LUSTING

FOR LUMBER

Sometimes the hardest part of working with wood is simply finding it. Here are the strategies we use to keep our wood racks full.

Like many legendary lumber tales, our story begins with a farmer and an old barn out in the middle of nowhere.

You see, there was this farmer out in the middle of nowhere, and about 25 years ago a storm blew down the biggest walnut tree on his land. The farmer had a friend at a sawmill cut up the tree, and the old guy put the wood in his barn to use someday.

Someday never came. The farmer died, one of his relatives called us and we went out to this secluded hamlet with visions of 24"-wide clear planks in our heads.

But like many lumber tales, ours ended when we scaled up to the barn's hayloft. Up there we found a mound of moldy, rotting, bug-infested, unstickered wood that wasn't even good enough to burn.

Finding lumber off the beaten path has both risks and rewards. For every time

we've bought black cherry for $1 a board foot (kiln-dried but ungraded), we've probably had three or four times when we came up empty-handed. Or worse, we bought wood that looked good to us as we loaded the truck, but it turned out to be junk.

Because we can't always rely on foraging for wood, we're also regular customers at commercial lumberyards. Sure, the price can be a bit higher, but the lumber is graded, so you know what you're going to get. And the supply is more predictable than hunting for the old barn in the woods.

No matter who you are, unless you own a sawmill, finding the best material for your projects is going to be a challenge. Even professional cabinetmakers are constantly foraging for new sources for wood.

But it is possible to find quality lumber - no matter where in the country you

by Christopher Schwarz

Comments or questions? Contact Chris at 513-531-2690 ext. 1407 or chris.schwarz@fwpubs.com.

48 Popular Woodworking August 2003