sapling111276 Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 At work, we get these strips of oak that come in on the tops of all our raw material boxes. They are always oak. I just brought a load home. They have 2 measurements. 1.) 3 1/4"x53"x5/8", 2.) 3 1/4"x43"x5/8" There will be some clean up to do as the wood is all rough cut which means that by the time in done planing and trimming off the staples, I will have smaller dimensions. There is some twisting on some boards as well, so I may end up with even less usable wood in the end. Without turning all this nice oak into firewood, what can I possible do with all of this wood? Hate to see it go to waste. I was considering getting the wood flat and clean and then possibly turning it into a sort of oak plywood by gluing them together to make thicker useable stock. What's your ideas and suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I'm sorry but, that is a BUNCH of work for very little return. Personally, I would forget it. I understand that you hate to see the waste of wood but, there is a point where the warmth of a fire is worth more than you could ever realize doing anything else with it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Some may not agree but it'd be great for shop furnishings ect. I'd use that for shelves turning it into a plywood like you said is a lot of work but could then be used for other things. It all depends on your time vs money curve. Personally i don't ever seem to have enough time, hate being 29 seems like i have a gosh darn wedding every other weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 2 minutes ago, Chestnut said: wedding every other weekend. Then they start to having kids and the weddings turn in to birthday parties. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 5 minutes ago, Chet said: Then they start to having kids and the weddings turn in to birthday parties. Those are a whole lot easier to skip, or to send the ambassador (significant other) to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legenddc Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 57 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Those are a whole lot easier to skip, or to send the ambassador (significant other) to. Plus you don't have to avoid the shop the next day on account of being over-served... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I've been down the road of trying to turn leftover hardwood flooring into something useful & it just took too much time to make it worthwhile. And that was a full 3/4" thick & pretty straight. Might be a good idea to hang onto a few of the better pieces for shop furniture & jigs though. Don't try to glue it up into ply though, that would only work if the layers were about 1/8" or less. You could joint & plane them & then laminate them into thicker pieces, but again, that's a lot of work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 This lumber might also be treated with pesticides and fungicides. I would be safe and have a good old fashioned bonfire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondhockey Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Stickers for drying wood, backstops for sawing and drilling to prevent tear-out, or if you must, there's always the end-grain cutting board. [edit: after reading wood butcher's note, never mind the cutting board!] Edited December 5, 2017 by Pondhockey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapling111276 Posted December 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 6 minutes ago, Pondhockey said: Stickers for drying wood, backstops for sawing and drilling to prevent tear-out, or if you must, there's always the end-grain cutting board. [edit: after reading wood butcher's note, never mind the cutting board!] Not to mention from what I read, oak is too porous for cutting boards. Thanks all. I guess I will hold on to some for the above listed tasks. Maybe if the boards I select are relatively straight, might make some picture frames. Though after planing from 5/8, they might end up pretty thin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Search youtube for pallet wood projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I've been down this road before, and after nicking my planer knives I ended up tossing most of it. All it takes is one stray nail, and it's not worth it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Just Google pallet wood projects. All the junk any "maker" can imagine made with scraps like that can be found. I hate working with red oak. That is a decent bonfire and that's it in my shop. I like my tools and time way too much to waste either on a wood that costs a dollar a board foot when it is kiln dried, and free of chemicals. Although free wood can be a bargain, there's a reason it's free. Now if your office starts importing pallets with cocobolo runners, that I can get behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 Looks like two or three mornings of heat to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 hours ago, Chestnut said: Personally i ... hate being 29 .... Trade ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 1 hour ago, Mark J said: Trade ya! Ehhh! When I was 29, disco was popular and I looked like hell in bell bottoms and couldn’t stand the music anyway. Now take me back to when I was 17 & 18 yo and leave me there for a few years until I was totally exhausted, then return me back to here and I’m good with that. Just as long as the wife didn’t start asking questions when I returned! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phinds Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 hours ago, woodbutcher74 said: This lumber might also be treated with pesticides and fungicides. I would be safe and have a good old fashioned bonfire. Burning wood that has been chemically treated is problematic and should be avoided. For example, pressure treated wood is known to be unsafe to burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 It's not only unlikely to be treated with anything, but the boxes were probably built soon after the logs were sawn. I had almost a whole truckload of various length 2x4's that crates for roofing metal came in were made from. I was going to take it back to the metal roller place, but they said they didn't want it back. It started to mold a week or so after I stacked it up. I cut it up in burnable lengths, and have not been able to get it burned up fast enough in the fireplace in my "shop". I wouldn't even store it inside, and certainly not anywhere near any good wood, even outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 A lot of crate & pallet wood that comes with foreign imports had been treated to prevent bugs being brought into the country. Domestic crates & pallets are usually just lower grade lumber . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 On 05/12/2017 at 11:09 AM, Chestnut said: It all depends on your time vs money curve. Personally i don't ever seem to have enough time, hate being 29 seems like i have a gosh darn wedding every other weekend. I will trade you for 67 any time weddings and all. Beats funerals. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 4 hours ago, wdwerker said: A lot of crate & pallet wood that comes with foreign imports had been treated to prevent bugs being brought into the country. Domestic crates & pallets are usually just lower grade lumber . Makes sense. I was just thinking about crates and pallets made around here. The guy I put the standing seam roof on owned a pallet mill for most of his life. It was surprising how little he knew about lumber, but did know a lot about how to get logs in, and pallets out in a hurry. He told me that he had a government contract for about a year, and they sent out multiple semi truckloads out every day, all from locally cut trees. The pine 2x4's that the metal came in was the sorriest Yellow Pine I've ever seen. I don't think it would even have made no. 3 grade. I burned the last of it this morning, and was glad to see it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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