Where do you get your wood?

[Andy777]

Hi all, New to all this so wondering the best place to get some cheap wood?

I was given a few logs but they were too new.

Made a dibber for my mum and a day later its split!

Andy

 

[Shultzy]

Freecycle or you local double glazing company.

 

[Andy777]

normal timber? Glue together?

What about logs?

Andy

 

[hammer n nails]

wood recycle centre in Brighton
Brighton & Hove Wood Recycling Project


Circus Street, Brighton, East Sussex County BN2 9QF
01273 570500 ‎ · woodrecycling.org.uk
scaffold boards · reuse
"It is indeed an amazing place, one of Brightons inspirational instituations

 

[Richard T]

Andy - If you want to make another dibber from the green logs, split one down the middle and if it's big enough split one half again. If you carve a dibber from this quarter it should not split when it dries out.

 

[Andy777]

Ah interesting about splitting the wood, guess the inside is the wettest.

With the wood recycle, do you just turn up and collect what you want?

Andy H

 

[Andy777]

Might be a silly question but is a split much different to a cut?

 

[adidat]

no not really, its just very easy to split green timber with very good results

adidat

 

[Andy777]

Would that be by axe or log splitter?

 

[adidat]

an axe will do

this is a video of a guy using a froe and mallet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJxlzerXzQ

adidat

edit: when i was working on building sights as a labourer i was always taking home nice bits of timber larch, pine, ply, oak and others

made this out of the grubby piece of packing i found turned out to be some fantastic english oak

some quick trestles i knocked together for a storage bench out of the larch.

 

[jimi43]

Hi Andy

Cleaving or splitting wood along the grain when it is unseasoned (just cut)...is an age-old technique which frees up the natural stresses within the wood preventing it from splitting later. By cleaving it you are actually following the lines of natural stress and releasing them so the surrounding wood is less likely to split later.

Some woods are more prone to splitting when drying out too quickly...some are ideal for using like this ....green.

If you take your logs and split them with a splitting axe or wedge to roughly the size you need...like quartered...you can then stack them in the dry outside...away from direct sunshine and large temperature variations...stack them on "sticks"..small pieces of wood which will allow the air all around them. Woods prone to splitting can be further prevented from doing so by waxing the ends. I have a biscuit tin which I stick on the stove and melt candles in and then I dip the ends in that...it's cheap and cheerful and works.

There is a wealth of green woodworking and seasoning information on the Internet...just Google it.

As Chris says...an axe and froe are great tools...look out for them at bootfairs...this Ward and Payne one was a couple of quid if that...I forget...

...and can be honed to a super sharp edge that shaves hairs!

The old steel is truly wonderful!

Cheers

Jim

 

[Andy777]

adidat You dropped a tenna!

Thanks all for all that, I have learnt something there.
I have some Holly just cut down which I think is prone to splitting but will collect it and "start" using the chainsaw I got
the other day! and stack it, I was told pva glue on the ends would do.