Cost of wood

[Dave Hulett]

I get lots of free wood from local tree trimming services, however green wood is only good for so much. I haven't done any segmenting in a few year but although I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how much it has gone up since my last trip to the wood store. I remember buying hard maple perhaps 3 years ago for $6.50/bdft.....And it seems that had been the price for several years. The other day what I got was $9.50bdft. yikes! 46% increase in the past 3-4 years.

 

[Odie]

I get lots of free wood from local tree trimming services, however green wood is only good for so much. I haven't done any segmenting in a few year but although I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how much it has gone up since my last trip to the wood store. I remember buying hard maple perhaps 3 years ago for $6.50/bdft.....And it seems that had been the price for several years. The other day what I got was $9.50bdft. yikes! 46% increase in the past 3-4 years.

Right, Dave.....everything is going up....every time you look!

Just this week, I purchased five Australian burl bowl blocks, all 8x8x2.....my cost was $750!....or, $150ea. A year ago, these blocks would have been in the $100-125 range.

It is what it is.....I just hope my bowls don't get so expensive that I price myself out of a shrinking market. As I see it, because of the current economy, there are fewer people who have the disposable money to buy my bowls, and my selling prices keep going up! I have a lot of very talented competitors competing for these buyers, and all of them are in the same boat as I am....

-----odie-----

 

[Kirk Amidon]

You might try to search out local sawmills, as they often have better prices than a true lumberyard. I've had great luck with all sorts of woods from sawmills within an hour or so of my house. Many of them don't have kilns, but there is something to be said for air drying woods, especially walnut.

 

[R Henrickson]

You might try to search out local sawmills, as they often have better prices than a true lumberyard. I've had great luck with all sorts of woods from sawmills within an hour or so of my house. Many of them don't have kilns, but there is something to be said for air drying woods, especially walnut.

Indeed! I've found air and kiln dried wood at local sawmills for 25% of 'market price' or even less. Rough sawn. Sometimes even well-dried 3x3s and 4x4 (maple, cherry, ash). Once even a 16/4 slab of dry beech 14" wide and 8' long for almost nothing.

 

[Russ Braun]

I get lots of free wood from local tree trimming services, however green wood is only good for so much. I haven't done any segmenting in a few year but although I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how much it has gone up since my last trip to the wood store. I remember buying hard maple perhaps 3 years ago for $6.50/bdft.....And it seems that had been the price for several years. The other day what I got was $9.50bdft. yikes! 46% increase in the past 3-4 years.

The exotics are even worse….some you can’t even find! It’s a sign of the times!!

 

[robo hippy]

Well, I haven't tried this, but it seems like every town has a bunch of the Wood Mizers around. I would check with them for 'off cuts' that would make great bowls. There are a couple of them up on You Tube, and some of the off cuts would be great for, at least, shallow bowls and platters. Exotics, well, I know nothing. I would check out sources in Florida. There are a couple of businesses there that specialize in exotics that come down during the hurricanes.

robo hippy

 

[Tom Gall]

The exotics are even worse….some you can’t even find! It’s a sign of the times!!

Way back ('80s & '90s) when I used to do shows I used a lot of Cocobolo. At the sawmill I would root through the piles of 8/4 &12/4 and pick out the best boards. $6-7 bf. I saw the same dealer at a woodworking show about 8-10 years ago .... 4/4 was about $70 bf. Yikes!!!

 

[Michael Beswick]

I used to be a Timber Agent in the 70s and the price of top grade Scandinavian softwood was below UK200 per m3 -admittedly by the 40 m3 truck load. A beech spindle blank from a store here is 2600 per m3.

 

[Dave Hulett]

You might try to search out local sawmills, as they often have better prices than a true lumberyard. I've had great luck with all sorts of woods from sawmills within an hour or so of my house. Many of them don't have kilns, but there is something to be said for air drying woods, especially walnut.

Wish that was an option. can't find anything like that here. We have two places for quality domestic and imported hardwoods , both in Little Rock (an hour from me) .

 

[Richard Coers]

I guess you haven't boughten eggs recently. Wood is cheap in comparison. I'm totally shocked you can't find a local sawmill in Arkansas. Check with Wood Mizer, they have a list of owners who want their name published. I did a Google search for sawmills near Hot Springs, Ar and there was 3 pages of names. Don't go to a store, go to the sawmill. Les Steen's doesn't look out of line. http://www.steenhardwoods.com/price-list
I used to drive 3 hours for good prices.

 

[hockenbery]

used to drive 3 hours for good prices.

my next door neighbor was semi- retired and worked part time at A sawmill.
he would bring surprises 3-4 times a year. Stuff they decided not to cut. Chinese elm logs. Gorgeous maple full of curl that had a twist so it would bind on the saw.

we also drove to a mill several times a year Just to raid their scrap bin at $.50 a pound.

one time Sherry grabbed a quilted maple board. from their maple stock.
one of the workers told her she couldn’t buy it because it was in the wrong stack and had to go to a instrument maker.
before we left the manger hunted us up and said he heard the story from his worker and gave her the board at the bin price.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Most independent sawyers over time will dry wood to increase their profit margin and usually end up getting a planer/moulder to
mill the dry boards into a higher profit margin product. Check your local CraigsList adds for your small local sawyers.

 

[Carson Wells]

I was wandering the net recently and found a local firewood supplier who offers vacuum drying of their product. They refer to it as kiln dried but explain it as using negative pressure to remove the internal moisture. Does anyone have experience with this? How does it compare to true kiln dried or to natural air drying? Thanks.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

I was wandering the net recently and found a local firewood supplier who offers vacuum drying of their product. They refer to it as kiln dried but explain it as using negative pressure to remove the internal moisture. Does anyone have experience with this? How does it compare to true kiln dried or to natural air drying? Thanks.

I don't have direct experience, but my son had a small load of 16/4 hickory and oak dried recently by iDry in Barre, VT with apparently good results. They did it as part of their schedule development program. I believe it took less than 3 months from green but don't know exactly. iDry

Because there is no air (or very little) for conduction or convection of heat the wood has to be warmed by other means like heated aluminum plates between the layers. The vacuum lowers the boiling point of water and causes a pressure differential between the core and shell of the lumber, allowing faster drying with minimal degrade. The process allows for much faster turnover of material, especially with thick stock.

It looks like iDry has a couple of lines of kilns. In the standard model there is enough atmospheric pressure to use conventional convection heating, while the more expensive line uses higher vacuum and heating plates. They incorporate a pressurized bladder to keep the load flat as it dries.

I would be curious to know how the firewood is heated (or if it is). Obviously degrade is not much of an issue compared to lumber.

Apparently Andrew Pearce Bowls, which produces hand-turned bowls in quantity down in Quechee, VT has an iDry so it must work for turning.

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

Our local sawmill, about a 15 minute drive, offers services for kiln drying in their two new iDry's. Just tell them how much you have and they will quote and dry. The sawmill is CR Muterspaw. Great people and service.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

I have my own WoodMizer that I bought used in about 1998 and I still use it every summer. In September I used it to cut up a small walnut that I got from my sisters yard in suburban Minneapolis where the major cost was gas for the 500 miles of driving my F250. The area that I live in now does not have a big selection of hardwoods, just oak, ash, birch, basswood and smaller cherry, hornbeam & buckthorn. I do have access to several saw mills in the area and one that will do custom drying about 5 miles away.

 

[robo hippy]

There was a vacuum kiln locally some years back, and once he figured it out, he could dry madrone with little degrade, which is almost impossible. I could take an 8/4 board and rip it down the middle for a book match, and there was no cupping, warping or twisting. Rip a board on the table saw, and I would get shavings, not dust like 'kill' dried woods tend to do. I guess kiln drying wood can be highly variable, and some want quantity rather than quality, which means that some times they will dry multiple species in one run, and as we all know, each species is 'different'.... Solar kiln dried wood also seems to work like air dried wood, shavings, not dust.

Now I am thinking about a small bandsaw mill where I can put firewood sized rounds on for cutting slabs. I don't like a full log cut for blanks because each section seems to have different 'orientations' for optimal blank production/less waste. NO KNOTS!!!!

robo hippy

 

[Walt Sepic]

I get lots of free wood from local tree trimming services, however green wood is only good for so much. I haven't done any segmenting in a few year but although I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how much it has gone up since my last trip to the wood store. I remember buying hard maple perhaps 3 years ago for $6.50/bdft.....And it seems that had been the price for several years. The other day what I got was $9.50bdft. yikes! 46% increase in the past 3-4 years.

Yes, wood has gone up a fair bit since covid. Where I am, Near Kingston, Ontario, Canada, We live in the country and there's plenty of wood to be had. I heat a bit with wood and that gives me some stock for sure, but also members of our wood turning club will occasionally have a friend have a tree go down and want help getting rid of it. So, a few of us show up with tracks, trailers and chain saws and our wood stock slowly grows. Also, members occasionally have extra wood and it shows up at our 50/50 draw table at a monthly meeting and if your number is called, you get to choose a piece. Personally I only use dead wood so there seems to be more available.

 

[John Snow]

The exotics are even worse….some you can’t even find! It’s a sign of the times!!

Maybe it's because we've cut most of the exotics, and they don't grow back very quickly.

 

[Walt Sepic]

Maybe it's because we've cut most of the exotics, and they don't grow back very quickly.

I heard that there's an exotic importer that only deals with sustainable suppliers. Can't find them though.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Now I am thinking about a small bandsaw mill where I can put firewood sized rounds on for cutting slabs. I don't like a full log cut for blanks because each section seems to have different 'orientations' for optimal blank production/less waste. NO KNOTS!!!!

Fire wood size pieces are difficult to mount on a band mill due to the mill not being set up for clamping short pieces. I have sometimes screwed crotches to a plank then clamped the plank to the woodmizer bed then halving it.
For buckthorn or other small trees between 3 & 8" diameter I flatten 2 sides on the jointer then cut them into about 3/4" thick boards on the vertical band saw, then when they have set for a year flatten one side on the jointer and surface in a planner or drum sander.

This is some buckthorn that seams to have stayed quite flat and when machined will make excellent segmenting material. The turning squares below the BT are American hornbeam that I cut just to have on hand. ( It makes a very effective night stick).

 

[Kirk Amidon]

Fire wood size pieces are difficult to mount on a band mill due to the mill not being set up for clamping short pieces. I have sometimes screwed crotches to a plank then clamped the plank to the woodmizer bed then halving it.
For buckthorn or other small trees between 3 & 8" diameter I flatten 2 sides on the jointer then cut them into about 3/4" thick boards on the vertical band saw, then when they have set for a year flatten one side on the jointer and surface in a planner or drum sander.
View attachment 49704
This is some buckthorn that seams to have stayed quite flat and when machined will make excellent segmenting material. The turning squares below the BT are American hornbeam that I cut just to have on hand. ( It makes a very effective night stick).

Funny you mention this - I have successfully done this with a lot of "firewood". It has worked great for many types. Anything much larger than 10" or 3' long is about my limit solo, but still quite doable otherwise. Some of the firewood we get here is really curly maple, or full of ambrosia stains, and sometimes spalted. Always worth setting aside like this - but never thought of it for segmenting, thanks Don!

A few years ago a neighbor had to have a large cherry tree taken down. They gave me a couple cords worth of firewood, and would not take any payment. I took a couple pieces through the bandsaw and stickered them for a year. I went over to their house with a small box saying that I wanted to return part of their tree.

That was way before I started turning, but same sentiment - in same scenario today, they'd have received a bowl.

 

[Jeff Hamby]

I have been able to find some logs that have fallen on people farms and they just want them gone. So far all of the ones I have gotten have been solid. Just waiting on the guy with the portable sawmill to show up.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Look for a local saw mill. I buy walnut, cherry and hard maple for $3 to $3.50 a board foot and it is dry.

 

[Delbert Goff]

I bought a thick cherry slab from a local sawmill operator today for $1.50 per board foot. It is wet, so it will be a while before I get finished bowls from it. He also mentioned that he often has short logs that are not suitable for lumber and asked if I could use some slabs from them, so hopefully I will get some more reasonably priced slabs in the near future.

 

[jeff e. luedloff]

I was wandering the net recently and found a local firewood supplier who offers vacuum drying of their product. They refer to it as kiln dried but explain it as using negative pressure to remove the internal moisture. Does anyone have experience with this? How does it compare to true kiln dried or to natural air drying? Thanks.

I recently had a customer want me to make walnut rolling pins for christmas- this was mid october and the tree was still growing-i told them i couldn't dry the wood in time but i had heard of vacuum kilns- gave them a name and let them talk to the sawmill directly and decide - they chose to have the wood felled- brought to the sawmill (with vacuum kiln) and dried it (and paid quit dearly for it)- they brought me the wood "dry"- the wood looked beautiful all 4x4x24 blocks- visually there were no end grain checks or any visible defects- once cut into the pieces on the inside looked like they blew apart with Dynamite- every piece of curly walnut had splits the entire length, some as wide as 1/2"-No visible defects were present in the wood until cut into- i would recommend doing your research- I have NOT- but have seen some costly mistakes with the vac kiln-I question drying wood in any manner "quickly"-

 

[Jim Holcombe]

Years ago, I took a class at Arrowmont from Leo Doyle. He set up a visit to see a guy in the country around Gatlinburg that had “developed a cheap, fast way to dry wood”. He had logs of poplar standing up about 12-14” in diameter by 8-10’ long dry as a bone. I brought back a piece of dogwood about 4” diameter by 12-15” long that was dry and was perfect as to no cracks. No evidence that we could see as to how he did it. We did see some biscuits cut from log ends that were flat on the fresh cut side but slightly hemispherical on what would have been the original felling end. Guy’s name was Eugene Sexton and his process was ESP90. Found an article in a newspaper from northern Georgia from 2022 so he must still be plugging it.

 

[Ken Dambrosio]

I get lots of free wood from local tree trimming services, however green wood is only good for so much. I haven't done any segmenting in a few year but although I shouldn't have been, I was surprised at how much it has gone up since my last trip to the wood store. I remember buying hard maple perhaps 3 years ago for $6.50/bdft.....And it seems that had been the price for several years. The other day what I got was $9.50bdft. yikes! 46% increase in the past 3-4 years.

David, over the years, I made it a point to meet local tree surgeons and showed them pictures of the various bowls that I did and asked them if they were interested if they would like me making one for them, especially if they shared some of the local nut and wild fruitwood. Surprisingly enough, over the years, they would be dropping off in my driveway a variety of beautiful crotch wood, burls as well as shallow stump cuts. And I really never had to buy wood unless I was doing a segmented turning. I guess as an old Yankee bartering and making friends with a good tree surgeon has always paid off for me.

 

[Brian Gustin]

visually there were no end grain checks or any visible defects- once cut into the pieces on the inside looked like they blew apart with Dynamite- every piece of curly walnut had splits the entire length, some as wide as 1/2"-No visible defects were present in the wood until cut into-

That's termed Case Hardening - result of drying wood too fast - outside dries before inside has had a chance, so when inside finally dries, it shrinks, of course, but as the outside wood is already dried and "set in its ways" , inner wood has no choice but to crack, split and separate.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

Any kiln can produce poor quality results depending on the operator. I once received a 4" x 3' x 6' Doug Fir slab salvaged from a shipwreck for a bar top that had been processed in a combination vacuum/radio frequency kiln. The moisture content varied from 5 to 30% and the vendor had patched in a huge dutchman on the bottom to hide the effects of a fire!

 

[Dave Hulett]

David, over the years, I made it a point to meet local tree surgeons and showed them pictures of the various bowls that I did and asked them if they were interested if they would like me making one for them, especially if they shared some of the local nut and wild fruitwood. Surprisingly enough, over the years, they would be dropping off in my driveway a variety of beautiful crotch wood, burls as well as shallow stump cuts. And I really never had to buy wood unless I was doing a segmented turning. I guess as an old Yankee bartering and making friends with a good tree surgeon has always paid off for me.

have done the same. I have relationships with several local tree surgeons who bring me stuff frequently. So for green wood I'm all set, but for many projects kiln dryed wood is a necessity. this project is for segmenting so I didn't really have a choice and is why the surprise 'cause I haven't done any segmenting for 3-4 years. I posted because I hadn't seen anyone else mention the cost of wood but not surprised at all by the number of responses, it is what it is!

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

We went to a bat factory in Missouri last year and I think it was a vacuum kiln. The water was litteraly pouring out of it. He told us how many gallons a day they pumped into the sewer but those facts slip my mind. We were buying cutoffs from the bat blanks. Some were cracked or had splits but only a small percentage of a pallet and these are the bad part.

 

[Karl Loeblein]

Buy your wood directly from other woodturners instead. A local turning clubs is a great source which avoids any shipping fees. Consider building your own kiln to dry wood faster from an old freezer or dishwasher. Use google to find videos and instructionson making your own kiln. Also, boiling or soaking in alcohol which can cut your drying time in half. Search here for more ideas.

Woodbarter.com is a great internet source because it disallows third party selling, but keep in mind most items will have a shipping fee. We’re just a bunch woodworkers selling, bartering and discussing everything wood relate. Great site to find some really nice wood. Don’t forget to come back here to show off your results.

 

[hughie]

I find keep collecting, eventually you will have a vast array of dry seasoned wood, storage is more my problem. Getting the stuff is not too hard if you befriend a few tree surgeons. I found they are only too happy to pass it on to somebody who is going to use it, saves them wood chipping and then dealing with the wood chips.
Suburban tree felling can often turn up exotics, so it well worthwhile looking into it.

 

[robo hippy]

There are no short cuts to drying wood, if you want it done correctly.

robo hippy

 

[Odie]

There are no short cuts to drying wood, if you want it done correctly.

robo hippy

^^^^^ I have found this to be the case, as well, when it comes to seasoning roughed bowls from wet unseasoned wood.....time is your best friend. Extending that time with anchorseal is better yet! I have seen a zillion ways other turners attempt to season roughed bowls, but everything has it's drawbacks. The only surefire way to get the best possible results, is to do it very very slowly.

-----odie-----