where do you get your wood?

[wes murphy]

i have to get my through ebay, or got wood, or one of the various websites. Invarabily, it's all really green and very wet. I use DNA but everything usually warps. Locally, all I really have access to is green Pondarosa Pine. I can get that by the truck load. At times, i could get cottonwood, but the trees are very large and beyond my efforts. No arborist pile and can't take anything out the city dump were a lot of wood goes. The biggest problem I have is getting the stock in the right deminsions. just my rambling thoughts.

Wes

[Marty Eargle]

Mike Smith (http://www.centurytreeturnings.com/index.html) is my go to supplier. Doesn't hurt that he's close enough for me to drive out to his place...but he's got a great selection of wood and awesome to deal with. Being a starving college student...I do try hard to come across free wood....but putting in a big order of great pieces is hard to resist sometimes.

[Robert Henrickson]

Maybe you could confer with a local tree cutter and see if he will tell you where some of his jobs are and what type of tree he is cutting. Mostly I listen for chain saws and watch for trees being cut or trimmed. Almost always if I stop and ask, the cutter will give me as much as I want, and help load it; often they will cut it into more manageable pieces. At home it helps to have a chainsaw or band saw to get blanks roughed out, but a splitting wedge and sledge would do -- your starting point doesn't have to be a squared block. Most of mine are somewhat irregular or worse. Just as an example, when my nextdoor neighbor had to have the sizable maple in front of her house removed, I got more than several dozen logs; I've turned more than 50 bowls alone from that, and lots of miscellaneous other stuff as well. I had to have a Bradford pear removed due to ice storm damage, and saved almost all of it. I still have some of both trees left. Green wood will move as it dries, but if you lay out your work with respect to the grain, you can control it and at least maintain symmetry. Twice-turning can help with lessening warping.

For cut to dimension blocks, I've gotten good stuff from Mike Smith ( http://centurytreeturnings.com/ ); I've been lucky in that he has made a couple trips to my area in the last few months.

[Robert Henrickson]

Mike Smith (http://www.centurytreeturnings.com/index.html) is my go to supplier. Doesn't hurt that he's close enough for me to drive out to his place...but he's got a great selection of wood and awesome to deal with. Being a starving college student...I do try hard to come across free wood....but putting in a big order of great pieces is hard to resist sometimes.

On his two recent visits to this area, to John Keeton's house, I've gotten a lot of wonderful wood from Mike Smith. I'm thankful he is not close enough for me to drive to regularly -- too much temptation!

[Greg Just]

Free wood is the only way to go. Tree trimmers are a good source, Craigs List under "Free", neighbors that have cut trees down, developments that are clearing a lot, Woodturning Clubs etc. If I'm making a travel mug, I buy kiln dried wood at a local store that sells a variety of hardwoods.

[Dennis Ford]

I use mostly free wood, it is green and that is the way I want it. I am fortunate to live in a wooded area but the best wood often comes from someone's yard tree that had to be cut down or died. If you give a few bowls away, friends will be on the lookout for wood that you can have for free. When you get access to some nice wood, take extra for wood-turning friends, they will do the same for you.

[Thomas Canfield]

I just recently moved and am in the process of developing new sources for "free" wood. So far I have been able to pick up some Hackberry on the street that someone had cut and stacked at the curb, soft maple from neighbor next door trimming, and willow from neighbor trimming across street. I also had a Live Oak removed to build my shop and have some of that. I had called a tree trimmer to thin out the remaining trees in the yard and he noticed that I was a turner and wanted to know what I would charge to turn a pawn replacement for a chess set - told him no charge but would hope to get some wood in future from him. That has proved to be a really good deal (I did not hire him to thin my trees, but he still brings/gives me wood) and my wood supply is now getting out of hand even after rough turning about 15 bowls, all of this in a month period. All that said, make friends with the tree people. I am also expecting some wood from the tree man that removed the Live Oak. I am making a China Berry bowl from a crotch piece for the tree trimmer to show him what some of the non-standard tree sections really have the most character over the straight sections. I have had some of Dennis Ford's wood and he mine in the past. It is good to share also.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Tree trimmers are your best bet. Money talks and most don't want to take haul it to the wood dump where they have to pay. A wood turning club always has ways to get wood. We are working with a local trimmer to get access to his storage area. Our up front asker was a pastor and how can you say no to a man of God. Our club is always on the look out for wood and we use Facebook and email to announce a find.

[John Keeton]

Wes, no doubt, free is better - most of the time. It seems nearly all turners enjoy turning wet wood, doing roughouts, and returning them later. It also seems that most folks enjoy the actual process of finding, cutting, blocking and sealing wood for later use. Much of that depends on the time you have, and the use you want to make of that time.

Most all of the turning I do requires stable, dry wood. I also do not enjoy the wood gathering process - it seems to take a lot of time and effort I could use better at the lathe. Now, if I did a lot of bowls, things might appear much differently, but I don't.

I also use mostly figured woods in my turnings, and relatively small pieces - at least for now. While one might luck upon a burl, or have a tree trimmer that can be a good source, burls are not all that common. As a result, it is much more enjoyable for me to simply purchase wood. But, again, that depends on the financial considerations, as well.

Mike Smith is my regular supplier. He is a nice fellow, fair, and has excellent pricing. I wouldn't want to think of how much wood I have purchased from him!! I also purchase from other suppliers when they have something special I want. Northwoods (http://www.nwfiguredwoods.com/curly-maple-wood.php) is a source I occasionally use. Les often comes into special pieces, and I have purchased some unbelievable box elder burl from him, as well as some figured BLM, and some curly maple.

If you want to turn bowls - go for free wood!

[Jim Underwood]

Funny thing about all wood...

It grows on trees.
:D
Somebuddy hadda say it.

I have so much wood it rots before I get to it. The wife keeps telling me I don't NEED any more wood. In fact, today I need to cut up and rough out some Peach I got a month ago. Every storm, every cleared lot, every trimmed tree... I have my eye on some piece of a tree somewhere...

If you just start looking around, you'll find all kinds of trees down, free for the asking, and someone just begging for you to take it away. In fact if you were nearby I could point you to half a dozen trees right now. A co-worker mentioned a cherry tree at his friends house, a fellow turner said he has some catalpa and hackberrry trees down, and I see an oak tree down the road a ways from where they cleared to put pipe down...

[Donny Lawson]

My problem is I have too much wood. But I never run out of something to turn. I see it throwed away every day.

[William Bachtel]

People just bring it to me, Walnut, Curly Maple, Osage Orange, Cherry, Elm, Ash, by the dump truck load. No kidding. Right now I have 5 or 6 logs over 36 inches in diameter.

[wes murphy]

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. I just wished i had the access to the abundance of hardwoods many of you have. Like I said. i have plenty of pine, but few hardwoods. I've gone to the sounds of chainsaw, and followed up with tree trimmers all to no avail. Most if not all trees wind up in the dump or have been chipped before I can get there.

[Russell Neyman]

I made a point to get to know the power company guys, because right after a snowstorm they spend their days pulling trees off of the power lines. When it snows, I call them immediately. Lots of madrone and curley maple. Their finders' fee is usually a six-pack of beer.

There are also certain heavy equipment operators who clear property in my neck of the woods, and I always ask them if they have any projects that have fruit trees or anything figured trees. Recently, one guy brought me three huge fiddleback maple bolts. Another guy has an old apple orchard he's taking out for a parking lot, so -- trust me -- I'll be standing right there with my chainsaw.

For exotic woods here in the Pacific Northwest area, I highly recommend The Board Hoarder in Kirkland, Washington. Steve, the owner, digs up just about everyting and anything, reselling boatyard remnants, old keels, and buying out imported stuff. It really helps that Steve has a scientific mind and can identify just about any species by looking at it through a microscope. He has everything from pre-cut blanks to tree stumps for very reasonable prices. http://theboardhoarder.com/