wood haul: Major score!

[Ned Bulken]

http://www.woodworking.org/imagepost/200508/snedwoodscore002-2.jpg

http://www.woodworking.org/imagepost/200508/snedwoodscore003-1.jpg

there is approximately 300 bf of beautiful rich red cherry in my van and then stacked against the wall in my shop, until I can clear space in the loft to put it up there. A buddy of mine had picked this up from his local supplier several years ago. He was more than kind enough to share it with me last week, at cost, which was a mere 70c/bf. No that is not a typo that 300 bf cost a mere $210! Using a local mill's price sheet for comparison, that same pile from him would cost $1500. It was sawn on a regular circular mill, not a bandmill, so it is all nice and straight as can be thickness wise. There were a few boards with a slight twist, but I got to pick and choose what I wanted from his stack.
He has more, but I suspect he'll hang onto that portion for himself. I took about 1/3 to maybe 1/2 of what he had. He just needed the room, or so he claimed.

[Fred Voorhees]

Great Ned! I'll be up in about six or seven weeks to pick it up. Keep it warm.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Ned, great score! Nothing like a good deal on cherry. Is it all 4/4? What's the first project that you have lined up?

[Dan Forman]

I am green with envy! Fabulous score.

Dan

[Jerry Olexa]

I'll be looking for your photo at the Post Office now that you've stole that!!

Great Haul. Thought I had a deal a few monthsago @ 4.90/bd ft. Good for u!!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Nice snag, Ned. Since you made out like a bandit, I figured you might be needing this. (Had to do this for another larcenous Creeker a while back...)

- Vaughn

[Ned Bulken]

LOL too cool, thanks vaughn!
It was one of those 'once in a lifetime' deals. I was over in the shop earlier today and planed down one piece of a board that had a split in it, just to see what the rest of the pile will be like. The pics don't do justice to just how nice and deep orange/auburn color the boards are in their rough state. John, my shop partner, says he hasn't seen cherry with that color in a Long time.
I can easily get 3/4 for certain. they're all 4/4 or so and very straight right now. Oh, and they've been in his shop for three years already, so they're at 8% moisture content already. :D :D

[Corey Hallagan]

Ned, great score!! Looking forward to seeing some nice projects as a result of this gloat! Enjoy,

Corey

[Jim Young]

Whoa, that's a nice haul.

[Ned Bulken]

http://www.woodworking.org/imagepost/200508/snedwoodscore001.jpg
one last pic, just prior to unloading. I had that kind of smile on for two days straight. :D

[scott spencer]

Excellent haul! Now you should "pay it forward" for your buddy's sake! There are probably several other Creekers that live in NY that you can "share" with! :D

[John Zimmerman]

I hope you guys who live where wood actually grows realize how lucky you are. Here in Arizona everything, except the occassional mesquite, is trucked in at great expense. I used to live in Massachussetts near the New Hampshire border and have a couple of gloats from a few years ago. A guy in New Hampshire fell and milled several white oak trees on his property and air dried them for several years. He had to move so advetised his wood for sale. I got over 200 bf of 8/4 White oak, at least 12' wide for a buck a bf. For an extra $10 he delivered it. That went into a couple of pieces of Craftsman style furniture.

There was also a small sawmill in NH that dealt with mostly junk wood, trees that were cut down for roads and housing developments. The vast majority was pine that he sold to a pallet maker, but every now and then he would get some hardwoods. One time I stopped in he had about 700 bf of soft maple. I could pick and choose for $1.00 a bf but if I took it all it would be $.50 a bf. I could a buddy to split the stash with me. Not only did we gwt about 50 bf of curly maple each out of it the mill threqw in 50 bf of cherry. Now calling this cherry #2 comm would be a compliment, it mostly looke like propeller rejects, but the grain was phenomenal. Judicious cutting produced a jewelry box and several small pencil boxes.

Those were the days, sigh

John Zimmerman

[Bud Duffy]

Hey Ned you can just store that wood at my brothers house in Ithaca till i come and pick it up some time in sept or oct!!!! or not your choice. That is just way too good a deal to pass up congrats!!!! :D :rolleyes: :o
Bud

[Tim Marks]

alright, John. Spill the beans.

Where is the "small sawmill in NH that dealt with mostly junk wood"? Some of us still live here, and would like to relive your previous victories.

[John Zimmerman]

Tim:

It is (was?) in Pelham, NH, just about due North of Lowell, MA and due East of Nashua, NH. I'm not even sure it had a name. I only new it was there because my company had a radar test site just past it. There were two on the way up from Lowell, both on the left side of the road. The second one is the one I visited most, they were the friendliest. If I could find my detailed map of the area I could name the road. It may have a highway number but it just starts as a city street and turns into a country road. It was a very residential area with these sawmills tucked in among the houses, I think both families lived on the properties. With the way cities are growing, their land may have become worth more than their businesses.

If you're really interested I might be able to make a couple of phone calls and see if it's still there. Even if it is, you would have to enjoy it as a road trip first then be pleasantly surprised if you find something.

JohnZ