Favorite wood finds?

[Aiden Pettengill]

Hi all!
Was just curious to see what you favorite finds have been. I quite frequently find nicely figured curly oak and maple in a big box store here in Maine. I guess some companies just don't care or are ignorant. Oh well their loss, it just means I don't have to shell out as much money to get nice wood!

[Bruce King]

You got lucky, down here pine is plentiful and haft to shell out big bucks for anything else at hardwood suppliers.

[Aiden Pettengill]

You got lucky, down here pine is plentiful and half to shell out big bucks for anything else at hardwood suppliers.
Here too however good luck trying to find anything but oak, maple and white pine for a decent price. We also have pay an arm and a leg for any nut woods. In SC is black walnut available reasonably? Here its more expensive than I'd like it to be. I usually cry when I see sugar maple lumber being someone who has a sugar shack because it can create more income as a sap tree throughout its lifetime and is better tasting as maple syrup. I usually then proceed to buy it and my heart break is gone.:D

[Stan Calow]

I go to a lot of estate and garage sales, and sometimes its (sadly) a former woodworker's stuff. I once bought a 5" diam. log of macassar ebony for 50 cents. Been saving it for something special for about 10 years now. Maybe it will pass on to someone at my estate sale. I also patronize a local wood supplier that salvages local (urban) trees where I bought three 8 foot, 12-14 inch wide pieces of curly pear - not something you see every day. Sorry I didn't buy the whole flitch.

[Aiden Pettengill]

I go to a lot of estate and garage sales, and sometimes its (sadly) a former woodworker's stuff. I once bought a 5" diam. log of macassar ebony for 50 cents. Been saving it for something special for about 10 years now. Maybe it will pass on to someone at my estate sale. I also patronize a local wood supplier that salvages local (urban) trees where I bought three 8 foot, 12-14 inch wide pieces of curly pear - not something you see every day. Sorry I didn't buy the whole flitch.
Wow! Thats a couple of really good finds. I'm jealous!

[Andrew Hughes]

My best find was a full flitch of cedar of Lebanon that was put on the floor at a local wood supplier. I had first look so I pulled out two quarter sawn slabs from the center of the tree.
It was a very rewarding wood to work with in every way possible. It mostly went to door panels and drawer bottoms.

[John C Bush]

A local entrepreneur tried a business model importing turning blanks~~12" x 12" x 5"++~~ from Peru and they were shipped in crates on pallets made with their scrap wood--purple heart, jatoba, blood wood and other unidentified species(Chanto Chiro??) Turner out (oops-bad pun) the shipping costs for buyers was too much and he shut down the operation. I made six trips with my 5x10 trailer loader to the top with the flatwood from the crates and piles of unsold blanks. I shared most of the blanks with friends and have been using the flat stock for the last 10 years. Stock was 1"+ thick, 44" long , and 5-8" wide. Made lots of projects with it and have shared with others to pay it forward. Still digging purple heart splinters out of my hands tho!

[Aiden Pettengill]

A local entrepreneur tried a business model importing turning blanks~~12" x 12" x 5"++~~ from Peru and they were shipped in crates on pallets made with their scrap wood--purple heart, jatoba, blood wood and other unidentified species(Chanto Chiro??) Turner out (oops-bad pun) the shipping costs for buyers was too much and he shut down the operation. I made six trips with my 5x10 trailer loader to the top with the flatwood from the crates and piles of unsold blanks. I shared most of the blanks with friends and have been using the flat stock for the last 10 years. Stock was 1"+ thick, 44" long , and 5-8" wide. Made lots of projects with it and have shared with others to pay it forward. Still digging purple heart splinters out of my hands tho!

Thats quite a good haul!