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Local saw mills keep you supplied

2K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  farmfromkansas 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just came back from the middle of North Carolina with a load of Hickory and Gum.

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Air dried, outside. Will need to sit in the shop for several months, but under $100.

If you are willing to drive a bit and don't want to be able to inspect every board or want your wood skip plained and sitting in an air conditioned warehouse, you can get amazing local wood by working with independent mills.
 

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#2 ·
Yep. You gotta be patient to get really great deals like that ^ but they're out there! I went north to Natural Bridge a couple of months ago and picked up about 300 bf of Walnut, Maple, Cherry and Mahogany for <$200.
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It ain't kiln dried and graded but I'll dang sure get my $'s worth out of it :)) Nice score on the Hickory, it's not as plentiful as you would expect around here for some reason. Never worked with Gum but I have a couple chunks squirreled away for turning stock.
 

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#4 ·
Well, considerably under $100! I think HokieKen and I are stalking the same group of mills. I need to come up and see your shop and let you turn me a new mallet. I don't turn and have no desire to go that route.

The work Ken used was patience and that is key. You have to simply "keep an eye out" and grab what you may need next year or ????.

The mill I went to treats Ash, Hickory and Gum as junk wood as there is no real market for it.

All of the white oak projects I have posted came from a similar mill. Yea, not graded or sorted and you can't see the grain.
 
#5 ·
I'd love to find deals like that around here. I might have to ask the place I get cherry from if they have anything like this. They are a big commercial place so who knows?
 
#6 ·
I find most of my wood on Craigslist Earl. Good place to find small mills. Most of the time, you find it pretty freshly cut so you gotta have somewhere to store and sticker it until it dries. But I find stuff that's already seasoned when I look for it. It's definitely a trade off. You get it a lot cheaper but there's also more waste compared to KD, graded stuff. And be careful of critters who have taken up residence in anything that isn't KD…

Enough Hickory for two mallets will get you a turned one BRD!
 
#9 ·
Enough Hickory for two mallets will get you a turned one BRD!

- HokieKen

So how long and what diameter? I will work up some blocks when I get it unloaded.

- BlueRidgeDog
However long and whatever diameter you want your mallet to be! And I don't really need one for myself but if you have any 6/4 or 8/4 stock in that load, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to have some on hand for hatchet/hammer handles :)
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
Well now that you mention local sawmills… I'm on the other end of the stick so to speak.. ;-) We bought a band saw mill a year ago to take advantage of the amazing woodland we retired to. I'm not sure how to get the word out to the woodworking community that I have hardwood lumber available. How do you find local sawmills? How would someone find me?
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I hate C List, and Facebook… I've cut some of our trees and put the lumber on stickers for air drying. Most is walnut, over 1000 bd ft, some red elm , sassafras, and cherry in lesser amounts. The majority is cut at 5/4 with max possible width and what my books call FAS. No knots, no sapwood. How would you advertise? Locally, people want "barn wood", but I've cut from a woodworker's perspective… 10-20" wide, perfectly clear, 6-10 ft lengths.

The Kentucky Toolsmith!
 

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#11 ·
Sorry KYTS but outside of CL and FB, it's gonna be hard to advertise to woodworkers. I think that's where most of us look. I know I look at CL pretty much daily.
 
#12 ·
@KYtoolsmith - my local Habitat Restore carries "urban" lumber and stock from small local sawmills. CL is where your buyers lurk, but approaching your local Restore(s) with an offer to do consignment business may allow you to stay in your comfort zone and still actually sell something.
 
#13 ·
KYtoolsmith - If you dont like CL and FB i would check for a local or area wood workers guild. I dont know what it costs to put an add in the MWTCA members directory but that might be an option.

In my area CL is for all intents and purposes dead. Its become the online version of a trailer park yard sale. Facebook is all anyone uses anymore and some of the prices on lumber there are OUTRAGEOUS. Even half rotten reclaimed barn wood is going for 8 to 10 bucks a board foot.

My local, well just over an hour drive local, mill I like to go to is shut down right now. The owner/operator just recovered from colon cancer this winter so he is not risking anything and has himself planted at home like a doomsday prepper. He's still running the mill until he runs out of storage space so i guess its just extra drying time until I get to head out there again.
 
#14 ·
Well now that you mention local sawmills… I m on the other end of the stick so to speak.. ;-) We bought a band saw mill a year ago to take advantage of the amazing woodland we retired to. I m not sure how to get the word out to the woodworking community that I have hardwood lumber available. How do you find local sawmills? How would someone find me?
Wood Rectangle Flooring Floor Wood stain


I hate C List, and Facebook… I ve cut some of our trees and put the lumber on stickers for air drying. Most is walnut, over 1000 bd ft, some red elm , sassafras, and cherry in lesser amounts. The majority is cut at 5/4 with max possible width and what my books call FAS. No knots, no sapwood. How would you advertise? Locally, people want "barn wood", but I ve cut from a woodworker s perspective… 10-20" wide, perfectly clear, 6-10 ft lengths.

The Kentucky Toolsmith!

- KYtoolsmith
kytoolsmith,, you aren't too far from my buddies house up near London/Manchester area. I would love to stop in and see what you have available next time I drive up there from Florida.
 

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#16 ·
Thanks all for the tips on Craig's list and FB marketplace. Guess I'll have to get some good photos taken. Around here in central KY, selling walnut is like selling ice to Eskimos!
Flarud, yes, not far from London KY. We are off I -75 exit 77. Send a pm on your next trip to KY…
Regards, The Kentucky Toolsmith!
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
Well now that you mention local sawmills… I m on the other end of the stick so to speak.. ;-) We bought a band saw mill a year ago to take advantage of the amazing woodland we retired to. I m not sure how to get the word out to the woodworking community
- KYtoolsmith
Most is exclusively CL and local word of mouth. Is there a marketplace section to LumberJocks? If not ask that one be setup for mills. You are not to far from me, so feel free to send me images and prices. The red elm would be great for a project or two especially if quarter or rift sawn.
 
#18 ·
I also have a bandmill, and here in Kansas, there are getting to be more and more bandmills. I have red elm, ash, hackberry, walnut, a little burr oak, cottonwood, saved a willow log the other day. Think there are 6 or more bandmills in my neighborhood. I built a wood dryer, now am starting to treat my lumber with solubor because of the problems with PPB. I have one regular customer, besides my own use. Don't expect to buy dry lumber for the price of air dry. Lots of work and expense.
 
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