Rustic Log Furniture

[Tony Bilello]

I was looking at a woodworking tool site the other day and I noticed a log tenon maker for making log furniture.
My question is.....where do you buy logs already kiln dried? Fence companies? Mills?
Cutting my own is NOT an option.

[Randy Cohen]

you could try log home kit manufacturers.

[Alan Schwabacher]

I'm sure lots of people would be happy to get rid of small stock they've cut. Why not place a "wanted to buy" ad in your local Craigslist?

Why do you want them kiln dried? If you put them together green, they can all shrink together. Or you can rough cut the tenons, let them dry some, cut them accurately, and fit them into mortises in wetter wood. That way the joints tighten up as it dries.

[Tony Bilello]

I also like to make money on the side doing it. I thought that making rustic log furniture might be a nice change from contemporary from time to time.
The way I see it, I cant make good money at it nor can i design anything if I always have to chase down wood and never know what I will have next or when. Cutting my own and drying it will make the price go sky high and unmarketable.
That is why I was looking for some kind of supplier. I also was thinking of doing some south western style furniture with logs.
I could not, in good conscious, sell someone some furniture not knowing if it will will warp or have loose joints in the near future.
I have done many repairs on that kind of furniture built by others and I dont want to have to repair my own.
When I get back on land, I will look into fence post manufacturers and maybe a small kiln that would only take a month or so to dry. If it will take longer than that, I will abandon the whole idea.

[Jim Kountz]

We have built a number of log homes in the past and I have installed the kits from the manufactures. These kits are all peeled bark or turned log sections sometimes precut sometimes not. In all of them there was some shrinkage when they dry. Although one kit I did was dried to 12% *cough* *cough* they still had some shrinkage. This resulted in some of the spindles becoming loose in their holes which of course required a repair. So if you do go that route you may want to stock up on some then let them settle in your shop for a few weeks before actually using them. This may let them acclimate enough to reduce the shrinkage somewhat.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Tony...there are hundreds of Cedar mills in our great state. I bought my logs and slabs in Canton [near Dallas]. He charges around $10-12 for an 8'x6-8" diameter log. I would imagine the price would be much cheaper near the Hill Country.

There are several mills in the piney woods near Lufkin and a few down by College Station if you want pine....they should be cheaper.

Fence suppliers are wayyy tooproud of their posts....been down that road to see what they charged for pt pine and it was the same price as the cedar that was 10 times nicer looking.

I know all this because I am about to open up a new business as a sideline building rustic furniture in our area...mostly from cedar. There's one guy down the road from me that cuts cedar slabs out of cedar sections [for table tops]. I am even hoping to buy a woodmizer and cut wood myself.

I know that slows the process but the wood would not be for me....I am going to set up a cedar store if things work out.