Wood is like gold

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Rusty

Flooring installer
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I wonder if wood prices will ever come back down? I used to build several of these to sell a year, but wood is just too expensive.

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Is it plywood? I think I've mentioned on here a buddy of mine mills (and then sells or builds with) his own lumber from trees that fall in our neighborhood or in the neighborhood of his friends/family.

If you've got a chainsaw and a milling jig, some space to let wood dry out, a planer, and patience, the lumber is right there on the ground waiting for you.

And of course if you can make stuff out of construction lumber there might be plenty for free in dumpsters...
 
I have an Alaskan chainsaw mill but find it to be hard and sweaty work requiring frequent chain sharpening. I find it easier to freehand saw some blocks out for lathe work. I am going to look into free pallets as a source to make smaller stuff. Edge gluing can make up for width but length is limited with pallets. I let a 20" diameter poplar log go to waste. Walnut and cherry might be worth the sweat and prolly smaller diameter as well. I have carved spoons and ladles from walnut limbs salvaged from a tree trimmer's woodpile. I need to prune a weeping cherry maybe I'll find some spoon shapes in its limbs. I don't know if it will have characteristic cherry color or not.

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Is it plywood? I think I've mentioned on here a buddy of mine mills (and then sells or builds with) his own lumber from trees that fall in our neighborhood or in the neighborhood of his friends/family.

If you've got a chainsaw and a milling jig, some space to let wood dry out, a planer, and patience, the lumber is right there on the ground waiting for you.

And of course if you can make stuff out of construction lumber there might be plenty for free in dumpsters...
It is 1 x 12 dimension lumber. If someone wants a chair made from plywood, they can go to Walmart.
 
If someone wants a chair made from plywood, they can go to Walmart.

Hey I've seen elegant, durable kids' furniture made from quality plywood. (Birch, hardwoods, etc.) Often the design features some of the panels end-on so the plies become part of the aesthetic. Example I found just now looking it up:

16489891166_5cdbe17e87_b.jpg


Chairs from Walmart will be vinyl-coated MDF with metal fasteners, if they're not just plastic.

Anyway, good luck with your side hustle Rusty, I hope you find a way to make it feasible. Those are cute chairs, I could see them being great presents for Christmas or baby showers or whatever.
 
Hey I've seen elegant, durable kids' furniture made from quality plywood. (Birch, hardwoods, etc.) Often the design features some of the panels end-on so the plies become part of the aesthetic. Example I found just now looking it up:

16489891166_5cdbe17e87_b.jpg


Chairs from Walmart will be vinyl-coated MDF with metal fasteners, if they're not just plastic.

Anyway, good luck with your side hustle Rusty, I hope you find a way to make it feasible. Those are cute chairs, I could see them being great presents for Christmas or baby showers or whatever.
The last one I made went to a great granddaughter for her first birthday.
 
1x12's are down to around pre spike levels here. Around $20...
 
When I built my house I purchased a lot of #3 pine 1x12s. I ripped them and used them for all my mill work using molding cutters on RAS. It think they were about $0.30/BF back then.
 
1x12's are down to around pre spike levels here. Around $20...
Still about $28 here. Maybe they will come down here.
Bad part is, I have a friend in Oregon who lives near the lumber mills. He said they had so much lumber and trees that they are renting acreage to store it, to keep the price up.
 
Still about $28 here. Maybe they will come down here.
Bad part is, I have a friend in Oregon who lives near the lumber mills. He said they had so much lumber and trees that they are renting acreage to store it, to keep the price up.
That's kind of like the Gubment paying farmers to not grow anything to keep the price up.
 
Reminds me of what I heard the diamond industry does, basically warehousing diamonds to keep supply down and prices up. Doesn't surprise me, but doesn't really bother me much either. Eventually (the way it's supposed to work) someone will make a move selling their product for less and snap up all the customers. Demand goes down, then all the companies still sitting on their hoards are sitting on worthless stockpiles. (Works best for non-durable goods...wood is less durable thandiamonds.) The problem is if it's coordinated between every last company, which seems farfetched but might not be impossible. Who knows.
 
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