Chris Knight
Established Member
There has been a number of threads that discuss the problem of obtaining good wood and I have been struck by the apparent inability or unwillingness of many folk to visit woodyards.
When you look at the economics of buying wood there are some very clear things to bear in mind including the merits of choosing your own wood to avoid problem boards that must be scrapped or boards with unacceptable characteristics like too much sapwood.
A visit to a yard is a usually great chance to talk to knowledgeable people, to see the sort of facility (like the kilns etc) and care in handling that speak volumes about the likelihood of the yard perhaps sending you good wood by subsequent telephone order. The yard hands are the ones that sort your wood out, the voice on the telephone doesn't.
I recall a visit to a yard early in my woodworking "career" when a yard hand took the trouble to explain to me how to pick out good wood. When I had done this under his supervision, he properly chided me for letting a board fall to the ground, pointing out that it would pick up sand and grit that would ruin planer blades.
There are usually breakpoints like 5 cu. ft. where a load of wood becomes significantly cheaper and so the normal family car doesn't cut it, even with a roof rack. Especially since it pays to keep the wood in as long lengths as possible till you layout your intended work. How often have I said to myself - "I wish I had not cut it there!"
When I need wood I call yards I think will have what I want, try to ascertain quality, MC etc then get a rough quote (£ per cu. ft.). I find out if a yard hand will be available to help me pick out wood and if necessary, make an appointment - it is useful being retired, here. It means I am not confined to Saturday mornings!
With these factors in mind I usually hire a van (a Toyota Hi-Ace is my preferred transport because it is long and yet usually cheap to hire) at a daily cost of about £40 then drive anything upto 150 miles radius to visit yards that I have chosen after my call. I take with me a torch, saw, plane with a mild scrub blade, moisture meter, tape measure, notebook and calculator and leather gloves - all these things being needed to check out the quality and price of the wood - the saw mainly for cutting planks that are too long for the van, occasionally to see the how far end checks run into the board.
At the yard, I try to chat to both the boss and the yard hands before rushing to pick out the wood, you can get clues like statements to the effect that "the walnut is the last of their last big purchase" (translation - it's the dregs - steer clear) or they "Just had a load of ash in yesterday" (translation - it's going to be hard work and a lengthy process to sort through to find what you want). "I think we had some of that in shed number 14" (translation, it's a good job I brought the torch).
Check first but insist nicely on planing a bit of each board you think you will buy. You cannot see below the surface of a rough sawn plank and if you don't look at a clean surface you may have a gem or more likely a bloody great defect. I find a couple of diagonal swipes across the board with my plane is enough to reveal the character. If surface character is paramount, you will have to buy planed timber and check that.
If the moisture meter tells a different story to the yard, believe the meter. This can be good or bad news. I once got a good discount because the yard believed the wood to be rather wet - in fact it was very dry.
I guess the point of this teaching Granny thread is that I believe that the time and money taken to select your wood is well spent and that it will pay for itself very quickly.
When you look at the economics of buying wood there are some very clear things to bear in mind including the merits of choosing your own wood to avoid problem boards that must be scrapped or boards with unacceptable characteristics like too much sapwood.
A visit to a yard is a usually great chance to talk to knowledgeable people, to see the sort of facility (like the kilns etc) and care in handling that speak volumes about the likelihood of the yard perhaps sending you good wood by subsequent telephone order. The yard hands are the ones that sort your wood out, the voice on the telephone doesn't.
I recall a visit to a yard early in my woodworking "career" when a yard hand took the trouble to explain to me how to pick out good wood. When I had done this under his supervision, he properly chided me for letting a board fall to the ground, pointing out that it would pick up sand and grit that would ruin planer blades.
There are usually breakpoints like 5 cu. ft. where a load of wood becomes significantly cheaper and so the normal family car doesn't cut it, even with a roof rack. Especially since it pays to keep the wood in as long lengths as possible till you layout your intended work. How often have I said to myself - "I wish I had not cut it there!"
When I need wood I call yards I think will have what I want, try to ascertain quality, MC etc then get a rough quote (£ per cu. ft.). I find out if a yard hand will be available to help me pick out wood and if necessary, make an appointment - it is useful being retired, here. It means I am not confined to Saturday mornings!
With these factors in mind I usually hire a van (a Toyota Hi-Ace is my preferred transport because it is long and yet usually cheap to hire) at a daily cost of about £40 then drive anything upto 150 miles radius to visit yards that I have chosen after my call. I take with me a torch, saw, plane with a mild scrub blade, moisture meter, tape measure, notebook and calculator and leather gloves - all these things being needed to check out the quality and price of the wood - the saw mainly for cutting planks that are too long for the van, occasionally to see the how far end checks run into the board.
At the yard, I try to chat to both the boss and the yard hands before rushing to pick out the wood, you can get clues like statements to the effect that "the walnut is the last of their last big purchase" (translation - it's the dregs - steer clear) or they "Just had a load of ash in yesterday" (translation - it's going to be hard work and a lengthy process to sort through to find what you want). "I think we had some of that in shed number 14" (translation, it's a good job I brought the torch).
Check first but insist nicely on planing a bit of each board you think you will buy. You cannot see below the surface of a rough sawn plank and if you don't look at a clean surface you may have a gem or more likely a bloody great defect. I find a couple of diagonal swipes across the board with my plane is enough to reveal the character. If surface character is paramount, you will have to buy planed timber and check that.
If the moisture meter tells a different story to the yard, believe the meter. This can be good or bad news. I once got a good discount because the yard believed the wood to be rather wet - in fact it was very dry.
I guess the point of this teaching Granny thread is that I believe that the time and money taken to select your wood is well spent and that it will pay for itself very quickly.
