# Any tips for finding 'free' wood for using in projects?



## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Hi all -fairly new to this forum and woodworking.

Do you have any tips on where to get free or very cheap wood to use for small furniture projects?

I go to a local tip, and see nice wood in one of the bins but taking things from there is forbidden - I cant think of anywhere else that people are throwing wood away, and that I can take it

If you were on a really tight budget and wanted to make something and didn't mind mixing and matching wood etc, how would you go about it please?

Tips and ideas appreciated


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

Ride around your neighboorhood the day before and on Trash Pick Up Day. Check your local listings for free lumber. (Craigslist, Facebook, etc).


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Pallets..


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

Check businesses that sell heavy and semi-heavy equipment like lawn tractors, etc. These are sometimes shipped to dealers in wood crates that end up in the trash. If you find some, be sure to go in and ask before you start pulling stuff from their trash. Also, some folks try to find old wood pallets. Be very careful. Aside from sometimes containing hardware and grit, these are often used for stuff like fertilizers, insecticides, and/or other potentially toxic materials. Again. Ask before you take.


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## Half Fast Eddie (Jan 12, 2022)

Check dealers of equipment, like motorcycles, snowmobiles (probably not in uk), small tractors. Sometimes they get shipped in wooden crates.


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## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

LumberJoe said:


> Hi all -fairly new to this forum and woodworking.
> 
> Do you have any tips on where to get free or very cheap wood to use for small furniture projects?
> 
> ...


Find a local millwork. A lot of time their waste may be something you could use for small projects.


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## Roybrew (Nov 2, 2016)

Like John said, keep your eye out for old worn out furniture that people are throwing away. I've got some nice lumber out of that stuff. I've salvaged some wormy chestnut, red cedar and popular from under peeling vaneers on old furniture.







I salvaged the red cedar, on the side of this wanagon, from an old throw away wardrobe. 

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk


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## Roybrew (Nov 2, 2016)

Oops sorry about the downloaded pdf. Mistake


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## LumberJoe (3 mo ago)

Thank you all for those ideas. Things to think about.

Very useful tips!


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## 4DThinker (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm in the middle of knocking apart some old weathered wood deck chairs to salvage the wood parts for some small table designs. The gray/black weathered surface sands off using my drum sander and reveals what looks and machines like teak. I've got one small table top made and enough wood for another top. I also have boards for the legs and stretcher for one, but there are two more sad looking chairs waiting for their turn at a new life. 
4D


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## Olwoodguy (1 mo ago)

Visit a woodworking shop. When I was building cabinets I would burn scraps by the barrel. Cost money to store also. I would have gladly saved it for someone if they swung by regular but burned a lot of nice stuff. A 55 gallon drum full off oak cut get a really nice orange glow


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## asevereid (Apr 15, 2012)

All great ideas here.
I work in residential construction, and occasionally will find a good score on renovation projects.
It depends on what you're looking for really.... You can get salvaged dimensional lumber, t&g cladding (interior or exterior), 3/4" hardwood flooring stock, or even the occasional rough sawn timber.
Basically, if you know someone who does the work you may be able to work something out with them to keep an eye out for these kinds of items. How and when you pick them up is up to you and their boss.

On our most recent project I thumbed my nose at a LOT of salvaged wood because it was peppered with finish nails, or heavily painted. Plenty of 1x6 and 1x8, and rough cut Doug fir.
But I did managed to snag a bunch of mostly clean fir... And that should keep me busy for a bit.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

LumberJoe said:


> Hi all -fairly new to this forum and woodworking.
> 
> Do you have any tips on where to get free or very cheap wood to use for small furniture projects?
> 
> ...


You might post where you are. Perhaps you could get some wood from someone like me that has more wood than a place to put it. I just threw out a lot of wood because it was outside under a tarp and the tarp went bad.


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

I visited local mill and they said anything from the trash pile. Found 2" plank the had shake in it but still made a great bench top. Lots of off cuts and had enough to make some frames for a boat.
johnep


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## SomeDudeOnline (Mar 21, 2018)

If you're not looking for anything immediate or large, you could try logging/milling/drying your own lumber. However, this requires having access to property with trees that you might be interested in or knowing what government/public land you're allowed to take from (if any). I get Manzanita from my grandmothers' property, it's a gorgeous wood but an absolute nightmare to dry because it's so "reactionary". It splits and warps like crazy but I just dry it as best as I can and anticipate only using it for small things (rings & bottle openers mostly). One thing I've figured out that's helpful with manzanita and will probably be helpful with other woods, is to try and get your logs from trees that died naturally and somewhat recently. The wood will dry out on its own and hardly splits/warps but of course if it's been dead too long then it'll rot or get eaten by insects.


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