad to see you have the same respect for your car as I do.

Originally Posted by shedbound

lol, paul39 glad to see you have the same respect for your car as I do.

It is a good and faithful servant. Kia Pride in your part of the world, Ford Festiva here, 40 mpg and will haul anything I can get into it. 1988 with a bit over 200,000 miles.

Iran makes a pickup version: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SOCGRWJHd...s640/16-06.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...aipapickup.jpg

Free wood is good wood but beware, crappy wood can be disappointing for a beginner.

IE a lump of pine out of a cheap pallet will be very difficult to get a good finish without torn grain & is likely to discourage a new turner.

I go trough the green waste at the dump, also look out for street trees that are being pruned.

Originally Posted by Paul39

It is a good and faithful servant. Kia Pride in your part of the world, Ford Festiva here, 40 mpg and will haul anything I can get into it. 1988 with a bit over 200,000 miles.

Iran makes a pickup version: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0SOCGRWJHd...s640/16-06.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...aipapickup.jpg

its great when you can get a reliable car

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Free wood is good wood but beware, crappy wood can be disappointing for a beginner.

IE a lump of pine out of a cheap pallet will be very difficult to get a good finish without torn grain & is likely to discourage a new turner.

Very true. I was playing with the accursed skew last night and made a beautiful tool handle from a rock maple table leg, then had a go at a 3 part laminated pine and poplar bed post. Lots of tear out.

As I heat with wood I cut up a lot of pallets. Most here are red oak, I have seen cherry, walnut, and even mahogany. Not the whole pallet, just a few pieces now and then.

It behooves one to learn to recognize the various timbers.

atm ive been using some red gum sleepers i had around the house made some very nice 7" size bowls but since im still learning im having to do a bit more sanding than i would like but i guess the more i do the better i will become

Originally Posted by mat_au

atm ive been using some red gum sleepers i had around the house made some very nice 7" size bowls but since im still learning im having to do a bit more sanding than i would like but i guess the more i do the better i will become

EXACTLY! When you have had 100 hours of turning you will be amazed how good and how fast you can make a bowl.

First concentrate on making the very best you can. The speed will come, some of it with technique, some with additional equipment, such as sanding pads to fit on an electric drill.

The pads can be made with salvaged wooden drawer pulls with sandpaper stuck on with double sided foam tape. I have proper "store bought" disks, but find home made, and with a square piece of sandpaper work as well or better.

The square seems to feather the edge nicely. One time I did not keep sweeping a round disk up and down the inside of a bowl and made a groove around it.