Does anyone know anything about the reclaimed wood business?

Specifically how is it that they go about finding thier wood sources?

Chad

OK, perhaps this seemed like a stupid quesiton and thats why it didn't get answered. Still, I'd like to know how one locates a supply for recliamed wood. Do you just have to be in the business of demolishing houses and churches?

Chad

I know one thing. I look at every old door, headboard, table etc.in a different way than I used too.

For quite awhile, I've actually been searching for 1950s-era Honduran Mahogany in the form of tables....to scavenge to make a dead-on 50s Les Paul replica. Problem is...not too many 50 year old 7/4 tables out there....

The only other "reclaimed" woods that I know are used in lutherie are old-growth lumber salvaged from lake and river bottoms (maple from Lake Superior, redwood from CA rivers, etc), and 50,000 year old Kauri from New Zealand peat bogs.

There are furniture companies up in New England that specialize in reclaimed wood. They must have connections in order to get old barn wood because it seems that is what they mostly use. There are lots of old delapitated barns there and so it may just be a matter of driving around looking for them. One barn certainly produces a lot of lumber.

There is also the route of water salvage. That is more a matter of knowing where the lumber travelled down the rivers and into lakes, knowing where it might be deep/cold enough to preserve it, doing the surveying, getting the permits, and having the equipment.

In the classifieds in my local sunday newspaper I've seen ads in the "building materials" section, from people who were knocking down barns and looking for buyers for the wood.

Here's one site that sells domestic and exotic reclaimed timber:
http://www.terramai.com/index.html

Thanks for the info. I have alway sbeen curious about how they find this kind of wood. It seems that there is more to that a hobbyist can probably do in a busy week.

Chad

im just a hobby builder but this is thing that always fascinated me.. what i've red and listened.. all those great necks and stuff built from what served someone for 150 years as a desk or a main door. has a huge amount of mysticism to me ! i try to keep my eyes open but my lucky turn has to come yet.. i hope ;;

cheers, mike

http://www.barnshadow.com/