Where do I find wood?
When starting out at woodworking , the first question many of us ask is “where do I find wood”?
The first thing to do is identify what you need the wood for:
- Wood for construction
- Wood for furniture making
- Wood for fine woodwork
- wood that is food safe
What are you building?
Are you building a piece of fine furniture? or delicate jewellery box? Some shelves to hold some books? a ramp to access your shed?
Timber is graded according to what part of the tree it came from. Different parts offer different qualities, such as:
- Fine or interesting grain
- great strength
- minimal movement
Depending on the type of lumber you decide you require, you can check out the following places:
- Timber Merchants
- Reclamation Yards
- Recycling Centres (your local tip)
- Builders Merchants (for pallets)
If you plan on looking for free timber (fallen trees, abandoned timber) always ask the permission of the person whos land it is on. If you are taking a small amount from a pile, it might be polite to offer to clear and dispose of the rest for them.
Wood from pallets
I have gathered quite an amount of wood of all grades from pallets. If you are starting out in woodword and want to practise joints then it can be an inexpensive way to start. These tend to be mainly softwood.
Many foreign imports come on hardwood pallets such as electrical items, stones, slate and tiles. I have found some superb pieces of hardwood including mahogany on some slate tiles I received from India. The timber is usually construction grade and in a pretty rough state, but still useful nonetheless.
National Community Wood Recycling Project
http://www.communitywoodrecycling.org.uk/
This is a community of people who have set up a number of places around the country where you can purchase wood at prices less than the high street. The wood is collected form building and construction firms, commercial and non commercial organisations. They grade and prepare the wood for resale and some of the sites offer cutting services too.