Backyard Wood - Why look elsewhere?

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NittanyLion

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Feb 3, 2013
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State College PA
I've always said that too often we shop for timber that comes from the other side of world, when we should be looking at what's just outside our door. Here is proof....sugar maple Burl. Something that can be found all over the east coast.

This 4x6 chunk is one of 30 or so. All it cost me was a little bit of gas and some time alone in the woods.....not too bad eh?

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You have a broad view of what constitutes a backyard. You back a BIG backyard. Haha.

But to your point everything around my yard of others I inspect. Some nice walnut and some spalted maple so far. Someone else found me a little hickory burl locally. No burls in my actual yard though :-)

I like the connection of locally found wood
 
Steve...That is some UGLY, HORRIBLE looking FIREWOOD and I know just the place to dispose of it properly!!! ;>) I agree, I try to use locally or at least U.S. grown wood and find that there are sooo many different wonderful types of wood available (although they are becoming more difficult to find/purchase at reasonable price...) before going to 'exotic' woods. Please let us know and see what you turn/carve out of this beautiful piece of America!!! Safe turning to you always!
 
I reckon we have some nice wood over here,
BUT,
You guys and Gals have some wonderful wood in your backyard.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, SO THEY SAY.

I guess that is just not true.

Great pieces of burl. Thanks for showing and I would love to see what you do with them.

Bob.
 
I love working with the woods that we have here at home. We have just a beautiful woods here as anyplace in the world. It is just different woods. So may woods so few components.. I just can't take the pressure.

And Bob you are so right about the grass being greener. You have woods that we don't have and we have woods that you don't have.. I wish I had more of those Australian woods here in my shop...

By the way Steve WOW on that wood. It is just beautiful...
 
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I have gotten some really nice spalted wood grown within 20 feet of my house, elm, sweetgum, two varieties of cherry, redbud. I built a cabinet for above the toilet from some Leyland cypress from beside the driveway, again 20 feet from the house.
 
I guess I need to look in my backyard again. Don't recall seeing anything other than trees I planted between 5 and 30 years ago. My wife would not like me harvesting the landscaping we did ... :eek:

I envy anyone that has a backyard big enough and diverse enough to harvest some timber for a woodworking project.
 
Most of what we've got in our woods is poplar, but I've never went back in looking for "interesting" wood... yet.:biggrin:
 
It's not necessary to cut a tree down to harvest the wood. Look for dead branches you can prune for small projects. Some of the best looking cherry I've found and used for pens has been dead branches I've snapped off the tree.
 
Be careful about getting it "in the woods." Here in AZ you can't take wood from a national forest or state park without a permit.
 
sbwertz said:
Be careful about getting it "in the woods." Here in AZ you can't take wood from a national forest or state park without a permit.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.....and to clarify, all harvesting I do is legal(on my property), and responsibly. Trees are either damaged, or lately many are part of a log order in area's soon to be timbered. We have a comprehensive forestry management plan that involves replanting at high rates and cutting as recommended by a licensed state forester.

I have absolutely no time for "burl thieves".....they should be jailed.

I also get a lot of timber from neighbors and people I see un suburban area's who are cutting down trees.
 
We have had and are going to have more storms yet this year. I got many trees and some wood from the local trimmers and the city dump when trees have come down.
I always ask "May I....?" Even before looking. That is just being polite.

And if it is a private party.......well, we all know just how long it takes to make a slimline.
 
Although we have 38 acres, most of it woods, we are in the midlands of sand, scrub oak and pine. I haven't found anything but small logs from trees that had been blown over. Some of them had a little spalting though. Much, much different than where I grew up in north Georgia.
 
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