Think I Found the Source for My Bench Lumber

[Jim Koepke]

I called Bob's Big Boards a few weeks ago and never got a call back.

So today, the wife and I are in town and looking through the local free classifieds. She spotted this:

PATTERN MAPLE Lumber, $10- $15 board foot; Hickory Lumber, $1 board foot; Ash Lumber, $1 board foot; Many other woods available. All kiln dried.

Called the number and after talking to the guy for a while I realized it was Bob. So Candy and I drove up to his place and Candy fell in love with all the wood. She likes doing things in wood also, just different things than me. For an independent sawyer, he has quite a variety of local and exotic woods.

Anyway, I will likely be going back tomorrow to pick out a bunch of 4/4X6 inch pieces and will have to wait for the 8/4 to go through the kiln. He says he has some 6X6 posts buried somewhere that we can look through for legs.

While going through his shop, I noticed a rack of about 4" slabs that look like they may make good bench tops. I asked about a small one, about 4"X2'X8'. He said probably about $150. I may be tempted to just buy a slab from him and make a bench from that.

Candy was just oohing and awing at all the slices, slabs and other piece of insides of trees. Bob loves wood and it is so easy to tell when he starts showing someone around his shop.

If I remember and he doesn't mind I will try to get some pictures of his set up and post them here.

jtk

[Jim Belair]

If I had a chance at a 4"X2'X8' slab at $150 I think I'd be making a new bench too. Good on ya Jim.

Jim B

[Harlan Barnhart]

Wow Jim, that sounds like a dream come true...

[Don C Peterson]

Man, I wish I lived close. Back in Kansas City I had several good lumber suppliers, but Jacksonville, Fl appears to be a lumber wasteland...

[Jon Toebbe]

If I had a chance at a 4"X2'X8' slab at $150 I think I'd be making a new bench too.

Yeah, Jim. Whaddaya mean "might be tempted?" Get that slab in the truck and get building!

[Jim Koepke]

Man, I wish I lived close. Back in Kansas City I had several good lumber suppliers, but Jacksonville, Fl appears to be a lumber wasteland...

Sometimes, the best things just pop up when you keep looking.

We found this in the local free classified paper. We always pick those up when we are out and about. The funny part is I had been to Bob's place before. His stuff is always changing.

I also keep an eye open on Craig's list.

Then there is the more aggressive approach of the WTB ad. That is how my lathe found me. Our local supermarket has a bulletin board and I put up a card saying I was looking for a wood lathe. A few days later we got a call from someone that wanted to sell their lathe for $100 with some tools and accessories. It was nothing fancy, but I have gotten a good deal of use and fun from my investment. If I ever buy a better lathe, this one will likely be easy to sell it for what I paid for it.

Ask around and you may be able to find someone who has a portable saw mill that could be a source of wood.

I know some places are easier to find and get plugged into the network, but that is a challenge that will eventually pay off in many ways.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Yeah, Jim. Whaddaya mean "might be tempted?" Get that slab in the truck and get building!

I didn't have the cash yesterday. We stopped by the bank on the way home yesterday.

I only saw the side and end of the slab. I have not decided if I want to make a slab top or a laminated top. I am a little worried about movement with a slab. I am also not sure what species his slabs may be.

By tonight, I should know and have some pictures to share. (or would that be to gloat over?)

jtk

[David Keller NC]

Jim - There will be little, if any, difference between the wood movement of a slab and a glued lamination. It's true that a slab might cup a bit if it's boule-sawn from a tree because the outsides will be nearly quarter-sawn while the interior will be nearly flat sawn. However, most folks that glue up a lamination don't go to the trouble to saw, joint and plane their individual boards so that they've got consistent quarter-sawn grain across the top.

The only thing that would make me leary of a slab is if it's got the pith in the center, or it's full of knots. Even so, I've seen benches that were made with slabs that had the pith in the center, and they did fine.

For the price described, I rather doubt you'd be able to find the same species in suitable lamination sizes for the same or less than the slab, because most dimensional lumber has been graded and has gone through a kiln ride.

[Jim Koepke]

After talking to Bob about the slabs my decision was to go for the ash.

The slabs are fir. He thought they might be a bit soft for a bench and that they wouldn't be as dimensionally stable. Most of them still had the outside edge on them and they way they are stacked, I didn't want to go through them and then the stack of ash.

As it was, I spent a few hours going through the stack of ash and ended up with a bit more than 150 bf. He has some more better grade ash that I may buy a bit more for the edges and trim. I may even splurge and buy a hunk of maple if I want to go with a leg vise.

Here is some of the lumber my $158 got me:

Truck Load at Home.jpg

Truck shot 2.jpg

These are shots of the load at home just before unloading. The second one shows the side of a 4X8 piece of doug fir. The other piece on the right is from a pier in Portland that was built during WW II. It may be used for the leg vice. Since Bob through a few things on top of the deal, I didn't turn it down. He also gave me a couple of pieces Candy, my wife, was drooling over yesterday. My plans are to use them to make her a Mother's Day card without doing anything much more than maybe putting a post-it note or two on it and some tape for a hinge.

Here are some shots of Bob's Big Boards shop and show room. I didn't think to take pictures of his saw mill or the logs piled up in the yard.

Ash & Display.jpg

In the foreground is the pile of ash after selecting my pieces. In the background is some of the other woods he currently has in stock.

Display & CNC Router.jpg

This is the same room as the previous. The big blue thing is a router set up. I believe it is CNC. It cuts designs into wood. He does some neat stuff. As I recall, he said it is 10'X10'.

Finishing Shop N.jpg

This is a different shop where he has saws, shapers, sanders, planers and a few other items along with more wood.

Fininshing Shop S.jpg

This is another shot of the same shop. One of the machines is a 54" planer that can work an angle. As I recall, it can be 1" on one side and 4" on the other.

It was a real joy doing business with Bob. He will surely get more of my business in the future.

After unloading I took one of the pieces that looked to have a bit of squirrelly grain and hit it first with a #6 then a #5 planes.

Edge planed.jpg

Looks like it will work real nice with some sharp blades.

The flat sides already went through a planner, so hopefully there will not be a lot to take care of there.

jtk

[Matt Evans]

Nice. . .

That ought to make a really nice bench for you. And at a great price too.

Do you have the bench designed yet, or is it more of a fly by the seat of your pants type of build?

[Jim Koepke]

Do you have the bench designed yet, or is it more of a fly by the seat of your pants type of build?

Fly by the seat of my pants describes very well the way I do woodworking.

It will have a top, a base and vises.

jtk

[Matt Evans]

Fly by the seat of my pants describes very well the way I do woodworking.

It will have a top, a base and vises.

jtk

Schucks. . .I wanted to see a bench that had no top, no base, no vises. . .

[Jim Koepke]

Schucks. . .I wanted to see a bench that had no top, no base, no vises. . .

There is that 4X8 that has me thinking of making a support and using it as a planing beam.

But then I will really have to clean the shop. It is kind of crowded right now. Maybe it is time to start rearranging things.

jtk

[David Keller NC]

Maybe it is time to start rearranging things.

Hmm - and the single thread gets pulled......