I think I won the Wood Lottery!

[Jeff Skory]

I went to my local mill yesterday morning to get a piece of curly maple and some Oak so that I could try and make an end table similar to Scott Coffelt's.

Got my piece of maple at $10/board foot ($25). And I took them up on their Bargain Cart. The cart was about 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and piled 3 feet high. It consisted a whole variety of pieces that came off their bandsaw. As they said, too good to throw away, too small to sell.

It contains white oak, red oak, mahogany, poplar, walnut, and I don't know what else. Some of the pieces are a bit small but some are six inches wide and several feet long.

All in all I think I won't be wanting for a "scrap" of wood for a while. :D

Here's a picture of my $40 cartful of wood. I guess it pays to get to the mill bright and early in the morning. Now I just have to figure out where to store this stuff. :(

[John Shuk]

If you can't decide on a spot you can store it in my basement. Nice haul.

[Jim Becker]

Thats a nice pile of great project wood there, Jeff! One of the places I've bought lumber locally does something similar with their shorts...$5 for whatever you can fit in a 5 gallon drywall bucket and you can pick your pieces...perfect for those accents and small scale projects like boxes and the like.

[Skip Brant]

Jeff -

Nice haul. I am looking for curly maple - what mill did you go to? Do they also have birds eye and exotic woods. Good luck with your projects. :)

[Mike Wilkins]

This is a much overlooked source of fine hardwoods. I loaded my truck
with a bunch of cutoffs from Wall Lumber in Mayodan, NC. Included lots
of exotics. Too short for a piece of furniture, but great sizes for boxes,
turnings and accent pieces. Just lying in a scrap barrel on its way to the
dump.
Most places will just be happy to rid themselves of the stuff.
Definitely worth a look.

[Dominic Greco]

Thats a nice pile of great project wood there, Jeff! One of the places I've bought lumber locally does something similar with their shorts...$5 for whatever you can fit in a 5 gallon drywall bucket and you can pick your pieces...perfect for those accents and small scale projects like boxes and the like.

Alright Jim, who is it? Simmie? :D

[Jeff Skory]

Jeff -

Nice haul. I am looking for curly maple - what mill did you go to? Do they also have birds eye and exotic woods. Good luck with your projects. :)


Hi Skip,

I got them from Armstrong Millworks in Highland on M-59. This is about 5 miles east of US-23. Nice selection of all kinds of wood and reasonable prices. (of course I don't have a whole lot to compare it to other than Home Depot, Rockler's, and Woodcraft :D ).

You can always call to ask about the particular wood you are interested in. Their number is 248-887-1037. Their hours are M-F 7:30-5:00 and Sat 7:30-noon. They close for lunch from 12:00 to 12:45.

Happy hunting.

[Jim Young]

Armstrong has a great selection at pretty good prices. My first time there I wasn't able to pay since they don't take cc. They guy let me take my 200bft anyways and let me send him a check. It was his idea, not like I talked him into it.

Slowly this site is getting more locals. :cool:

[Jeff Skory]

Hi Jim,

You're right. They are very friendly people out there.

Say, since you're in my neck of the woods, maybe you know if there are any woodworking classes given anywhere. I figured that some of the high schools might teach night classes in woodworking but have not found any. I thought about signing up at OCC for a class but the class size is very limited and was already full when I looked into it.

Right now I am learning on my own with the help of books, magazines, and advice from the Creek.

Regards,

Jeff

[Jim Young]

The only thing I know of off hand are the classes at Woodcraft on Ford road and L.L. Johnsons in Charlotte. I've taken a couple of the WC classes which give you enough instruction to become confident at certain tasks. If you are looking to make a career out of woodworking then these classes are not the thing. IMHO

So far most of my learning has come from the way you describe it, through books and Sawmillcreek (and the Pond, RIP).

[Jeff Skory]

Yeah, I'm on the mailing list for Woodcraft. So far I have not seen too many classes I am interested in but probably will end up taking 1 or 2 there. And Charlotte is a bit out of the way, unless I went there for a Saturday class maybe.

Thanks for the feedback.