Places to find wood?

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm a new turner that got hooked on bowls (at least for now). I would like to turn more but need wood - free if possible. Was wondering where & what sources are available to get turning wood.

Also, in my neighborhood they have been removing diseased ash trees. Last night there were four trees being taken down couple blocks from me. I was tempted to ask about taking the nice trunk pieces but being diseased and somewhat dead I wasn't sure if this would be the best wood to turn (or have in the garage).


Thanks,

Mike

[Doug W Swanson]

I check out craigslist regularly. Many times people will post ads in the free section. Since I don't always need a lot, I will respond and ask them to save just a few pieces for me. Most often, they will put some aside....

[Russell Neyman]

Get to know the power company guys and other utility road crews. When a good tree knocks down a line or gets in the way, they're the first to know. Buy them a beer or two, then give them a call when a storm comes through.

[Brian Brown]

Six years ago when my wife bought me a lathe, I asked the dumbest question I ever asked. "Where am I going to find wood to turn." A year later, I found myself asking; "where is all this wood coming from, and where am I going to put it". Trust me, you will find plenty of wood. In addition to the ideas already mentioned, try these.

The federal Government mandates that for a landfill to receive federal money, they must have a green pit. That is where wood (tree branches trunks) gets put. This wood by law is
available for salvage.

Tree trimmers as mentioned. Contact your local utilities, and see who has the contract to cut trees that interfere with the power or utility lines. These guys are your new best
friends. I am lucky. My neighbor across the street is the foreman for the company that cuts locally. Black walnut is rare here, and I let him know that I would like to get my
hands on some. Now, every once in a while when I get home form work there is a black walnut tree laying in my driveway. I have to tell him to stop. Remember the question;
"where is all this wood coming from, and where am I going to put it"

Neighbors trimming or removing trees. You will soon be able to hear the sound of a chain saw a mile away, and follow it to many treasures. I'll be sitting at breakfast, and hear a
chain saw start somewhere in the neighborhood, and my wife will say "honey, somebody is playing your song".

When friends find out what you make, and that you need wood, it will start coming from everywhere. They will tell two people, who will tell two people, and so on.

Join a local turning club. Besides being a great way to socialize and learn technique, they are a great source of wood. In our club, one of the members owns a cabinet shop, and is
always bringing the scraps to the meetings. Originally it was to auction for money for the club, but now there is so much, the club is begging people to fill their trucks and take it
home. It is not uncommon for members to bring a truck load from a neighbors freshly cut tree, and say everybody grab some and take it home.

Check with your city forester. When the city cuts trees they like to be able to say that something good happened with the wood, besides feeding the chipper. It is also faster and less
work for them to load it into your truck, than to chip it or haul it to the land fill. Just don't let them put in so much that it breaks your axel.

Even construction debris can occasionally yield some treasures, just not very often.

You don't say where you live, but I live in the desert. There are no trees here, and I still have more wood than I can use. Good luck, and start now to figure out where you are going to put all of it. One note of warning. Trees from the urban forest often contain pieces of metal, such as fencing materials, nails from the garage sale signs hung there 30 years ago, or chains. I have had my eye on an elm tree a couple of miles from my house. It has the largest elm burl I have ever seen. Unfortunately, the burl grew right through a chain link fence. I cry every time I pass it, because I can never use it. Even wood from non urban areas can have metal in them. Not only can the metal do serious harm to you tools, but to you as well. Get a wand style metal detector, and give the wood the once over (or twice) before you cut it. The metal detector will pay for itself on the first tool saved from hitting metal in the wood. Search this forum for metal detector. There has been quite a bit of discussion and recommendations on models.

[Scott Hackler]

Great info so far and I will only add that you should do some research (here) on drying methods vs turning to final thickness and letting it warp. There is a plethora of information on this subject and you will spend several hours reading some of it.

I have to "turn it down" now. The tree trimmers know I want giant logs and I just don't have time to get to it so I just tell them "pass on this one"!

[Kevin Stanbary]

I use Craigslist a lot myself... when you do get free wood from someone, make sure to make something for them from the bounty. More than likely next time they have some available, you'll hear from them.

[Bob Hamilton]

Hi:
If you live somewhere that has been invaded by the Emerald Ash Borer then that is likely what killed those ash trees. The insect lays its eggs under the bark of the ash trees and when the eggs hatch the larvae start eating the inner bark/cambium layer of the tree. This is the part of the tree that conducts nutrients from the roots to the leaves and vice versa. Once there have been enough hatches the tree winds up having been girdled and there is no longer a path for nutrients to flow so the tree dies.

There is nothing wrong with the wood of the trees. The insects and larvae are just under the bark. I make sure that I don't leave any bark on the finished pieces but that still leaves a lot of the tree available for turning.

Take care
Bob

[Reed Gray]

If you find one arborist and let them know what you do, they will probably have some wood shortly. Give them, and the person whose tree it was a bowl, and they will start calling you when they take some thing interesting down. Give them some more bowls, and they will start coming by with wood and dropping it off in your drive way. Do learn to use a chainsaw. The ash, if it is plain white does not sell that well, but if it has the brown heart, that is beautiful and sells really well. Some firewood places can be a good source. They don't like to split crotches, and may have a bunch of them around. Most of the different tree service people love trees and hate to see them wasted.

robo hippy

[Mike Goetzke]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I immediately went to CraigsList and found a 2'-3' diameter walnut tree trunk about 20'-30' tall about an hour away. Don't have a trailer or big enough chainsaw for this beast.

Mike


(I'm in the Chicago area)

[wes murphy]

or if your in the same situation I'm in, no city arborist, tree companies that wont discuss the possibilities or no green pit at the city dump, buy it off the internet.

[Tony Pridmore]

If you have a chainsaw and really want some wood, you'll find a way to cut some blanks out. Pack up and go.

[Jon Nuckles]

Mike, I am in Chicago (Bucktown) and use craigslist and I have a tree trimmer friend who occasionally has good stuff. The main firewood seller on the north side charges too much for my taste, but others may be reasonable. I like turning ash, but make sure you don't move the wood outside the quarantine zone without removing the bark and cambium first. I have a good-sized chainsaw and an SUV; send me a pm if you want to share that big walnut!

[Jon Murphy]

What a great bunch of suggestions, I learned from them. I'll add a couple. I have an industrial hardwood supplier near me, I find I can get "ends" of some exotic woods that come from their mill. I also buy sections of standard woods from their inventory. Unlike the "big box" stores they sell their boards to true dimensions. I'm working now with some 12/4 (3" - less a fraction) poplar. I bought an 8" wide by 4' long section for under $20 - and they cut it from a 16' board without complaint, as well as cutting it into two 2' lengths. That's 8' of 3x3" spindles plus another 4' I can square to 2.2". Walnut, maple, oak - they would have cost a bit more, but only a bit. I've made some fine 10" bowls from scraps I bought from them for a song (they thought it was cocobolo, but I think it was the more general Brazilian rosewood.

I prefer to do face plate turnings from green, or relatively green wood, so agree with the comments on waiting for a storm and getting to know the tree trimmers. But there are also deadfalls if you are in an area with some woodlands. If I had two legs and more energy (age 78, one leg crippled by polio and the other amputated below the knee) I'd have an endless supply with my chainsaw. I drive by the woods and I drool at the supply I can't get to. I recommend a chain saw if you want to take either wood from the forest or use the wood you can get from the tree trimmers. Many years ago I did some clearing for myself and friends - had an 18" gas chain. Now I have a Sears LI battery powered 10", not much power but it suffices for my purposes, and it was cheap. The bar length is a matter of efficiency, not a necessity. I've laid a 120' tall by 3' diameter tree, on a hillside and leaning uphill toward the house, into a narrow downhill property bounded by fences, with an 18" bar Homelite. My friend trusted me more than I trusted myself, and he turned out to be right. Had about 10 dgs. leeway - laid it within 2 degrees of target. OK, so allow the old man to boast.

But there is a point, if you use your head you can use a small tool for a big job.

Fully agree with the several who suggested giving a bowl, or a hollow form, or anything else you make that is nice - a gift of time and effort is often far more effective than money. Money gets you a supplier, a gift makes a friend.

Lastly, I'll also agree with the comments on diseased wood - many highly desirable woods are the result of disease or worms. I will say I got surprise a couple of years ago, I got some 12" trunk sections of oak from a tree a neighbor had cut. As I turned a bowl from one of the segments I discovered a worm hole, as I went deeper I discovered a live worm about 1/4" diameter. No wormhole in the bark or the wood under the bark - that tree grew faster than the worm could eat his way out. Turned out to be fine bowl, used the worm hole (after I dispatched the worm, humanly) in the form of the bowl.

Play with the "diseased" wood, if you clean off the "living" part (the sap wood, or cambium) and dry it the disease will die (just don't dry it on wet ground). One caveat, use a good strong face guard when turning it - I have a light one for most of my work, but a heavy duty for roughing new wood.

If any of you are near Englishtown, NJ and have a chain saw and two good legs I'll lead you to sources of dead falls, our woods need cleaning and we need wood to work with.

[Ben Darrah]

Make friends with the grounds crew at a golf course. They are always trimming or taking down trees.