Shannon's Lumber Industry Update

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 118 – Wood Strength?? Wood Strength and rate of growth don’t relateMyth busting time.  How fast a tree grows doesn’t have anything to do with the strength of the wood.  Well, kinda.  It depends…sorta.  And it is that wishy washy language that makes this a loaded topic.  Fast grown softwoods […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 117 – Yellow Birch Yellow Birch Lumber is EverywhereThe Birch shows up in a lot of commercial products as its even texture makes it useful for everything from pulp to plywood and furniture.  In this episode I share all the details about the species and some things I did not […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 116 Pine is Fine An Ancient Genus with 100+ SpeciesPinus is one of the oldest genera on the planet and it’s species are found on every corner of the globe.  The variety of technical properties however is staggering and the dramatic differences can be traced back to an evolutionary branching […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 115 Wenge Wenge is Strong and Lightweight…ishI’m excited to feature Wenge this time because it is one of those species that is an exception to the rules and often defies the first impression of how a wood should work.  I compare Wenge to a pro cyclist, specifically a strong classics […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 114 – Yakisugi, Log Buying, Bugs & Pine Plywood moves when Old Bugs Burn it?Trying to catch up on my email inbox in this episode and talking about Pine, log buying, bugs eating old wood, plywood movement, and Yakisugi (shou sugi bahn).Listener EmailsDaniel is worried  bugs eating his wood before […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 113 The Elm Episode On Every Street in Every cityThe featured species this month is American Elm (Ulmus americana) but I discuss the different types of Elm as lumber and where they can be found. Plus some questions about cultivars, Spruce, and ripping for quartersawn stock. I also share a news […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 112 Completely Arbortrary Jack Pines and “Treevia”I’m honored to have the hosts of the Completely Arbortrary podcast on the show today.  Alex and Casey are hilarious and know a lot about trees.  Their show is one of my favorites and I’m so excited to share it with you guys.  Make […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 111 – Cypress Cypress isn’t a “real” CypressThat’s right, its really more a Cedar posing like a Cypress.  But its also not in the Cedar family so perhaps Cypress is just having an identify crisis and will figure it out when it grows up.  In this episode I discuss of […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 110 RIP Board Foot Buy Lumber Based on What you Actually Need”You have to buy lumber by the board foot to get the best quality material” “You have to buy by the board foot to be a real woodworker.” Yeah these are mantra that I was told when I got my start […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 109 – Applied Wood Technical Properties Applied Lumber Technical PropertiesThis is kind of a review of episode 5 but ideally a bit more applied look at what all those number mean when it comes to actually working with wood.  In this episode I look at what I find are the […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 108 – Koa, Honey Locust, Cherry Veneer In this episode I feature Koa and talk a bit about Honey Locust.  I answer a question about Cherry veneer colors over time as compared to solid Cherry.  And speaking of Cherry I talk about the historical price of Cherry vs Pine. Lumber […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 107 – Burl & Grain Air Drying before Kiln DryingMatt Farrell knows how to dry wood.  He’s been doing it for some time and has been a consultant in the lumber biz to help sawmills refine their operation and optimize their drying.  I talk to him on this show not […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 106 – Featured Species Black Walnut On this show I cover  why is Walnut so thirsty?  Sticker Stain?  Air dried vs Kiln dried for violin bow making.  I cover the featured species: American Black Walnut, my favorite species to work. Finally I spend some time talking about a few stories […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 105 – The Wood Yard A LUmber yard run by woodworkersWe all have stories about bad lumber yard experiences.  The industry is plagued with poor customer service and terminology that leaves the customer feeling like they got ripped off.  Woodworking magazines write articles about how to act at a lumber […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 104 – Euro Beech and Kiln Drying 101 You have to have Moisture to dry woodThis episode I take a closer look at kiln drying wood and discuss fun things like dry bulb, wet bulb, and dew point.  Ironically you have to have moisture in order to dry wood and […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 103 – Emerald Ash Borer This is Not a Happy EpisodeFair warning this episode is depressing.  The Emerald Ash Borer is devastating the Ash forests all across North America.  My guest, Dr. Jeremy Slone from Bartlett Tree Experts, joins me to discuss the Emerald Ash Borer.  We discuss its impact […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 102 – Board Foot Estimation, Lumber Margins Estimating Board Feet In this episode I answer questions you guys sent in about the journey of a board from forest to the lumber shelf. I talk about estimating board feet, who gets to buy what quality of lumber, margins in the lumber […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 101 – Harvest Lumber Co Giving New Life to Austin’s Fallen TreesKris Burns joins me this episode to talk about the local tree scene in Austin, TX.  We discuss how they have partnered with the city for a log pickup to obtain much of their lumber as they got started. […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 100 The Journey of a Board From Tree to Board on a Lumber RackFor my 100th episode it seemed fitting to discuss the long and muddy road of a board. From a tree in a forest somewhere in the world to a rough logging road to sawmill to truck to […]

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update · 99 – Wood in Aviation Wood in Airplanes through the YearsThis time I discuss the featured species of the month: Black Cherry and then dive into the deep topic of wood in the aviation industry. My guest Alex LaFavre is a pilot and works in the aviation industry and he […]