Scavenging

[Mike Crosa]

Went to the trash area yesterday in my community to get rid of some big boxes and found a fancy type bookcase headboard. I looked at it but since I did not have any tools I decided to forget about it. But I couldn't. So today I went back with my drill, hammer and pry bar. The doors were solid wood and I have to determine what they are but they kind of look like cherry. They are raised panel doors so I have to figure out what I am going to do with them. I used the pry bar to get the top off of the headboard and that looks like poplar. So its a nice peace of wood that I am going to have to strip along with the doors. The rest was particle board and hard board. This was supposedly a quality piece of furniture, (Ethan Allan)), oh well. While I was there a women pulled up in her golf cart. I had not heard her and when I looked up there she was. She looked at me and said, "What kind of woodworking do you do?", and I told her I was getting into scroll sawing. Well darned if she didn't say her late husband had been a scroller and the last piece he did was of a cross and would I like to see it? I said sure and off she went returning a few minutes later with the piece her husband did as well as a copy of the pattern for me. So I have to say It was a real productive time. Free wood and a free pattern. I haven't seen a pattern quite like this so when I finish it I will post the item for all to see. Maybe someone will recognize the pattern although I think it is an original.

[Andy]

Hmmm ... it seems that when it comes to "scrollers", the experience is always fruitful, fun and fulfilling. Your experience is sounds so typical when 2 scrollers meet for the first time. Thanks for anothe reminder of why I enjoy this craft/artform so much!!

Andy

[lucky788scroller]

Ahh dumpster diving! I've been known to that once or twice. One such dive turned up a pretty decent Crapsman radial arm saw,with a broken yoke, which happened when they were throwing it in there. It was a perfectly good saw, but they were emptying out a small factory of the stuff the last tenants left behind. Ya never know what ya might find in them dumpsters! Dale

[MacS]

Mike,

Its quite common in furniture manufacturing and in finishing to use more then one wood on most furniture.

The companies will advitise them as a "cherry finish" and not as cherry wood, they do this for many reasons from the strenght of the woods, to the cutting, routing, shaping, carving, price, and availability of woods, ect.

They use a process called a "FACTORY FINISH" where a colored "toner" is first used to blend in all the woods to one translucent color, this coloring medium does not block out the wood, then a few other coloring techniques are used to create attractive finishes, most furniture manufacture use this process.

Not to change the subject, I have a photo that shows for different woods that shows how the are finished with a factory finish. I could post it in my gallery.

Back to dumbster dumping...

[Mike Crosa]

I understand MAC, I just was disappointed I couldn't scavenge more wood off of an Ethan Allan piece. I was hoping that they would have used more Poplar at the very least or Pine not just particle board.

Mike C

[Pajaro]

I lucked out one time, In Dallas they don't allow it. But I was driving down a street one time and some one had tossed out this 12" wide by 12' long board. I thought it was plywood when i first saw it. But then I noticed it was too thick (1in) and long for ply. It turn out to white oak. from old growth trees. Beautiful tight grain with out a knot or warp in it. Lots of dirt and paint. It took some doing but it cleaned up great. I made most of a rocking horse for my granddaughter from it. Another source could be from shipping pallets if you still find them tossed out. Most are recycled now. Mostly oak or maple, this is pretty ruff stuff, but I have gotten some nice small peaces after cleaning it up.

[hermit_scroller]

Look in your yellow pages for cabinet shops. They usually don't care if you go through their dumpsters. Before I retired, I worked next to a remodeling company. Got all kinds of wood. Seems if they cut something wrong they threw it away. Got some solid oak panels for a door one time, lots of poplar, some maple and still using on the 1/4" birch plywood I got, good quality good on both sides.
Hermit

[workin for wood]

That's great! I have dove tons of dumpsters. I'm lucky with my work I sit up pretty high and travel many alleys getting to customers back doors, so I see a lot of dumpsters and have a cockpit view right down into them all. I have retrieved so much stuff it's way too much to list. You have a planer? I'd rip your new found wood to 6" wide or whatever and I'd scrape the easy parts of the finish off with a paint scraper. Then I'd just run it through the planer a few times. It's unlikely you'll find nails in it if it was a headboard or a raised panel. Do check of course.

[NMScroller]

No pun intended, but don't knock particle board scraps. As much as we hate to use that stuff, it's perfect for making jigs and garage storage. I dug some kind of particle board shelving with fake wood veneer out of my alley dumpster. I managed to make a few shelf sliders for the garage and 5 or 6 decent looking book ends for my wife's classroom. Even garbage wood has its value.

Unless you want a show room garage, why spend money on expensive plywood when you can get junk furniture scraps for free?

Brian

[Pajaro]

3/8 wafer board. I've made some small convenance tables tops. I have used it for backing on "The Lords Prayer from Wild Wood Designs. And a few signs. Sand it down to 220 grit and clear coat with high gloss. You will be surprised at the unusual wood patterns you get. Really different. It is worth the time.

PS it is a little hard on blades.