source for wood?

Re: source for wood?

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>Make friends with your nearest tree trimmer/cutter. Stop when you see them cutting and ask them to lop off a hunk. It's less for them to haul and it usually works. Also your city has tree trimmers who work city properties and parks. Find out where they haul it to. Here in Indy it's free for the taking!

Good luck,

Jennifer

you will pay out the wazoo that way...

steve antonucci in NW NJ

>Buy yourself a small electric chainsaw, and collect wood from "wherever" you find it. Log dumps, tree services, etc... Pick up what you can, saw it back at your house.

The chainsaw will pay for itself in a few days...

Steve

P.S. If you live close to someone with a saw and are willing to go halvesies with someone with a saw...

Re: you will pay out the wazoo that way...

JamieDonaldson

>And don't forget to check out your neighbor's firewood piles. For an occasional bowl in return, soon the whole neighborhood will be collecting wood for you!

Re: source for wood?

Walt C

>I scrounge for most of my wood, and I try to repay raw materials with something off the lathe. I gave a neighbor a mallet because he let me rummage in his firewood pile, and the next time he cut a tree down, he came and got me, and then brought the cuts over to me with his bobcat.

Another source is a sawmill. We have one in the area, and i can roam the junk pile of wood they can't economically cut to boards, and take what I want. They also sell up to 12/4 kiln dried woods at reasonable prices.

Ask around, has to be a sawmill somewhere.

By the way, most bowls aren't made by putting a round slice of a tree trunk on the faceplate and slicing away. that's called end grain turning and its HARD WORK!

Walt C

Re: source for wood?

Lan Brady

>a light weight chain saw will be paid for before you buy 4 blanks on ebay. I bought an 18 inch homelite from harbor freight. Free wood is much better!!!

Re: source for wood?

Phil on the mountain top

>You just got some good ideas,heres another might make friends with another turner and or join a turner club in you area. Where are you?

Re: source for wood?

Brad Vietje

>Absolutely.

Unless you are waaaay out in the sticks, thers' probably another turner or two nearby, and even an AAW club within a reasonable drive. Ask a few other turners, and even if you don't get offers of free wood, you might very well be able to haul some log segments over to someones shop and use their bandsaw or chainsaw. They might be willing to provide some instruction and safety info so you can go out and get that chainsaw the next time they are on sale !

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: source for wood?

Jeff Rich

>Where in Indy do they haul it ? if you dont mind me asking.....

Also, if anyone needs an oak or elm blank I will have some available, ice storm got my elm trees.

Email me to let me know. I am in Elwood, IN.

Re: source for wood?

JL work

>It depends on what you want to turn. All of the above sources are good for turning green wood. Another good source is the lumber places. We have a dealer in town who saves his cut-offs. For a nominal charge or free, you can raid his scrap bin. Find the "real" lumber stores in your area (as opposed to the big box stores) and see what their policies are. I got a piece of brazilian cherry (jatoba) that was 2' x 11" x 8/4 for free as well as some nice hard maple scraps. If you want to turn exotics, that is a bit tougher. There are a number of companies that sell blanks of various sizes. Good luck.

Re: source for wood?

DWFII

>All,

How I wish there was an AAW nearby. Or even an organization that offeres woodturning classes. The nearest I know of is a Woodcraft three hours over the mountains. I live in Central Oregon...Redmond, to be exact...And while I do try to be alert for the tree trimmer, there aren't so many trees around (this is high desert) that folks are chopping them down regularly. The last I heard of was a cottenwood tree a couple blocks over from me. I went over and talked to the trimmer about the character of cottenwood and decided to pass in that instance. Most of the trees around here are "p"-elm, black locust (that's good, I know) big leaf maple (no one cuts those much), cottenwood (good dry country grower) and juniper.

I know that most bowls and hollow forms are turned cross grain but there's the rub. For a bowl 9 inches wide you need a section somewhat wider than 9 inches, don't you?...probably somewhat wider than 10 inches and some way to trim it so that it will fit on the lathe. I guess the electric chainsaw i9dea is the very best. I'll check out Ebay and/or Harbour Freight.

Thanks everyone.

DWFII

In the high desert of Central Oregon

Re: source for wood?

Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ

>Try a cabinet shop, especially one that makes doors. They always have cutoffs.

Re: source for wood?

Wood Spinner

>There are no problems with any of the woods you mentioned. The Cottonwood is a little soft but may have good color in the older wood. With your temps it may not be bad at all.

Buy a small chain saw and keep it with you as you travel the roads.

Good turning and be safe

Bill in Casa Grande, AZ

Re: Hey, It's Only Wood

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>DW,

Leave your good boots at home and beat a path to the nearest tree guy who has a log pile "out back". Take a piece home, turn him a nice bowl or something and take it back as a thanks. He will shortly start delivering pieces of trees, of which there is no shortage out there in Oregon, right to your driveway (assuming you have one of those |;-}}} ). You will then have the problem of how to deal with the stockpile before it starts to rot and get all funky and spalted and stuff . . .

MM

Re: source for wood?

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Try visiting a place that cuts and sells fireplace wood. My daughter has a place at Black Butte Ranch, near Sisters, which isn't far from Redmond, as you know. Their fireplace wood is mostly aspen and juniper, both pretty good for turning.

Wally

Go West from Redmond

Loose Tenon

>You won't need to go too far west of Black Butte to find wood. I was over the Santiam Pass two weeks ago and a road widening project had all kinds of wood laying along side the road. If that doesn't suit your fancy go further west and take a gravel road and see what's available. Check to see if you need a permit first. You'll need to hurry if you want maple, Mike Schwings been buying it all and there'll be none left for Wally and me!!!

Good luck, loose Tenon

Re: Go West from Redmond

DWFII

>Where the heck are you guys? I've been keeping my eyes peeled for turners or turning clubs or someone teaching turning for several years now. No joy. In Eugene, yes but here in CO, nada.

DWFII

In the high desert of Central Oregon

Re: Go West from Redmond

Loose Tenon

>Don Wadsworth lives just down the road from you on the way to John Day; he's a good turner and I'm sure he'd love to help. Look him up in the phone book. There's also another turner who lives in Redmond??

and hand chases threads; Don may know who he is.

Me,I live in the central Willamette Valley. I'm the editor of the Salem AAW chapter and if you'd like a copy of our latest Newsletter email me privately.

Thanks, Loose Tenon

Re: source for wood?

Lloyd Stahl

>All the above suggestions regarding free wood are good and worth following-up on; I do the same for some of my turning wood. However, if all else fails, you can buy some of what you need.

In a small way, I am one of those dealers that you asked about. I have quite a bit of Texas Honey Mesquite, as well as limited quantities of Osage Orange, American elm, eastern red cedar, Hackberry, and spalted Pecan and Water Oak. I run a small saw mill for local Texas woods, and am always on the lookout for worthwhile turning stock. Some of that wood can be seen at http://www.texaswoodcrafts.net/wood/.

If there is something specific that you would like, I would be happy to bandsaw it into shape for turning before shipping. You can contact me at l.stahl@maroon.web or by phone at 281-392-5336.