From Firewood to Furniture

Every woodworker knows that finding just the right source for your wood can be tricky. The lumber store sometime just doesn't have what you want. Recently I had the most unusual experience.

I was at a relative's home. They had a big pile of firewood in the yard. We happened to be standing near the pile having a conversation but my eyes kept drifting to the wood pile. Finally he asked what I was looking at. In the woodpile were several huge logs, both long and wide, and even from the end cut I could tell the grain was spectacular. It was just another log to him.

In the end, I came home with some choice pieces of birch in my vehicle. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with them so they sat for quite a while in my shop. Eventually a project presented itself.

I had to make useable lumber from what was essentially raw timber. Of course, the first thing I did was reach for the woodworkers first solution. I made a jig. I made a jig for the band saw so that I could cut nice 5/4 and 3/4 stock off the logs - slightly oversized of course. Next I cut my edges on the table saw. Once I had my rough lumber it was a simple matter of running them through the planer and jointer to make some of the best birch lumber I have used in years.

Becuase I was working with the source material I was able to nicely bookmatch my panel. I also had more than enough material so I was able to waste some in order to get the angles on the grain just perfect. In the end I produced a fantastic birch piece with the best looking grain patterns that have come out of my workshop in a long time. There would have been no way that I could have produced the same result with store bought lumber.

Never let your eyes rest. You never know when you are going to come across your next piece of timber.