Looking for reclaimed wood source in SoCal........

[Roger Savatteri]

Does anyone have a trusted reclaimed wood source in the Southern California area?
(between Santa Barbara and San Diego and out to the Inland Empire)

I have a contemporary/rustic dining room table project coming up and I'm considering using reclaimed source material that I could go and inspect in person.

This is going to be a large table, (5' by 11'). With an accompanying "long" butler's sideboard. The jury is still out on the type of wood I'll be using. It could very well depend upon availability. (thick long stock)

thanks in advance for any thoughts,

Roger

ps.-1, outside of "Reclaimed Dimensional Lumber & Beams" in Sylmar,Ca.
ps.-2 ,if anyone has worked with the above people I'd be open to hearing from you, either here or in a pm.

[William Harrison]

Try calling Palomar College in San Diego. Their cabinet and furniture technology department has a urban forestry project. They have cut and kiln dry wood from donated trees. You might even be able to request something if they haven't cut the tree yet.

good luck

bill

[Frank Hagan]

Most of the reclaimed wood I've seen in SoCal is old growth Douglas Fir, with very tight grain (unlike the fast growing kind we see used in construction lumber here). That's because most of the timbers in the old buildings were DF.

Architectural salvage places are good sources for the timbers; right now, Taipan Architectural Salvage in Santa Barbara is moving and having a sale of sorts. Check out this link (http://taipanarchsalvage.blogspot.com/2008/05/lumber.html) for pics of the DF timbers.

I have also found a limited amount of salvaged wood at my local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity's thrift shop ... web site is at this link (http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx). They sometimes have old tables that are a source of small parts, but most of the time its construction-grade wood. Its worth a trip to one if its close to you.

The older growth DF with tight growth rings finishes beautifully, with a naturally tan color. It was used extensively in wooden boats on the west coast so it works well out of doors. It was used for indoor trim, wooden doors, and the like also.

[Roger Savatteri]

Will & Frank.........thank you for your feedback, I'll check out both sources and report back.

all the best,

Roger