duckkisser Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 hey i just went to menards and they had a huge 16 foot board of oak that the last couple feet was high density curl. havent seen that yet but im still new to the wood working life and havent been to enough mills and lumber yards to know if this is common. so is it? how often is curly oak found i know maple is fairly common but oak? it had some incredable deep color to it and the stripes were almost black they were that rich (no dye needed) I spent twenty min talking to some 16 year old kid(lumber manager) trying to convince him to sell me the last few feet of the board. no dice his response was why would you want to own that its disfigured all these other boards have this nice red grain to it that one the grain goes sideways in that area. so trying to decide if i want to buy 10 by 16 for 50 dollers just so i can have the curl and use the rest of the oak for other projects. if i went to a lumber store and bought 10 by 2" in high density curly oak how much would i be looking to spend? and i saw some poplar there that had deep purple streaks through it. i know that poplar heart can can be green, yellow, redish and purple but how much will that purple fade or change colors over time?if its going to mostly go away then im not going to bother buying it but if it will stay the dark purple that it is then ill go pick it up for a set of matching jewlary boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 I stumbled upon a bunch of curly quartersawn white oak at my Connecticut dealer. I ended up using it in bookmatched panels on my own new kitchen. It looks fantastic with a 33/33/33 oil / shellac / turpentine rub under sprayed Ultrastar, and Horton Brasses antique brass pantry latches and leaf hinges. My wife is nuts over it! I wish I could get more, but it was not segregated because of the curly figure. I only wish I could get it to photograph better... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 It is not uncommon. I see it fairly regularly, but never on a full board. The boards I see probably stay around longer since you very seldom purchase oak for the figure, it is bought for the grain. And therefore, that curly portion is not usable for the grain so why buy that board when there will be x% waste already. Personally, I like that figure also. But of course I like all figured boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 DK... Sorry about the awful photography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 is barry pictures average? if so i think ill go over and take a picture of the wood just to put on here because it was very dark and even all the way across. looked like it had been dyed already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Not dyed at all... That's quartersawn white oak, rubbed with 33/33/33 BLO/SealCoat/Turpentine to pop the figure, them sprayed with ML Campbell Ultrastar Dull water based finish. There is one drop of Transtint Honey Amber added to each 8 oz. of Ultrastar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 not saying your was this at the store was unusualy dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikepugh Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 DK... Sorry about the awful photography Barry - nice work, gorgeous cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 DK... Now I understand.... There are many, many, subspecies of oak, many that take a scientist and a lab to differentiate. I've installed a decent number of unfinished hardwood floors, and the range of colors, textures, hardness, and figure, can run an amazing gamut, even in a single bundle. I'd love to see a photo of the wood in the store. Mike... THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 ill go by the store and take a photo today just cant talk my way into buying a 50 doller 16 foot board so i can use less then 2foot of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Oak with light curl is not uncommon, but really tight curl is hard to come by. I've used both red and white with a figure per inch approaching maple. If it's just a little light curl I wouldn't get too excited, but if it looks like this I'd pick it up. http://thewayiwood.blogspot.com/2009/11/five-minute-bench-6.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 http://i1101.photobu...er/DSCN0115.jpg" i didnt see the board that was there before but this is very similar nice strait curl all the way across the board not as dark as the one that was there before. guessing it was from the same tree probalby cut up and put in the same shipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Sorry Duckkisser, I fail to see your problem. If my calculations are correct you are buying 13 BF of oak for $50.00 which breaks down to around $3.85 a BF. You really want just the two foot x 10" of the curly part and that would leave you a board of 14'-0" x 10" of oak for other projects. Can you really have too much oak around the shop? Especially 10" wide boards that can be cut anyway you would like. Now if you found a whole board of curly oak say 6" wide x 8'-0" long, how much would it be worth per BF to you? Sometimes you gotta eat a bite of potatoes just to get the gravy. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 my problem is funds are limited and dont want to spend any more then i have too. if is it semi common ill just wait till i need it. if something like this is a find then ill pick it up. so is this a gem or average find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 DK... I have white oak boards that look exactly like that. Curl like that is not _exotic_, but it isn't that common, either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 This is interesting because the box store by me, (home depot) sells lumber by the foot (not board foot) and will let you cut a hunk off any board. That's why they price it that way. Shoot go back and get that bad boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linkmx674 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 i went to the lumber yard and bought some rsawn woak and after starting to face joint i believe i got shanked with one board of the curly fig oak. could not tell at lumberyard! it does not have the grain of the rest, it is darker and has some of the curl in it- if i can upload i pick i would but dont know how?? it throws me for a loop cuz i dont want to use it if its not the same grain pattern! unless i use it for the shelf on the night stand? i want to even take it back and return it even tho ive jointed it? what to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamer777 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 How do you identify curly wood in the lumberyard if it is still in it's rough sawn state? How do you look at a board before pulling out a block plane, sandpaper and water or mineral spirits. Some lumberyards do have a problem with me, for wetting the boards, or plane a sample piece with a block plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 well it was just menards so they had cut it down to size and planed it already if you look at the picture it is all cleaned up. decided not to get it could not afford the 50 just now for the 2 feet that i wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 How do you identify curly wood in the lumberyard if it is still in it's rough sawn state? How do you look at a board before pulling out a block plane, sandpaper and water or mineral spirits. Some lumberyards do have a problem with me, for wetting the boards, or plane a sample piece with a block plane. Rough boards that contain figured are easily identified. You tell by looking at the edges of the boards in the stack. If it looks wavy, you have curly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Ya, it's pretty easy to see curl in the edges of rough boards, walk back and forth and watch for the flash. Look close and confirm that it's not just saw marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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