Reclaimed Wood

[jvt]

I really like the idea (and look) of working with reclaimed wood (say from an old building). Anyone have any experience working with reclaimed wood? Suggestions or tales of woe? How do you go about finding your reclaimed wood?

Thanks,

JVT

[Godet]

I really like the idea (and look) of working with reclaimed wood (say from an old building). Anyone have any experience working with reclaimed wood? Suggestions or tales of woe? How do you go about finding your reclaimed wood?

Thanks,

JVT

There's a great episode of the New Yankee Workshop in which Norm builds a coffee table from old pallets. It was on the website this past week; don't know if they've updated the episode yet or not, but you might check. Either way, he gets old pallets from warehouses...since they are all nailed together and dirty, it involves some demo and careful inspection of the wood for pieces of metal, dirt, etc. Then, you're going to be spending some quality time with your planer. Norm said that he actually went through a set of planer blades on the project--presumably because of the random pieces of debris that will inevitably get into your machine.

Where I live, people throw out usable wood all of the time. Most of it is pine, but I have found quartersawn oak boards, some Maple (from an old school building--I think it was part of a desk) and lots of old fir. None of the stuff I've found has required the type of prep work that a pallet would; but then again, those pallets Norm worked with had a whole lotta character when he was done.

As far as finding it...I think you'll be surprised how much you'll find if you just keep your eyes open. I would suggest posting a want ad on your local craigslist page as well...some people might be willing to give it a way if you're willing to take it off their hands.

Have fun.

[simocco]

a Church http://www.gtvicbaptist.com/about.shtml that i used to be a member of is about to be torn down - the building was constructed in 1847 in Belfast. im hoping to salvage a few bit and pieces - although its mostly pine

[jwatson]

i reclaim wood from pallets cabinet shop dumpsters etc. one key thing get a metal detector, its a great tool for starters. you need to make sure you know if there are any nails in the wood. get a wire brush as well. there are a lot of wood that will have grit and grime etc. the wire brush is to get out any of that. then from there you can work it like anyother wood. the fun comes in finding wood stashes you never would have thought were there.

ps i got my metal detector from harbor freight.

[Guest Trace]

I reclaim wood from the oil well sheds here on the property. It is oak, about 100 years old. It is very black in color due to never having been painted. It makes very nice rustic picture frames, bird houses and the occasional sign. I never run any of it through the planer or jointer. I have a dedicated saw blade for it when cutting to size. The other source of wood I use is from a sign shop that lets me have the crating wood. It is usually not top quality wood, but there have been some of it when planed, has had a beautiful grain. I believe it is cottonwood/sycamore. There is always a lot of pine, and sometimes some mahogany. I have dead fall trees that yield good turning stock, and some limbs big ehough to saw into small boards for scroll saw work.

[dantheman]

Check out this site on Recovered and Reclaimed Antique Wood. Lots of info on the subject there.

[bywc]

Only thing I would recommend is getting a cheap hand held wave style metal detector from harbor freight or some where can get one for like 30 bucks and will pay for itself a hundred times compared to hitting a nail with your blades.

[jimmykx250]

I have a couple of sources for barn wood and reclaimed stuff. You simply cant beat the characiture of the old barn wood. When i work with the stuff I try to cut and shave it as little as possible because thats where the bueaty is. And yes get a metal detector and plan to spend some time inspecting the stuff but it's worth it.

[jHop]

what are some of the dangers to watch out for when using or going after reclaimed wood from water? Every now and then, I see tree limbs (or trunks) drifting down the river here, and wonder about claiming them. (I spent a few summers working on a dock, so I know how heavy those suckers are.) I see projects occasionally, as well as shows talking about getting / using lumber salvaged from the bottoms of rivers/swamps/water-logged areas, but have no desire to do mantles. (I want to get more out of the wood than four cuts.)

[darty]

Here's a picture of a hall table I made from reclaimed barn wood. I ran it through the planer just enough to get the surface relatively smooth. The wood has a lot of character that can be lost with over planing.

Like others have suggested, I'd invest in a metal detector. I found bits of metal that I couldn't see by just looking. One other suggestion is if the woods been painted and it's old, I'd be worried about lead paint.

[Ben@FineWoodworking]

That's how I got into this hobby. We bought a house with a bunch of old old pallets that had some really nice wood. Couldn't bear to burn them. Made a kitchen worktable with a pallet an old wooden ladder and my old bachelor coffee table.

The wife loves it and I've been hooked ever since. Now I look at it and there is way too many screws for my liking but it got me started and got me hooked.

[edh]

I rebuilt a horse barn a few years ago and I was able to salvage some corral wood that was 70 yrs old. Still sitting in my shop. Beautiful close grained wood.

Ed

[Olde Wood Flooring]

At Olde Wood, we recycle old wooden structures and create reclaimed wood flooring from the materials. On our website, we offer photos of past projects as well as free samples if you’re interested in learning more about reclaimed wood.