Apple Lumber

[James White]

A neighbor lost an apple tree in one of the recent storms. I asked him for it since I had a local furniture maker ask me about getting apple lumber. Well, I sawed it up, kiln dried it then jointed and planed it. The problem is I have no idea what to charge. Or if he was really even seriously interested. Or just making conversation. Anyway, I would like to know what it is worth. I only netted about 15 BF. But this was mostly just an experiment. Can anyone suggest what I should charge for it? Hearne Hardwoods is the only one I see on the net with apple lumber and they are getting top dollar. You can see most of the dimensions in the photos. The boards marked A are clear and the B boards would be character boards.

James
226156226155

[Myk Rian]

For a bunch of shorts, not worth much. A furniture maker is going to need a heck of a lot more than that little pile.

You say recent storms. In the last week or month? This year?
And it's kiln dried already?

[James White]

Well he asked for small pieces to make boxes. I don't think there are tables being made of apple wood. Why so negative?

Two months air dried and two weeks in the kiln. Is there something wrong with that?

James

[Myk Rian]

Well he asked for small pieces to make boxes. I don't think there are tables being made of apple wood. Why so negative?

Two months air dried and two weeks in the kiln. Is there something wrong with that?

James
Not being negative, just trying to get a handle on the need for small pieces.
If you had said "Small boxes" in the first place, it would have changed everything.
I'd give maybe $20 for it.

[Damon Stathatos]

To be honest with you, I wouldn't have lugged it from my neighbor's house to mine for $20, much less processed it. Take it to the guy, tell him the process you went through, ask him if he wants it and what would it be worth to him. If it's not worth much to him or he wasn't really interested in the first place, take it back home and use it at some point for one of your own projects. If your project turns out good, the story behind the wood will just add to the whole piece.

[Michael Peet]

Just give it to him, you'll get more than $20 of good will out of it. Maybe he can do you a favor sometime.

Mike

[Paul Gallian]

ONE more for "just give it to him" this is a positive comment and positive in good will"

[ray hampton]

this wood will made good knife holding blocks or a cutting block if they can be glue together

[Gary Herrmann]

Agree with giving it to him in turn for goodwill. Maybe he can help you with a technique down the road.

[Aaron Berk]

If he's a furniture maker and you see future sales with him, then I say either "give" it to him, or tell him to name his price. You might be able to set your self up for some real money down the road. Or is the guy just a hobbyist?

To me, that's just a stack of boards for my scrap bin. So I'd have a hard time paying more than $40 for it.
Unless I had a client lined up with an apple commission.

[Craig Michael]

Since they are shorts. If you are looking for a different type of wood, work out a swap if he has something that has hasn't found a use for.

[fRED mCnEILL]

When I built new cabinets for my kitchen I built a lot of the drawers out of apple. They are laquered.They are beautiful and are one of the highlights of the kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately I didn't have enough to do all the drawers.
There is a reason that Hearne Hardwoods charges top dollar for it.

[Myk Rian]

Some of you aren't paying attention.
This is a one time deal. A neighbors tree blew over.

[Curt Harms]

Some of you aren't paying attention.
This is a one time deal. A neighbors tree blew over.

Right. And from the apple trees I've seen, I wouldn't expect boards longer than maybe 6' from them.

[James White]

Just as an FYI. Below is a quote from my PM inbox. Now, not many of these will meet the needed requirements. But, It just shows that one man's treasure is another man's junk. If this where Ebony. I don't think there would be any doubt in regards to the value of small pieces.

The fact that after learning I had a saw mill. This cabinet maker. Who gets big bucks for his colonial reproductions. Specifically asked for small pieces of apple wood. That he could make small boxes with. Meant to me that there must be some specific nitch that needs filling. He did not inquire about any other species. I was hopping that there would be someone here that would know how much apple typically sold for. Hearne Hardwoods to me is not an accurate bench mark because they always get top dollar. But they are selling pieces as small as 3" wide by 2' in length. For any other species that I have in my shop. That would be kindling.

Again this was more or less an experiment that fell into my lap. I was curious as to how it would behave. The fact of the mater is. It does not behave well at all. That is why the yield was so small. But now I know next time. I need to account for this behavior.

There is an elderly lady that lives in the next town over. Who happens to need a fairly large (for an apple tree) cut down. I have already volunteered to do the work as charity. Thinking I would burn the wood. I think I may give this one more shot. Just because I like a good challenge.

"I'd be happy to pay you whatever top dollar is,plus shipping,for the 3/4" boards that I could make saw handles from."

James

[Todd Burch]

I've seen it for sale for > $15/bf - a local to me (Houston) hardwood dealer (Or maybe that was pear....?). They didn't have much, and I didn't buy it.

[John A langley]

James - The value in something is what the other person is willing to pay for it. This indirectly answers your question. I don't know if anybody in this thread has suggested that you make something out of it. It looks like some really nice boards. I am not a turner but I think the turners like to use it for bowls and I use some of the apply plywood which is very nice.

[James White]

I wonder if this is what my guy had in mind.
http://newmexicocreates.org/product-10763/Miniature-Apple-Wood-Fruit-Crate?category=132

James

[Matt Day]

I can't help answer the OP's question on pricing the lumber, but I feel like some people really negatively jumped on him about the whole thing. Sounds to me he put a lot of work into getting some hard to find and rare lumber milled, and that shouldn't go unnoticed.

James, maybe when you talk to the furniture maker tell him what you put into getting the wood for him, and figure out if he will continue to need more in the future and arrange a bdft price then. After you get that arranged, it's up to you if you want to give it to him as a gesture of good faith or something.

Good luck! How'd you like working with Apple?

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

I'm not sure what the differences in apple lumber or what thickness a handsaw maker might need, but the folks over in the Neander forum seem to be always looking for apple wood in smallish pieces (probably around 8" long, 4-5" wide and about an inch thick).

[Bill White]

Don't forget that apple wood is great for saw and plane totes and knobs. If I were rehabbing saws and such, I'd be all over your wood.
Might want to contact Matt Cianci. He does a LOT of saw work.
http://thesawblog.com/
He might help ya out.
Bill