Brian VanVreede Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 My brother and I just got our 1941 craftsman/Atlas lathe up and running yesterday and I am pretty much already hooked. I wondering where you guys (and gals) find free logs to use for turning bowls? Can I just walk into the woods with a chain saw and cut up trees that have recently fallen? Should I contact a tree service to see what they do with them? Interested in hearing what everyone has say! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMadson Custom Wood Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I have a local tree trimmer that piles his wood up in a lot. In his down time, his crew turns it into firewood. I'm sure this is the norm for most tree trimmers. Find a local trimmer and ask if you could pick threw his pile sometime. Also look around your neighborhood in the spring when people are doing tree trimming of their own. Ask if you can take a log or two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwatson Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 join a turning club i have found more free wood since joining a club than i can handle. some guys are retired and find way more wood than they can turn in a lifetime and put it on the back of a pickup for people to dig through. or at least that's how it is for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
areynoldsre Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 join a turning club i have found more free wood since joining a club than i can handle. some guys are retired and find way more wood than they can turn in a lifetime and put it on the back of a pickup for people to dig through. or at least that's how it is for me. A friend of mine belongs to a woodturning club and I am afraid to go visit him - he's always got wood to give away. a woodcarver I know just goes out on a Saturday monring and listens for the sound of a chain saw - people are always happy to let him take what he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suiciedchild Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Craig's list, search for logs or firewood, most people will just pile by the curb. Try to hold off on older listing and go newer ones. Those logs will be the "greenist?" , I've scored a few cherry logs one that actually had a softball sized burl on it, walnut , dogwood and Mullberry ( stay away from mulberry , it sucks, very stringy and clogs up tools) some box elder. Also depending on where you live, I'm in Pa . You can buy a " firewood permit" for like $10 , to take up too a cord (4'x4'x8) of storm / diseased felled wood out of any state park. If you only take a couple smaller logs at a time it'll last you the year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suiciedchild Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Duh , Brian you live pretty close to me, with that firewood permit you could hit Tyler state park and Core creek as well, if you really want I got a couple of those cherry logs left if you want to make a trip up to Hatboro. I just cut one up today but I'm pretty sure I have at least one left. Message me and I can send you my adress and I'll just stick it out in front of my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 a woodcarver I know just goes out on a Saturday monring and listens for the sound of a chain saw - people are always happy to let him take what he wants. I like that idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 I wait for heavy winds, and then go scope out who has storm damage from the night before. You can usually find someone who wants to get rid of some stuff as quickly as possible. Especially since the tree cutters have massive amounts of work ahead of them. I've had a lot of problems getting utility companies to allow me to pick up stuff, though, so I'd offer that as a caution. Keep in mind, if it came down off the tree, there's a reason for it. not just that the winds were strong, but also that the wood was weak in that particular area. I like to let my "salvage" dry for a few months, just to be on the safe side. Of course, most of my turning is under 2 inches currently, so I can get away with smaller branches, but I did try to salvage a few larger chunks. Something else got to them before I did. Now, I'm all out of stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Henley Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 National forests .... Get a firewood permit and they will assign you an area .... Go to town! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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