Gloat? Maybe. I'm not sure yet.

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
Why don't I know? Because I still need to generate some firewood.

Log this under "nothing's really free". Nearly 2 years ago a friend called me and asked me if I wanted the lumber from two walnut trees his dad had taken down on his property - free. Well, not being anyone to pass up anything for free, I stupidly said Yes! Well, I spoke way too soon.

The people who felled the tree snuck off with the prime trunk area and left several logs that were, shall we say, really nice firewood. What could I do? My friend had made the offer and I had accepted. To change my mind now would mean his dad would have to pay someone to remove the logs. I hired a local bandsaw mill to come down and saw everything up for me and I loaded it in the truck for the trip.....uh oh. I had no place to store this much wood. Like I said, stupid.:doh:

So, off to the local storage rental for a 5 x 10. I stacked and stickered everything, locked the door, and told myself I'd come back in a short time to sort through it (did I tell you we did all the sawing in the dark and I had no idea what was coming off the mill?) and get it back to the shop where I could mill it into something usable.

Well, nearly 2 years later I finally made the trip and picked up my 'stash'. There's some really good firewood in this pile, but, I think, no dining room tables. After the first 'cull' and stacking only the boards I think I can get something usable from, I estimate I have between 350 and 375 bf left. It's going to take some work, but over the next couple of weeks I intend to go through it piece by piece and bandsaw out anything that looks like good lumber. DSC_1561s2.JPG

So, here's how it might all work out. I paid $125 for the sawyer, $550 for 2 years of storage for a total of $675. Of the original over 400 bf I culled out 50bf right away as future fuel for the fire pit. If I only realize a 50% yield from the remaining wood I'll wind up with about 175 bf of walnut F4S FAS. Unfortunately, very few boards will be over 6' long. That works out to about $3.80 per bf. Assuming my time is worth nothing (something I must not have considered from the start!)

So, is this a gloat? Maybe, if I was the guy who owned the storage yard!:D Actually, this might all work out OK. The finished price is not too bad, and I did need some stock for small boxes! :rofl::rofl:
 
You still did good. Even less than beautiful lumber can be used for small projects. But...that part about sawing in the dark sounds scary to me. :eek:
I should further qualify the statement - thanks for bringing it up.
The bandsaw mill has lights and the operator new what he was doing. Also, we were adjacent to a lighted driveway, so moving things around was safe enough, though we took extra care. By "dark" I simply meant that we really could not get a close look at what was coming off the mill. It was light enough to do the work, but not light enough to appreciate the quality and figure of the lumber.
 
rennie, the steam treated walnut that lumber yards sell isn`t anywhere near the color you`ll get from that air dried stock! i bought a stack of "trash" walnut from a fellow that was air dried, kinda? had some mold, some checking, and some windshake......it`s my upstairs floor now! by the time i got done i had a walnut parquet floor for less than half the price of borg carpet......something to think about;)
 
Hey Rennie,
Sounds like a gloat to me. The lumber barons out here sell walnut for $7 and up a board foot. I'll bet there's lots of projects in that stack!

BTW, have you burned walnut for firewood before? Some folks are really allergic to a chemical in walnut. Might want to start out slow if this is a new fuel for your family...
 
Hey Rennie,
Sounds like a gloat to me. The lumber barons out here sell walnut for $7 and up a board foot. I'll bet there's lots of projects in that stack!

BTW, have you burned walnut for firewood before? Some folks are really allergic to a chemical in walnut. Might want to start out slow if this is a new fuel for your family...
:eek: Actually, my wife is one of those people. Eating walnuts sends her into anaphylactic shock and for a trip to the local emergency room for some Benadryl. In fact, for a while she carried a hypo full of the stuff in her purse.

Interestingly enough, she was present for the sawing and helped me stack it. No problems.

Our church has a living nativity presentation each year in our parking lot and we always have several fires going to warm the visitors. So, the wood will be burning in a very open place and be mixed in with other donated wood. However, this might be something to keep in the back of my otherwise empty mind....just in case.:rolleyes: Thanks!
 
Some of that scrap you are planning on burning, could be cut into pen blanks? $0.50 per blank could put some money back into your pocket, although from the sounds of this adventure that might be against the grain!! :rofl: :rofl:
 
Some of that scrap you are planning on burning, could be cut into pen blanks? $0.50 per blank could put some money back into your pocket, although from the sounds of this adventure that might be against the grain!! :rofl: :rofl:
Funny you should suggest that! As I was going through the pile I was thinking......I can't do much with this board, but Frank Fusco could probably make 100 pens out of it!!:rofl::rofl:
 
rennie, the steam treated walnut that lumber yards sell isn`t anywhere near the color you`ll get from that air dried stock! i bought a stack of "trash" walnut from a fellow that was air dried, kinda? had some mold, some checking, and some windshake......it`s my upstairs floor now! by the time i got done i had a walnut parquet floor for less than half the price of borg carpet......something to think about;)
Yes, I'm expecting that the stuff I keep will be pretty. Just wish there were more of it.
Floor........well there's a thought.....for a small room, maybe..........:rolleyes:
 
Funny you should suggest that! As I was going through the pile I was thinking......I can't do much with this board, but Frank Fusco could probably make 100 pens out of it!!:rofl::rofl:

Thanks for the lovely :rolleyes: comments fellas. But, I have a gloat worthy stack of walnut in the garage. And, I rarely make pens with walnut. Too much of that eezotik stuff around.
 
Rennie, Frank might not want walnut pen blanks, but I sure would. If you decide to cut some of that "firewood" up into blanks, please let me know.

Nancy (81 days)
 
Rennie

Find out if you can send that through the post office without wrapping it up, slap on a label, wrap it in some packing tape and off it goes, we can cut pen blanks out of it in our shops and save you time.

Check back to you for postage and BF cost?

Jay
 
Rennie

Find out if you can send that through the post office without wrapping it up, slap on a label, wrap it in some packing tape and off it goes, we can cut pen blanks out of it in our shops and save you time.

Check back to you for postage and BF cost?

Jay
I'll look into it!:D
 
Rennie

Find out if you can send that through the post office without wrapping it up, slap on a label, wrap it in some packing tape and off it goes, we can cut pen blanks out of it in our shops and save you time.

Check back to you for postage and BF cost?

Jay

I've done that. You might get funny looks from the PO people, but if the label is on securly, it is OK to do.
 
Hi Rennie, :wave:
That is a gloat and good for you. marvelous story on your procurement too.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Mr Lucky!:D
Shaz
Shaz,

You're too kind, and you don't look old enough to remember Mr. Lucky! :rofl:
mrlucky03.jpg
 
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