Went to look at a few old wooden planes listed on local Craigslist last week. Neat things of very limited use, but things I like to play with and collect. I bought all three they had. And just before I got back into the truck I asked, "and what else". You know the question we all need to ask when buying stuff from people. And what else do you have for sale?
They stopped and looked at me and said they had sold most of the "good stuff" already. They were cleaning out and selling off the estate of a long deceased uncle. They were selling the farm to a builder and wanted to sell off the contents of his house, barn and out buildings. Sorry no '64 Mustangs. But they offered to let me look around and mentioned there was some wood in the old barn.
Wood I heard, the ears perked up. So down we went. The barn was in decent shape roof wise but looked like a drunk on payday night. Leaning a little every which way. On the ground floor there was several pickup loads of what I would call firewood. Rough cut lumber which had curled up like egg noodles due to being stored poorly. About to call it a day when I decided to look up stairs.
The loft was stuffed with rough cut lumber. Walnut, cherry, maple, a little sycamore and ash or hickory. Wide and long, rough cut with natural edges and boards trimmed with straight edges. Looks like the old fellow had a few trees cut up into lumber in Winter months every year. We use to do it on the farm. Cut it now and dry it for later use. Later never came and the uncle died in 1980's I think.
Big barn, with a long loft, holds a lot of lumber I found out. The sellers looked at the lumber as more stuff to get rid of. I saw a lot of wood but I have no place to store it locally. Asked them how much they wanted for the whole lot. Ten thousand dollars one said after careful reflection, the other laughed. We dickered and talked. Well I bought it.
Now I have to have it trucked back East to my farm. I have a converted chicken house to store it in. Buddy in the trucking business will haul it for me when he is dead hauling that direction. Might take a month to get it all moved he said but the price is right. He will drop off a empty trailer at the barn and give me a day to fill it. Local daily labor filled the first trailer today. It goes back East Tuesday. Cousin back home will unload it for me and get it inside. Well he will supervise others doing the work. He is from the smart side of the family.
I can see the dent they made but it is just a dent. Looks like I have four or five more trailer loads to go. By the time I am done the chicken house back east will be filled, my cousin might not like me so much and my retirement supply of wood will be waiting for me. All because I asked, "and what else". If I had not asked that wood might have been destroyed when the barn was pushed over with the land cleanup, burned perhaps or just hauled away. And what else.
They stopped and looked at me and said they had sold most of the "good stuff" already. They were cleaning out and selling off the estate of a long deceased uncle. They were selling the farm to a builder and wanted to sell off the contents of his house, barn and out buildings. Sorry no '64 Mustangs. But they offered to let me look around and mentioned there was some wood in the old barn.
Wood I heard, the ears perked up. So down we went. The barn was in decent shape roof wise but looked like a drunk on payday night. Leaning a little every which way. On the ground floor there was several pickup loads of what I would call firewood. Rough cut lumber which had curled up like egg noodles due to being stored poorly. About to call it a day when I decided to look up stairs.
The loft was stuffed with rough cut lumber. Walnut, cherry, maple, a little sycamore and ash or hickory. Wide and long, rough cut with natural edges and boards trimmed with straight edges. Looks like the old fellow had a few trees cut up into lumber in Winter months every year. We use to do it on the farm. Cut it now and dry it for later use. Later never came and the uncle died in 1980's I think.
Big barn, with a long loft, holds a lot of lumber I found out. The sellers looked at the lumber as more stuff to get rid of. I saw a lot of wood but I have no place to store it locally. Asked them how much they wanted for the whole lot. Ten thousand dollars one said after careful reflection, the other laughed. We dickered and talked. Well I bought it.
Now I have to have it trucked back East to my farm. I have a converted chicken house to store it in. Buddy in the trucking business will haul it for me when he is dead hauling that direction. Might take a month to get it all moved he said but the price is right. He will drop off a empty trailer at the barn and give me a day to fill it. Local daily labor filled the first trailer today. It goes back East Tuesday. Cousin back home will unload it for me and get it inside. Well he will supervise others doing the work. He is from the smart side of the family.
I can see the dent they made but it is just a dent. Looks like I have four or five more trailer loads to go. By the time I am done the chicken house back east will be filled, my cousin might not like me so much and my retirement supply of wood will be waiting for me. All because I asked, "and what else". If I had not asked that wood might have been destroyed when the barn was pushed over with the land cleanup, burned perhaps or just hauled away. And what else.
