I feel ill...

[Mike Parzych]

I just watched a segment on "Dirty Jobs." I don't know why it was classified as a "dirty" job, but it featured a company called Georgian Bay Wet Woods which salvages sunken logs from the logging era. They salvage, and kiln dry the stuff. On this program they were working with some cherry logs from pre-1815.

So far everything's okay.

I started to feel uncomfortable when they showed this stuff being cut for veneer because I knew what would happen next. Cut to a factory which is slapping it onto particle board. I could feel the bile rising into my throat. What a horrible fate for such glorious lumber.

I wretched as they started applying STAIN to it, and made some sort of ungodly expensive desk.

By now I was nearing projectile vomiting mode.

Why would anyone do this to that sort of lumber?

I believe this should be legislated into Felony status.

[Silas Smith]

I read once that some of the logs they pulled out were worth north of $40K as veneer logs. I know it's a shame, but if someone offered me that kind of money for it.......

[Charles McKinley]

Best get used to it. I would venture the majority of veneer quility lumber cut in W. Penn. heads for the veneer plant. Less waste and higher price per board foot equal a no brainer for the lumber business. It is just basic economics.

[Phil Maddox]

You have a better stomach than I do. I watched until I heard the guy say "they slice the log into thin sheets and it is then applied to a substrate"

I had to flip the channel at that point.

[Mike Parzych]

It did look as though the were producing some dimensional lumber also though. It was the staining part that really got me. The stain was so dark that after application the veneer bore no resemblance to the species it was.

And the cash value can't be ignored. They had some only medium sized logs that were pegged at $7-8,000 each. I'm sure there's plenty out there in the $30-40,000 range.

But this stuff really is a finite resource - you can't grow anymore sunken logs.

[John Timberlake]

I saw the same episode a couple of weeks ago. I also was appalled when they got to the MDF and staining portion. Looks a lot like the furniture that my daughter likes. She refers to it a wenge, but I think it is just a wenge dye on veneered MFD. But wood always goes to the highest bidder. And this stuff is probably very pricy.