Jackpot...Great lumber!

[David Tolsky]

I have a confession to make. I rarely buy my lumber, and I mostly work with hardwoods. I have a bad habit (or good habit, if you look at it a different way) of seeking out commercial shops that work with hardwood and inquire about scrap boards or stuff they can't use. I've visited sash and door shops, guitar shops, flooring shops and the like. I offer to buy whatever I can fit into my car trunk for a bulk price. Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes I don't. The other day I was driving down a street on the way to run an errand. Out of the corner of my eye during my drive I caught an open sliding door. In the one or two seconds of my peripheral vision I registered stacked lumber with the end grains painted. I made a U turn when it was safe and drove to the shop. So I walked over and it was like finding the holy grail of hardwood. White oak, walnut, maple, cherry, etc. Inside I'm getting excited, and outside I'm keeping my cool. Talked to a guy who was working there and it turns out we live in the same area, about 30 minutes north of there. I asked him if I could buy some of his scrap boards he's not using. He tells me his boss isn't there to ask but says he'll see what he can do. We exchanged cell numbers. Last night after work he contacted me to meet him a few blocks away as he had a "couple pieces" for me. When I got there, he had a stack of beautiful white oak, walnut, and maple boards. I offered to pay something of course, said, "What can I do for you?" and he said, "It's okay, they're yours...oh and are rough boards ok? "Yes I told him, I have a planer." "Good to know", he said. So I haven't seen the last of him. At the very least, I gotta take him out to lunch or dinner!. But it just goes to show you, you never know what will happen unless you ask. This is what he gave me last night...325502

[Terry Beadle]

That's a great score!! You are very lucky!! Hoot!

[Prashun Patel]

Congratulations. You know, since you didn't have to pay, you're probably supposed to pay it forward. I'll send you my address so that you can make good on that ;)

[Brian Tymchak]

Wow! Great score if he's doing that with the blessing of his boss.

[John TenEyck]

Nice. If you go back to the shop I suggest you don't ask for more of that free scrap lumber, ask if they have any scrap lumber for free, just in case he didn't tell the boss.

John

[David Tolsky]

Nice. If you go back to the shop I suggest you don't ask for more of that free scrap lumber, ask if they have any scrap lumber for free, just in case he didn't tell the boss.

John

no the best way to handle this is for me to not visit that shop again. My new friend would prefer to load some boards into his truck and bring them to me close to where we both live. That's just fine with me. But I do plan on requesting some cherry and mahogany next time around ☺️

[John TenEyck]

Wow, a choosy beggar. You better buy that new friend lunch and dinner if he comes thru.

John

[Patrick McCarthy]

David, suddenly it sounds a bit sketchy. If it were on the up and up I would want to personally thank the owner of the shop (and the wood).

just sayin'

[David Tolsky]

Understood but come on if a guy is bringing you nice s4s and s2s boards are you really going to turn them down? He has been working at that place 18 years and I gotta believe pretty much runs the place as the owner isn't around much. Don't forget I did offer to pay the guy something and he said it wasn't necessary. I'll make sure he gets fed and that he gets a little spending money for Christmas

[Mike Null]

About 30 years ago, before I retired, a good friend worked in our design department which shared a building with a commercial cabinet company. This company made various store fixtures for some of the largest retailers of women's clothing. My friend advised me to come down (a few minutes drive) and scavenge through their dumpsters for wood scraps. I did and was amazed at the quality hardwoods they had scrapped.

He could easily check the "haul" from their second-floor windows and alert me to anything special. This worked fine for a couple of years until the cabinet company moved.

[Brian Tymchak]

Understood but come on if a guy is bringing you nice s4s and s2s boards are you really going to turn them down? He has been working at that place 18 years and I gotta believe pretty much runs the place as the owner isn't around much. Don't forget I did offer to pay the guy something and he said it wasn't necessary. I'll make sure he gets fed and that he gets a little spending money for Christmas

To each his own, but I personally would be making sure I wasn't essentially receiving stolen property. Admittedly, the fact that he didn't take any money does seem a bit strange if he was dealing under the table, so it might all be on the up-and-up. If that is the case, excellent find! (Gee, we used to be able to add a specific saying at this point to a gloat...:( )

[eugene thomas]

If guy is taking them with out owners say so wouldn't that mean he stole the wood.....

[David Tolsky]

There is so much of it and I mean soooo much that I don't even think he'd notice any missing boards. This is what I think is probably happening: he's probably telling the owner that he wants it for himself to make personal projects. He did not want me to talk to the owner myself but wanted to talk to him himself (if that makes any sense). I think the only way he thought I could get some wood is if he got it for me. It was quite the coincidence that we live a few blocks from each other and he liked that too for the convenience of getting the boards to me. I don't like to think of myself as a beggar because I always offer to pay. I am however resourceful 🙂

[Myk Rian]

David;
Apparently people have trouble believing you may have scruples.

[Lewis Ehrhardt]

David, can i "buy some of the scrap boards you're not using?" :)