Reclaimed Wood

[John Daugherty]

Here is a picture of a shaker clock ala Norm. It was made from mahogany that was taken from a broken dresser. I was told it was cherry. It was stained really dark and when I planed it I realized that it wasn't. I do think that the panel in the door is cherry. I didn't do a very good job with the panel glue up as far as grain and color match. This was my first "real" woodworking project. I still need to make the knobs. I've had blanks glued up for about 2 years now.

[Rick Williams]

Eugene,
Planing reclaimed wood is hard on your planer knives. In addition to the metal that might be in the wood, finish will dull and nick your blades also. That said, your planer will remove old finish faster than any other method I’ve tried. So, it’s a trade off, time vs. money. It seems like it always comes down to that.

Tom

I've got a Delta 580 that I use for my "clean" stuff and an older Ryobi AP-12 that I kept specifically for reclaiming old lumber. Lumber wizzard and the Ryobi planer have saved me a ton of money and allowed me to reclaim many board feet of heart pine and oak. While the blades for the Ryobi aren't cheap I once got over 400 bdft of heart pine from an Insurance agency that replaced a room full of file shelving for nothing. Boards had been painted and didn't realize what I had till I planed em down.They just wanted it hauled off. In addition, I have a friend who works for HoneyWell and sometimes gets some real nice skids made from exotics shipped in from over seas.

[Jamie Shrope]

I just love the Shoji lantern. Great job!

[Jim Becker]

John, the clock looks great in that reclaimed wood! It's a nice design, too. I have one from the same plan in the kitchen made with walnut off the property, but have been thinking about making another one for in the addition...if I don't do some form of tall clock.

[Michael Faurot]

I've picked up the habit of constantly scanning the sides of the road when I'm driving, just to see if there's anything interesting worth picking up and dragging home. Most of the time I don't find anything as I have discriminating taste when it comes to choosing my trash. But every now and then I find something intriguing.

Below is a small box made from some reclaimed Beech. The Beech came from one such scavenging episode when I found a beat-up chair laying in several pieces. The inlays are Purpleheart and Bloodwood, but are not from reclaimed wood.