what to make with free wood

Have been given this wood mixture of stakes etc Any ideas what I could do with it have to be real simple never done any wood working before.

We used to be able to great big bundles like that really cheap in Wales.

Here's a Tamworth in a shed built from it, many years ago...

I'd say it looks like siding to me too!

Could make a field shelter for my ponies how easy is it to make a shed like you made is it beginner friendly

I used to help build these with a couple of school friends as a teenager so yes, I'd say pretty beginner friendly.

You put the wood flat side to flat side and use the sort of nails that grip rather than just slide out. That was about the extent of my woodworking skills then, and they're not much improved now to be honest!

I'm also jealous you got them free.

Thirty years ago we would pay £1 per foot, so a fiver for five-foot bundle, which was enough for pigs and goats. I think it says something about the culture of waste that you can get them for nothing now.

Will give it a go probs fall down, got some corrugated sheets would do for roof and Stakes will come in handy to tie newly planted trees. Was given wood to use as firewood but it seems a shame to burn it. Was thinking make raised beds but have decided to do forest gardening sounds more fun. Thanks will go look for the special nails tomorrow.

Siding made from this sort of wood, will run water better if it is used vertically. Water tends to follow the grain. Battens can be added if the wall is too porous.

It's free because low grade wood isn't worth putting labor into.I've given away hundreds of tons of perfectly good wood, simply because it was expedient. This doesn't diminish the value to the user. They now have bragging rights amongst the scrounging crowd. I get my site cleaned up and I meet many potential customers for the more expensive cuts.

How about making a row of compost/manure heaps with it?

It would be good practice, and no great loss if you mess up a bit.

Tools can make a big difference in what you can and cant make. If you dont have one allready scour your local facebook buy and sell groups as well as the local ebay collection only for a 'Radial Chop Saw' see if you can find a decent sized one (12"blade) and with a hefty motor(2000w+). This will make all the difference in being able to make accurate cuts and slots which will lead to a stronger and longer lasting project. It will also open you up to being able to make allsorts of different projects. I mentioned this to a friend on fb and within 3 days had found a huge thing for £40 from just round the corner so they are out there. I have an Electra Beckum on its own stand, it can cope with allsorts.

Work to a plan, you might find that you have to buy some timber to make a decent frame and use this for cladding if youre going down the shed route. I get a lot of free stuff and it gets hoarded until its used in conjunction with something else, sometime I have to buy materials to use the free stuff.

The special nails are called 'Annular ring shank nails' Although I go to my local boot sale and theres a guy there who has boxes of 3inch and 4inch screws that are a third the price of nails so Im a bit of a snob in the nail department these days.

Project ideas? Benches are always popular and useful. Enjoy your free timber!

That bundle on the left, thats a bundle of sawmill offcuts? Go through it for any that have both sides planed, I have made window shutters, doors and bookcases from those.

Depends so much on what you want/need to build I look at that and I see fence

We bought a single stick from your neck of the woods a few years ago.
It ended up 12x24" 40 feet long FOHC, on the second attempt we dried it to 15%, that stick is in Texas.


I hope he knows what that means. I know what it means to me

Hi Rick,

You are speaking "sawyer" language...and folks aren't getting it. Correct my explanation if you see I missed something...

We bought a single stick from your neck of the woods...

This means Rick bought a log from a logger a while back. When a tree is felled the log is often called a "stick." The "stick" (log) is is cut up into "bolts," the bolts are then turned into "Cants."

It ended up 12x24" 40 feet long FOHC...

This means the "stick" yielded a "Cant" that was 12" deep by 24" wide, by 40 feet long, "free of heart center" (FOHC). I would imagine it was then cut into the appropriate shorter Cants and then into board stock.

...on the second attempt we dried it to 15%, that stick is in Texas.

I am assuming now that the board stock was then dried to 15% moisture content, as timbers are seldom treated this way for timber frame do to loss of material from internal pressures, and the fact that it is virtually impossible to dry to the core of stock larger the 150mm x 150mm (6"x6") and if achieved through "case hardening" the outer section the inner portion is out of balance with the rest of the timber...

Actually it stayed a full beam and we used a unique process to dry it that is still patent protected. Tru-dry uses a vacuum chamber and relatively low heat to suck the moisture from wood, there are 9 kilns in existence, 1 in Canada and 8 about a mile from here.

That stick sold for $24k and is a ridge beam in a residence.

Hello Rick,

Thank you for the additional information. There is no doubt these kilns exist as our group has had to deal with several projects where clients, and/or architects have...for some strange reason...insisted that wood, "...has to be kiln dried to be used in the project..." We haven't (yet) had to do this after all the facts are weight, and some "educating" is done of parties involved, we move forward with much less expensive alternatives that are both less technologically dependant, historically accurate, logistically much easier, and the outcomes the same. I have routinely replaced beams in vintage frames that are over 30 and 40 feet with fresh timbers, and depending on modality many "relax" very nicely and don't even "check a little...Only growing stronger with age.

I have unfortunately had some unpleasant dealings with these kiln dried beams after colleague's clients have chosen to use them anyway in projects. Unfortunately there isn't anything we can do for them regrettably as these timbers often have built up stresses that may not relieve themselves for some time after they are in the frame. This can also take place with "green timber" (wet) yet this seldom happens if the Timberwright overseeing the project has the experience to "read the wood" properly. In the kiln dried material, often to 15% as suggested, these timbers will "take on" ambient moisture and misbehave badly, which is virtually impossible to detect until too late.

This coming summer we will be moving two frames with timbers over 100 feet long and up to 18 wide and 12 deep at the small end, and a bull beam that is 46 feet and 42 inches at mid span by 16 wide. It is breathtaking to see the work our forbears achieved, and often makes me wonder why so many, spend so much time trying to dry such larger pieces of wood when it really isn't necessary.

Do you have a story behind why someone thought this timber had to be dried to such a low MC (moisture content)?

Regards,

j

Honestly I think it was someone with too much money and not enough brains. Structurally he didn't need a beam that size and could have been served with a gluelam for support and a decent veneer if he really wanted the appearance but it was so far off the ground and with the lighting from below is was just vanity on his part. For me, I was proud of that beam. I'm torn by cutting old growth but if it's a showcase that will last for a significant time it's better than having it covered in a wall.

Put it in your house! I took barn lumber I bought for an outbuilding and I redid our kitchen with the barn lumber. Amazing shift in the atmosphere of our kitchen. We like it so much that we trimmed out some door frames with the rough cut lumber. I did use a grinder to take off some of the rough - especially around places that have a lot of human touch.