I found a local guy who bought an old paper mill and was refurbishing the inside for his machining company. The mill had these large oak boards, 12/4 x 8" wide x ~11ft long, along the inside walls apparently used as guards to prevent the old machinery from banging into the walls directly.
I went and picked up about 150 board feet for $100... It was all I could fit in my Suburban, otherwise I might have taken more. Here are pictures of the pile with the smallest of the group cleaned up on the jointer and planer.
So, I got this 60 yr old 12/4 oak for about $.60 per board foot... From what you can see, is that a good buy?
The reason I bought it was to build a work bench from it. However, as I've searched for others' workbenches, I've noticed that almost none of them are made from oak. Is there a fundamental reason to not use oak for workbenches?
Thanks!
-Chris