mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
So, I met this guy...
And he said he collects wood and is a wooden boat model maker. He used to cut trees for a living, and sold the business to several employees. Now, they bring him a dump truck full of lumber and dump in in his front yard . He dries the wood, cuts it and sells it to model makers - think small strips 1/8" x 1/8" x 24".
Why the front yard? Well, years ago they started at the back of his lot, but he now has 60-70 yards of solid piled logs; some cut into slabs for drying under tarps, others half cut up for when he needs a chunk. Oh, his wife freely picks up anything she wants and burns in in the fireplace...
So, as we got talking, he said he has so much wood in his workshop, he has to burn it to get to his bandsaw... "I'd love to get rid of it all.," said he! Being the nice guy I am, I offered to help the poor guy out...
The next week (in October) I came to his house and brought four empty printer paper boxes (the kind that hold 10 reams of paper). I did not know what to expect, and didn't want to seem greedy (YES, I did pay him a bit eventually).
When I saw his "workshop" I was totally unprepared... It was on the upper level of a small barn, the roof was almost falling in, and there were 1,000's of piled cutoffs. These ranged from 1/2" x 1/2" to 2" x 8" boards, all the way from 12" long to 4' long. It was about 14' x 18' x 6' high. In the middle was a Jet Band saw, and a Jointer/planner. The path to get to these tools was about 10" wide. He said it was floor to ceiling kindling.
Now, he said the problem he had, stemmed from model builders wanting only plain-grained wood that will not distract from their models. He said anything with any grain, patterns, burls, or striking features was unusable. He had to cut away anything with any features, and get to the "valuable" plain-grained stock.
He said I could take as much as I wanted... I dutifully filled by 4 boxes. I suspect I had enough to cut 800+ blanks... I offered him $100, and he said he would only take $50, but only if I promised to come back.
He felt very guilty about taking my money, so as we were leaving he kept grabbing chunks of more stuff and putting then into my van. He said he really wanted to get rid of some "nasty, knarly worthless pieces that were heavy and too hard for his wife to burn. They looked really bad, but I asked him what they were... "DESERT IRONWOOD, I have no use for that stuff, too many colors - please take it." We carried 3 pieces to the van, one I suspect weighs 90 lbs and will stay outside until my sons get home today as it is above my "lifting restriction" after hernia surgery last week.
He gave me a branch from his firewood pile in the house. That is what I used for the pen. Being a branch, it is fully cracked down the pith, but I wanted to try it anyway. Not nearly as colorful as the later blanks, but I like the pen just fine. He and his wife will getting some nice Desert Ironwoods pens - him a sketch pencil for his model designs.
Yesterday I began to cut up some: Osage Orange, Madrone, African Blackwood - with sapwood, Bloodwood, Lemonwood... About 1/3 is not even identified...
And he said he collects wood and is a wooden boat model maker. He used to cut trees for a living, and sold the business to several employees. Now, they bring him a dump truck full of lumber and dump in in his front yard . He dries the wood, cuts it and sells it to model makers - think small strips 1/8" x 1/8" x 24".
Why the front yard? Well, years ago they started at the back of his lot, but he now has 60-70 yards of solid piled logs; some cut into slabs for drying under tarps, others half cut up for when he needs a chunk. Oh, his wife freely picks up anything she wants and burns in in the fireplace...
So, as we got talking, he said he has so much wood in his workshop, he has to burn it to get to his bandsaw... "I'd love to get rid of it all.," said he! Being the nice guy I am, I offered to help the poor guy out...
The next week (in October) I came to his house and brought four empty printer paper boxes (the kind that hold 10 reams of paper). I did not know what to expect, and didn't want to seem greedy (YES, I did pay him a bit eventually).
When I saw his "workshop" I was totally unprepared... It was on the upper level of a small barn, the roof was almost falling in, and there were 1,000's of piled cutoffs. These ranged from 1/2" x 1/2" to 2" x 8" boards, all the way from 12" long to 4' long. It was about 14' x 18' x 6' high. In the middle was a Jet Band saw, and a Jointer/planner. The path to get to these tools was about 10" wide. He said it was floor to ceiling kindling.
Now, he said the problem he had, stemmed from model builders wanting only plain-grained wood that will not distract from their models. He said anything with any grain, patterns, burls, or striking features was unusable. He had to cut away anything with any features, and get to the "valuable" plain-grained stock.
He said I could take as much as I wanted... I dutifully filled by 4 boxes. I suspect I had enough to cut 800+ blanks... I offered him $100, and he said he would only take $50, but only if I promised to come back.
He felt very guilty about taking my money, so as we were leaving he kept grabbing chunks of more stuff and putting then into my van. He said he really wanted to get rid of some "nasty, knarly worthless pieces that were heavy and too hard for his wife to burn. They looked really bad, but I asked him what they were... "DESERT IRONWOOD, I have no use for that stuff, too many colors - please take it." We carried 3 pieces to the van, one I suspect weighs 90 lbs and will stay outside until my sons get home today as it is above my "lifting restriction" after hernia surgery last week.
He gave me a branch from his firewood pile in the house. That is what I used for the pen. Being a branch, it is fully cracked down the pith, but I wanted to try it anyway. Not nearly as colorful as the later blanks, but I like the pen just fine. He and his wife will getting some nice Desert Ironwoods pens - him a sketch pencil for his model designs.
Yesterday I began to cut up some: Osage Orange, Madrone, African Blackwood - with sapwood, Bloodwood, Lemonwood... About 1/3 is not even identified...
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