Got/Get Wood?

[leehutch]

Hi Just wondering if they are any places to salvage hardwoods from rather then having to spend a fortune?



Thanks Guys

 

[Ric5]

cut down a tree in your back yard

 

[leehutch]

don't have any trees in my back yard or i would

 

[Ruckus_Instrmts]

Yard/Garage sales sometimes will have decent hardwood tables(or other furniture) available. Don't expect to find anything really exotic that way though.

 

[leehutch]

Not lookinh for anything massivly exotic, it would be my first build so iif it goes south then I wouldn't be to bothered if I haven't spent loads on wood

 

[Beej]

Check out the free sections of your local craigslist for free furniture. Check out anything made of wood. Be aware of veneers being used (they have been for well over a hundred years) but remember they will still be covering a less-than-pretty-but-still-perfectly-usable hardwood. Old Americana furniture from the turn of the last century and on into the 20-30's are usually hardwood, often alder or other smooth tight grained woods, but nothing wrong with them.

Another good choice is used or piecemeal hardwood flooring...

 

[leehutch]

Thanks for your reply, really helpful will give it a go.

 

[knucklehead G]

I took apart a pine futon with a screwdriver and got enough for two decent body blanks from it. There is wood everywhere.

 

[Rob17]

I bought almost al my wood from an Ebay-like auctionsite.
Checked out all the ad's in the DIY/wood section, truckloads of scafolding and firewoods, BUT, I've found some nice leftoverfloorplanks, from a small flooringshop who just does not have the space to keep it and sells it cheap, every ones in a while.
1 Pallet full with Purple heart, yellow heart, Jatoba, Sapupira and some unindentified stuff.
I'm not in the US. but you can find it there also, just go sit behind yur PC, and check ads for hours.
Or,.. salontables indeed...clocks, that kind a stuff, can save you a lot of money.

 

[bareass]

i'm doing my first build aswell, i bought mahogony, ash and purplehear for the body, it all came out to 60 bucks, here in canada, should be considerably cheaper in the states.

 

[mid_life_crisis]

One TBer is building a bass from a door.

 

[Rob17]

And,...by the way, a chainsaw makes alot off noise, if you hear one go ask for the wood.
It might take a sixpack.

 

[mid_life_crisis]

And,...by the way, a chainsaw makes alot off noise, if you hear one go ask for the wood.
It might take a sixpack.

That thought makes me want to cry.
A friend of mine back up north led a drive to get the sidewalks repaired in his neighborhood. One of the things they did was to cut down all the trees lining the street and plant saplings.
When I found out they cut down and hauled away a three story tall HUGE chestnut tree, I wanted to kill him.
When I think of all the beautiful stuff that tree could have been used to make, and it probably went to a landfill. Not to mention that they're endangered because of the blight...

 

[Rob17]

Just to show what you can find, if you look for it.
This is what I've bought for 60 euro's on a local auctionsite.
A piece of redwood burl, from California, it was to make a clock from.
I'll make it a bass.

 

[mikeyswood]

The front yard was where I found this:

 

[Big B.]

There is a hardwood flooring plant near me that works with many exotic woods. You would be amazed how much exotic wood gets tossed out at those plants. I have gotten pieces of Jatoba, Purpleheart, Wenge, Walnut and others. Most of the pieces are big enough for fingerboards and some are even big enough for necks and neck laminates.

 

[Jason_A]

If you have the machinery to mill rough boards (i.e. table saw, planer, jointer), you can get wood very inexpensively from a saw mill. Not sure where you're located, but chances are good there's a saw mill not too far from you. I'm in the middle-of-nowhere-Iowa and I have 5 or 6 decent sized saw mills within an hour's drive. With as inexpensive as the portable mills are these days, there are more and more guys running small operations, and in my experience their prices are even lower.

My first builds I used poplar and maple from a local saw mill. They had curly maple for about $4/bdft, and I think the poplar was under $2/bdft. Considering you don't need much wood to make a bass, you can come out fairly inexpensively. I think I paid less than $40 for the wood to make two basses (body, top, neck and fingerboard). Considering how much things like hardware and electronics (heck, even strings) cost, the wood might end up being the least expensive part of the build.

It's when you start looking at the more "exotic" woods that things get more expensive. Even so, the local "exotic wood" lumber guy I use will cut me off a 2' piece from the end of a board, so I don't have to buy an 10' long piece of zebrawood at $20/bdft.

 

[Diogenes]

I've made stuff out of old shipping pallets that some businesses have problems paying someone to haul off. I show up and they are more than happy to have me haul them away for free. I couldn't use the wood quick enough to make coffee tables, dog/cat/bird houses, benches, storage boxes...

Just beware of the treated pallets.

 

[leehutch]

I have a company near me that makes fire doors which have a hardwood frame in them and they are going to supply me with off cuts etc. they have things like maple, and black american walnut, so looks like i will be making my hofner violin style bass sooner rather then later. Thanks for all the help guys loads of great ideas there.

 

[Alex Xander]

The front yard was where I found this:

What sort of wood is that Mike? Looks a whole lot like the 15 willows I cut down on my 5 acre block recently!