"Clear" Lumber Creates Waste
In this episode I follow up on some exterior wood questions for a dock and wax poetic about Ipe and Cumaru. Then I get into a heated discussion about wood for a sauna and finally wrap up with thoughts on how we as woodworkers and the lumber industry can stretch our wood farther. Good planning during the buying will go a long way to prevent waste but in general our grading structure is flawed asking wood to be something it is not: clear. The term "clear" is more of a detriment and created an enormous amount of waste. I say let wood be wood and embrace the "defects" that make it unique and beautiful. Too much wood is being rejected these days in pursuit of some perfect grade and it has created an unrealistic expectation of what wood should look like.
Industry News
- Jason shares an article about 3D printing with wood
- Check out Big Timber on Netflix to see a logging company in action
Feedback
- Michael corrects me on the meaning of Shou Sugi Ban
- Bryan shares how thermally modified woods are being used by Luthiers
emails
- Mike asks why I don't mention Ipe or Cumaru for exterior woods
- Jonathan sends a voicemail asking about building a dock
- Ethan wants to build a sauna and asks about Douglas Fir.
How do I “stretch” lumber?
I try to have a series of project tiers that utilize offcuts. The offcuts of larger projects become cutting boards. The thin ripping strips become chaos cutting boards. Then the offcuts from there become smaller and smaller kitchen tools. Anything smaller than my smallest item(4”x1”x3/8”) is then firewood. I have very little waste and make more money from the offcuts and smaller items than I do from the main large projects.
What do your lumber storage look like to be able to keep track of all those tiers?
First of all I’ve always tried to go to my lumber suppliers with a good idea of what I need and try my best to buy just the board I need for a specific project. Like you stated I have several “plans” in mind to maximize the wood I buy. Having said that I do admit that sometimes I go to a hardwood supplier and see a board with fantastic grain patterns or something that is special about the board and I buy it for future use. Eventually I design a project around these boards that I’ve bought.
Now a question:
When will we start to see the results of the dramatic drop in lumber futures show up at our retail suppliers? What’s the length of the delay from futures to retail prices in the stores?
I’m no economist but I can tell you that lumber futures have little to do with hardwoods and the specialty lumber yards. The futures are mostly related to construction lumber. But in general I think any dips you see in price will be quickly followed by spikes upwards as so many people are holding out for price drops that the demand will skyrocket driving prices back up again. Labor shortages and logistics still remains the biggest issue for the lumber industry and we are a LONG ways from resolving that.