Pietenpol-List: buying wood
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2002 12:56 pm
Original Posted By: "walter evans"
Walt writes:>don't be afraid to look around, and ask questions, you never know what>might turn up.When searching for wood for my Flying Squirrel's spars, I asked around at the lumber yards for straight, clear fir. Everybody had it in varying quantities and dimensions, but at a price and not the full lengths I wished I had. Then a friend mentioned to me that there was a place that specialized in recycling building materials. The old barns and buildings around town were usually constructed with full-dimension lumber and timbers, and when they get ready to tear down an old building you would be amazed at the heft and condition of these old pieces. I found some fir beams and had the mill rough-saw them to my specs for length and thickness, and when I get ready to do final shaping I'll run them through a planer and select my spars from between the nail holes and minor flaws.I guess my point is, don't overlook the possibility of finding some good wood in an old structure that is being demolished, or in a "used lumber" place (as long as it's been kept dry and insect-free). Not likely you'll find spruce there (unless you're in the Pacific NW), but you may be surprised. Red fir, Douglas fir, hemlock, and other good wood is out there.I paid $75 for the material for 4 spars plus much more, rough-sawn to my specs. It is true that Doug fir has a smell of its own (I like it), and that it splinters easier than other woods, but if you learn on fir you'll have no problem with other building woods. And you'll have to learn to grade wood and detect flaws and defects, but isn't that what this homebuilding is all about anyway?Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________
Walt writes:>don't be afraid to look around, and ask questions, you never know what>might turn up.When searching for wood for my Flying Squirrel's spars, I asked around at the lumber yards for straight, clear fir. Everybody had it in varying quantities and dimensions, but at a price and not the full lengths I wished I had. Then a friend mentioned to me that there was a place that specialized in recycling building materials. The old barns and buildings around town were usually constructed with full-dimension lumber and timbers, and when they get ready to tear down an old building you would be amazed at the heft and condition of these old pieces. I found some fir beams and had the mill rough-saw them to my specs for length and thickness, and when I get ready to do final shaping I'll run them through a planer and select my spars from between the nail holes and minor flaws.I guess my point is, don't overlook the possibility of finding some good wood in an old structure that is being demolished, or in a "used lumber" place (as long as it's been kept dry and insect-free). Not likely you'll find spruce there (unless you're in the Pacific NW), but you may be surprised. Red fir, Douglas fir, hemlock, and other good wood is out there.I paid $75 for the material for 4 spars plus much more, rough-sawn to my specs. It is true that Doug fir has a smell of its own (I like it), and that it splinters easier than other woods, but if you learn on fir you'll have no problem with other building woods. And you'll have to learn to grade wood and detect flaws and defects, but isn't that what this homebuilding is all about anyway?Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________