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Woodworking DIY

westend said:
Pallets, they are all over and most businesses are glad to have them out of their way. Especially seek out flooring stores as pallets from the exporting countries can be made from the same exotic hardwoods as the flooring.
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+1 and QFT!!

I've seen some nice mahogany pallets under loads of bananas and scored some really wild air dried Bubinga off some paper loads. Then there's the story about the sailboat hull crates from Asia made from teak....
 
Most pallets are ok, but watch out for ones coming from exotic places, as they may have been treated for export/customs purposes. Careful breathing the dust.

I found some "Peruvian catswees wood" - well it smelt like a cat had wee'd on it and it was from Peru. Nasty stuff.
 
Andyman said:
+1 and QFT!!

I've seen some nice mahogany pallets under loads of bananas and scored some really wild air dried Bubinga off some paper loads. Then there's the story about the sailboat hull crates from Asia made from teak....
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I have some teak, here, from pallets. I picked up the pallets from the back of a flooring store and the teak was used as the runners. The top slats were a variety of finished floor planks.

aussiedan said:
Most pallets are ok, but watch out for ones coming from exotic places, as they may have been treated for export/customs purposes. Careful breathing the dust.

I found some "Peruvian catswees wood" - well it smelt like a cat had wee'd on it and it was from Peru. Nasty stuff.
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Ew, catwee, thanks for the heads up on that.
 
found another good source for old wood today.

get to know, and be friendly with your local SA manager.

You wouldn't believe what gets tossed out from there.

went by there today, and asked for any scrap furniture that's going to be tossed, explained my purpose for it, and she said to go ahead and grab whatever I wanted from the scrap heap.

went in the back room, and as I did, the guy that picks it all up to haul to the dump arrived, so I had the chance to grab any real wood as it was loaded into the truck.

Pulled out a rustic dining table made of black oak( the glue seams on the top are coming apart), some bed frames made out of maple, and ash, a birch crib, some red oak flooring, and some nice pine from a higher end ikea shelving unit.
 
treserious said:
found another good source for old wood today.

get to know, and be friendly with your local SA manager.

You wouldn't believe what gets tossed out from there.

went by there today, and asked for any scrap furniture that's going to be tossed, explained my purpose for it, and she said to go ahead and grab whatever I wanted from the scrap heap.

went in the back room, and as I did, the guy that picks it all up to haul to the dump arrived, so I had the chance to grab any real wood as it was loaded into the truck.

Pulled out a rustic dining table made of black oak( the glue seams on the top are coming apart), some bed frames made out of maple, and ash, a birch crib, some red oak flooring, and some nice pine from a higher end ikea shelving unit.
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Way to go :thmbsp:.Not only to you get the benefit from not filling up the landfill, but saved a considerable amount on your next project. Occasionally, I need to buy hardwood lumber. The last trip to the hardwood guys cost me +$200. White ash was one of their cheapest and I think I paid $2.50/bd. ft. Clear Pine, Oak, and maple will set you back $4.50-$7.00 bd. ft., depending on grade and availability.
 
westend said:
Way to go :thmbsp:.Not only to you get the benefit from not filling up the landfill, but saved a considerable amount on your next project. Occasionally, I need to buy hardwood lumber. The last trip to the hardwood guys cost me +$200. White ash was one of their cheapest and I think I paid $2.50/bd. ft. Clear Pine, Oak, and maple will set you back $4.50-$7.00 bd. ft., depending on grade and availability.
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Hey Lance, where do you buy lumber when you have too?

My wife would like some new cabinet doors and wants the slab look. I'm thinking Maple.
 
westend said:
Way to go :thmbsp:.Not only to you get the benefit from not filling up the landfill, but saved a considerable amount on your next project. Occasionally, I need to buy hardwood lumber. The last trip to the hardwood guys cost me +$200. White ash was one of their cheapest and I think I paid $2.50/bd. ft. Clear Pine, Oak, and maple will set you back $4.50-$7.00 bd. ft., depending on grade and availability.
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the best bit is that she offered to let me come back every week and grab anything I want out of the the supposed scrap stuff.

normally I don't buy wood for my projects if I can help it, due to cost, and the treehugger factor.
for large projects where a larger quantity of a particular material is needed, then I have little choice but to buy.0

Often if you don't have a direct lumber mill source for wood, its cheaper to buy finished pieces than to buy wood and build it yourself.
 
I've designed some nice voigt speakers, pa speakers and racks for the rack mount gear of my pa system. I use recycled wood for my 1,2 and 3 cubit foot test boxes and my first voigt pipes were made out of 1/2" pine plywood I found next to a dumpster.

Haven't made any furniture yet but do plan on making a cabinent for holding my lp's soon
 
a lot of dresser drawers have oak sides and back, great wood as that old wood holds its dimensions better
 
"A belt sander is a nice thing to have for ripping the old surface from weathered timber. Its easy to take too much off though. "

I prefer a power washer. Less dust (wood workers have a higher lung cancr rate then smokers) and way quicker.
 
jsixis said:
"A belt sander is a nice thing to have for ripping the old surface from weathered timber. Its easy to take too much off though. "

I prefer a power washer. Less dust (wood workers have a higher lung cancr rate then smokers) and way quicker.
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higher cancer rate? really?. hmm, I guess foreign particulate matter is what does it by irritating the lungs.


how about just zipping it through a planer, take off a 32nd of an inch.

less dust methinks.

perhaps a dust mask would help. that, and use a vacuum system on your tools.
I attach my shop vac to anything that has a dust bag attachment to greatly reduce the dust.
bit of a pain in the butt to use a belt sander with a hose attached, but its better than having to hork that crap up, and clean it out of your ventilation system.
 
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treserious said:
higher cancer rate? really?. hmm, I guess foreign particulate matter is what does it by irritating the lungs.


how about just zipping it through a planer, take off a 32nd of an inch.

less dust methinks.

perhaps a dust mask would help. that, and use a vacuum system on your tools.
I attach my shop vac to anything that has a dust bag attachment to greatly reduce the dust.
bit of a pain in the butt to use a belt sander with a hose attached, but its better than having to hork that crap up, and clean it out of your ventilation system.
Click to expand...


Dust solutions are easy to get, but sometimes, like you said, its a pain in the butt to use them. I am guilty of not using a dust mask when I know I should and the shop vac is great - when I can be bothered/remember to hook it up.

The dust made from working the local Blackwood (acacia) and Redgum (eucalipt) is toxic, yet pine just blocks your nose.

All I'm saying is if you know its a safe species, use a mask for comfort, if you are unsure, use a mask for your health.

Most joinerys that I have asked to buzz some re-claimed timber don't want to know about it. They are too scared that it will still have nails, screws and the like still in, this will ruin the blades. They don't want the incoveinience of a re-sharpen and set. It would be nice to have a little handyman thicknesser for this purpose. Untill then, the belt sander will have to do.

Danny.
 
ejfud said:
Hey Lance, where do you buy lumber when you have too?

My wife would like some new cabinet doors and wants the slab look. I'm thinking Maple.
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Hey Gary, I buy almost exclusively from Youngblood Lumber Co. Central Ave. NE, in Mpls.. They have the best selection. An account there is good since it lowers the price. PM me for details.

treserious said:
the best bit is that she offered to let me come back every week and grab anything I want out of the the supposed scrap stuff.

normally I don't buy wood for my projects if I can help it, due to cost, and the treehugger factor.
for large projects where a larger quantity of a particular material is needed, then I have little choice but to buy.0

Often if you don't have a direct lumber mill source for wood, its cheaper to buy finished pieces than to buy wood and build it yourself.
Click to expand...
Since I operate a business and use wood as a material for projects, it isn't always
possible to use recycled wood. I don't lose any sleep as I recycle more than any other ten folks I know, combined. I bet it is the same for you.
treserious said:
higher cancer rate? really?. hmm, I guess foreign particulate matter is what does it by irritating the lungs.


how about just zipping it through a planer, take off a 32nd of an inch.

less dust methinks.

perhaps a dust mask would help. that, and use a vacuum system on your tools.
I attach my shop vac to anything that has a dust bag attachment to greatly reduce the dust.
bit of a pain in the butt to use a belt sander with a hose attached, but its better than having to hork that crap up, and clean it out of your ventilation system.
Click to expand...
I have dust collection, here, and it helps. Another alternative is to use a hand scraper. It allows for a better finish than sanding and results in less dust. If my project is on a big scale, I hit it with a belt sander and/or clean it with oxalic acid and then off to the planer.
 
treserious said:
Is there a resource online that gives a detailed list of wood MSDS? or something similar?

I found these, but they are nowhere near complete lists.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf
http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-PUB_ch045.pdf
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I have found it's easier to first identify the timber you are going to work with (that can be tricky for an untrained eye like mine), then research that speicies (internet, or ask a carpenter). If you find no warnings, it's probably ok.

Most of the time most wood is not a problem, there are a few to worry about though.
If in doubt,"mask up".

I'm all for using old pallets, as you can get some good timber for next to nothing, I have found some that were too questionable to use, even though the timber looked nice. Some stuff from Europe is fumigated and I have come accross "treated" pine often (the green looking stuff). Not the best stuff to use for speaker enclosures in the living room.

Packing crates from engine shops, motorbike shops, truck places are a good source of plywood. The best stuff comes from airports - these guys like their engines and parts packed well. I have found stuff that was worth the beer I had to give them.

Danny.
 
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