Mindzle

Posts Tagged ‘reclaimed lumber’

I happen to love forests, so much so, that I live in the woods on 5 acres, and own another five in Portland. In the last month a herd of about 40 elk took up temporary residence here, we have had a black beer, deer, and just about every bird, mammal and amphibian that calls this part of the world home, in our little woods.

Some people see loving the forest and having a hobby of woodcraft as some sort of irony or hypocrisy . For me it just makes it more imperative that we use the resource wisely. Protect areas that need it, harvest wisely, and use every last bit for the highest use. Waste nothing. And when the product  is no longer of use, recycle it to the next highest use.

There are thousands of species and infinite varieties of wood. All of it beautiful finished or raw, live as a tree or dead as lumber. It gives us warmth and shelter. We create art and furniture as well as document thoughts and history with it.

The trees, living and dead offer so much to our society and our future that to me, it is imperative that we use our resources wisely. Use sustainable forestry practices so that tomorrows generations will have the jobs, and products that we have today, as well as the forests and woodlands to enjoy.

One of the amazing things about wood, is the many ways it can be re-used, and recycled. A friend of mine started a company, Greenstar International that specializes in helping ports manage their waste-stream. One of the particular “products” of waste, that ports produce in fairly large volumes, is wood. Here on the west coast, most of the wood is in the form of 4″x4″x8′ spacers placed between sheets of steel and other break-bulk items. And most of that wood is exotic. We have found Ebony, Canary wood, and many other rare and interesting types. For decades, the ports simply threw away the wood, as it cost too much and took too long to sort.

Along came Greenstar. Now most of that wood is sent off to be made into flooring, siding, decking, and other finished goods. Any wood that cannot be used for these High uses, is used to make palettes. And if it is so badly damaged as to be unusable for anything else, it is sold as firewood or ground up to use as hog fuel. Great idea right? Taking waste, and turning it into a valuable resource. Starting with the highest value, highest use, and working the way down so that in the end no waste remains.

For me it has been a cheap resource for finding rare, exotic woods to use in my own projects. Maybe just turning a piece of wood for the sake of it, making sculpture, or to make our new front door. Sometimes we make furniture. And soon a project we will begin is the construction of my authentic all wood tea-house/studio. To say that they have been a great resource is an understatement.

Another fantastic resource, I have come to rely on is
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. Whenever I need a tool, they have it, in stock. They also have wood kits, project designs and I have found they are a great resource to send new woodworkers to. They are one of the oldest, and most trusted resellers of woodworking, hardware and tools online.