Buy Sawmill Hardwood and $Ave Your Guide for a Successful ﬁ Rst Trip

Buy Sawmill Hardwood and $ave Your guide for a successful ﬁ rst trip

By Pete Stephano Consultant: Larry Osborn

When you visit a home First things ﬁ rst: kiln (it may be available online center to purchase hardwood, ﬁ nding a sawmill as a downloadable PDF). An more than likely you’ll encounter While your local yellow pages Internet search for “hardwood limited quantities, limited will yield results when you lumber mills,” “rough-sawn species, and through-the-roof look under “Sawmills” or lumber,” and “veneer mills” is pricing. In some cases, you’re “Lumber-Retail,” members yet another good approach. paying for that shiny cellophane of local woodworking clubs, Note, too, that sawmills wrapper. Before you sell your woodworking friends, or come in all sizes, from one-man tools and steer toward a different woodworking specialty operations to large mills. With hobby, you need to check out the stores may serve as better the advent of inexpensively sources for locating a sawmill. built solar kilns and portable While some mills service Other sources: your state’s bandsaw mills, many small onlybene�its the ofcommercial shopping atbuilding a sawmill. department of natural resources, operations sell lumber directly industry, make pallets, or ship conservation, or forestry; a to woodworkers, but they may or woods overseas, many gladly university extension service; may not be listed in a directory, sell to the local woodworker. or a forestry or wood science and the wood may not be kiln- department. If you’re lucky, one dried. Find owners/operators variety and huge savings. If of them publishes a sawmill near you by calling portable mill theHere special is where lingo you’ll and �ind ways great in directory arranged by county or manufacturers such as Wood- which sawmills sell hardwood region with phone numbers and Mizer, (800) 553-0182; Granberg, have kept you at bay, let us notations such as type of mill, (800) 233-0499; or Cook’s Saw help you shop like a pro. species cut, and presence of a Manufacturing, (800) 473-4804.

Aug/Sept 2009 woodcraftmagazine.com 71 First contact: what to ask and white oak, hard and soft Mill talk made easy Once you discover one or more maple, cherry, walnut, ash, The contrast between the big- local sawmills, call them up and hickory, beech, sassafras, and box home centers and a sawmill ask the following questions: sycamore in thicknesses ranging requires explaining. When you Do you sell direct, and if so, do from 4/4 to 8/4 for some species go to a big-box store, you’ll you sell in limited quantities and in a range of grades from FAS or require a minimum order? to #1, # 2, and #3 Common. (See and poplar planed or surfaced likely �ind kiln-dried3 red oak • What species do you sell, and “Sawmill Lumber Thicknesses” on two sides in /4"-thickness in what grades and prices? and “Lumber Grades at a Glance.”) (nominally referred to as 1" Is your wood air-dried, That’s above and beyond what thick) in standard widths that • kiln-dried, or both? What include 1×2, 1×3, 1×4, 1×6, 1×8, are the price differences? store. By going this route, you and 1×12. Lengths extend to 12', • Can I sort through a stack essentiallyyou’ll �ind at cut your out local the middle big-box but you can have boards cut to to select boards, or will I man. And the really good news? shorter lengths upon request. All need to place an order in a Prices for kiln-dried hardwood of it is edged to remove wane. • stock undercut the big-box At sawmills, rough stock at an agreed upon time? stores by 50% or more! comes in random lengths and speci�icCan I buy grade boards and from pick it up the same log? Sawmill Lumber Thicknesses (Before and Aft er Drying and Surfacing) • In a phone call to Haessly Rough thickness Aft er S2S Hardwood Lumber Company 4/4=1" 3/4" to 13/16" in Marietta, Ohio (which we randomly selected), we learned, 5/4=11/4" 1" to 11/8" for instance, that the mill does 6/4=11/2" 11/4" to 13/8" sell direct with no quantity 8/4=2" 13/4" (or to customer preference) limitation. Woods include red

Lumber Grades At A Glance Domesti c hardwood lumber found at sawmills #1 Common. An economical choice for furniture meets diff erent quality levels or grades as that requires moderate lengths and narrower specifi ed by the Nati onal Hardwood Lumber widths. A #1 board must be a minimum of 3" wide Associati on (NHLA). The basis for this grading is and 4' long and yield 662/3% clear cutti ngs on the the number and size of defect-free clear cutti ngs worst face. Expect some mineral streaks, splitti ng, in a board, as summarized below. Thickness is not wane, knots, and tool marks (in rough-sawn). a considerati on, though with some species worm #2 Common. This grade allows many defects, holes, gum pockets, and stain are acceptable. including sound and unsound knots, pith (the FAS (First & Seconds). This premium grade unstable center), shakes (splits between growth represents the fi nest lumber yield in a log. rings), tool marks, wane, and checks (splits), if Generally, the minimum size board is 6" they don’t aff ect strength. Minimum board size: wide by 8', long which yields a minimum of 3" wide and 4' long. Each board must yield a 831/3% clear cutti ngs on its poorest face. minimum 50% usable, but not defect-free wood. F1F (FAS One Face). The best face grades #3 Common. Not suitable for woodworking due as clear FAS; the worst, as #1 common, to number of defects and low yield of usable wood. containing some knots. Selects. Close to a FAS board. A Select board must be a minimum of 4" wide and 6' long and yield a minimum of 831/3% clear cutti ngs, but only on one face #1 #2 with #1 common on the worst face. FAS F1F Common Common

72 woodcraftmagazine.com Aug/Sept 2009 widths and in several nominal 3 1/4" thicknesses, such as 4/4 2 (“four/quarters” or 1"), 5/4 (11/4"), 6/4 (11/2"), 8/4 (2"), and so on. These thicknesses, though, 1 4 are designated and the board footage calculated before drying 5 and surfacing. You pay retail for the original green thickness, though what you actually get in dry surfaced-two-sides (S2S) 6 hardwood is shown in the chart on the previous page. The point is you can save money by buying full-thickness rough-sawn stock and then plane it yourself. For those of you who have a thickness planer and jointer, consider yourselves in the winner’s circle. Even if you buy surfaced What to bring to the sawmill: sawmill boards you save. 1) moisture meter; 2) tape; 3) Lumber grades also require block plane; 4) calculator; 5) getting used to. Typically, big- gloves; and 6) pad and pencil. box stores and wood specialty retailers offer only the top grades If buying fi gured stock, use of hardwood boards—FAS and you can keep a safe distance. a block plane to shave a F1F (one FAS face). However, redNext, �lag tohave the in end, mind so folksexactly behind rough-sawn sample to get a depending on your project, you what wood you need—the bett er picture of the face. may only need #1 Common. species, thickness, grade, and board feet. (Note that Ideally, you want hardwood all grades at a sawmill. See one board foot equals a in the 6-8% moisture range for “LumberMore good Grades news: at You’ll Glance” �ind for 1"-thick piece of wood that an understanding of the quality measures 12×12"). If building wood or quartersawn stock at differences found in sawmill a magazine project, bring the afurniture. sawmill, Whenuse a block buying plane �igured to wood. Once you know this, you’ll cut list and cutting diagram. shave the rough-sawn surface to know exactly what to ask for. How about the wood’s determine the degree of character Grade quality at sawmills condition—are you set up to underneath as shown above. runs the gamut from First plane rough-sawn stock? Next, Splash on water for an even better and Seconds (the best) to decide whether or not you want view of the grain and color. #3 Common (the worst). kiln- or air-dried stock. If you’re Lastly, don’t forget to check on unsure about the wood’s state the seller’s preferred payment At the sawmill: what you of seasoning, tote a moisture method before you leave home. need to succeed meter, like Wagner’s Digital Cash may be preferred over For starters, you’ll need a truck Moisture Meter (Woodcraft a credit card. With that, good or trailer to haul home the wood #143611), to check for dryness. luck and happy shopping! I you buy. Sawmills don’t do small- load, local deliveries. Include lots of line or cargo straps to Special Thanks secure the load and work gloves A special thank-you is in order for Norman (Jack) Haessly of to handle rough-sawn stock and Haessly Hardwood Lumber in Mariett a, Ohio, who opened up to avoid splinters. If the load extends the magazine staff and off ered valuable input for this story. beyond the truck or trailer, tack a

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