Lumber Quality

[ssmith1627]

I made some posts here a while back about finding a sawmill about 10 miles from my house in northeast Knox County. Some time has gone by and the wood is getting dry enough to where I can start machining some of it. I have two projects in the works right now -- building a bed for my foster son and restoring a wrought-iron bench for a patio.

I don't know the proper term but most of the wood I've worked with so far, from this same mill, has been "pitted". Small holes all over that you can't see until you run it several times across the jointer. Both hard maple and walnut. Pretty disappointing. The wood for the bench wouldn't have to be perfect but there's not really a useable face from what I'm finding. I've jointed three different maple boards as well all with the same results.

Now I'm starting to understand the pricing at this place...at least I know I wasn't paying for firsts & seconds and that I've got to be a lot more picky going forward. There's no point in buying lumber at these prices if I can't use it for my projects.

Gonna try another place here in town but it's a lot less convenient to me. I've heard they're expensive but I want to see what they have at least.

Just wanted to vent. Thanks for listening. All part of the learning process !

Steve

[alcarey]

That's very curious. I'd double-check how you're machining the wood. If the pits show up after several passes thru the jointer, that means they're either voids in the wood or be created by the jointer.

The direction you pass wood of the jointer blades matters, I'm not sure I could explain the method clearly, but if you look online I'm sure you can find useful info. Take off a very small amount of material with each pass, also make sure your blades are sharp.

Do you have a surface planer? You could try running some of the wood thru the planer and see if you get the same results.

hope this helps, I'm sure other will chime in also.

Al

[LCHIEN]

I agree with Al Carey,
all wood comes from the same "Factory", if you are uncovering pits in the wood after you are removing a layer with a jointer/surface planer and seeing pits the sawmill is not responsible.
Are you sure you are not "gouging" the wood with your planing technique?
Using dull blades and or planing against the grain can cause gouging.

[blame]

if you could post a picture for me i could help you id the problem i've noticed it too in boards i have bought from a local in my area but its due to dull blades on my jointer and going the wrong direction of the grain in the wood

blame

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Pictures would be good. Sounds like you are tearing out on the jointer. I can't see how a mill can screw something up that would cause what you are identifying. I definately would not go out buying more expensive wood until I identified the issue.

[Pappy]

Pitted vs. holes is a bit confusing. If it is holes running thru the wood it could be from bugs.

[gwyneth]

I also wonder how much water-soaked lumber flooded (sorry) the market in the last year from the 2005 hurricane season. It wreaked great havoc on many materials markets, with some stuff being salvaged that shouldn't have.

[ssmith1627]

I'm definitely new to all this but no, this is not tearout from the jointer or planer. I get the same results with both machines. I've seen tearout in other maple I've bought -- either caused by running it against the grain or just from the grain reversing itself on one board, thus giving tearout in that section of the board.

I'll try to take some pics and post them. These are small holes, probably smaller than a BB gun would make. It's not from the way I'm machining it because I've used some other maple boards I got at Woodcraft, cedar and pine from HD, etc. -- I had no problems with any of those.

The pictures will show you what I'm talking about. I've only found it in the lumber I got from this one mill.

Steve

[LarryG]

I'm with Pappy ... it sounds like holes made by borers. I found exactly the same thing over the weekend when I milled up a piece of walnut that someone gave to me. Better than half of the board turned out to be worth pretty much what I paid for it (not that I'm ungrateful for free wood).

[Tamarack]

There's a mill up near Rogersville that has somewhat higher prices but less than the box stores, I've not been there yet because my tools are mostly still packed up from the move, but I will check them out soon.

Paul

[SARGE..g-47]

Morning Steve...

I do believe Pappy has made the correct call of bore holes from insects or worms. Depending on how a saw-mill preps their lumber before sale might put them in a position of not aware of the defects you have.. so the jury is out on that before blame should be placed, IMO.

Perhaps all is not lost... I suggest you coat the bore holes with dark filler paste on a piece of the stock and then wipe it off. When completely dry, sand off any residue remaining on the surface and apply what-ever stain you had intentions of using.

This would give it an undeliberate contrast as the bore holes would be random instead of purposely placed. This effect "might" be quite pleasing to your eye as it is to some. You'll never know till you have a look at the method first hand. I almost "tiger striped" a white oak kitchen table I just built with dark paste as I have done it before and liked it. I have done just what i mentioned above with pecan that I got from my cousin he downed on his property. Hope chest for newly weds with that effect have been well recieved and several have been sold on con-signment at a local high-end accessory store. Some like a different look as an alternative to the same old boring design available to everyone!

Some peoples poison is anothers cup of tea.. and you have nothing to lose!

Regards...

[ssmith1627]

Good point Sarge. Maybe there's a way to make this lumber useful again. I'll take some pics so you guys can see what I'm looking at. Thanks for the ideas.

The funny thing is some of the maple I ended up with is spalted as well. For my project right now, that's not a good thing but I'm sure others would be very happy to have that wood. Some is 4/4 and some is even 8/4. I've seen the projects on Woodworks that have been made with spalted maple -- just not my thing. But doesn't mean the lumber needs to go in the fireplace either.

I did pay $1 to $1.50 per board foot for this lumber so I'm sure that factors in here.

Steve

[ke4rdb]

Sounds like soft (red) maple that has been attacked by the ambrosia beetle. Is the wood spalted (differant colors or a uniform color) if so it would be called Ambrosia Maple which I like and use a lot, the bore holes add charm to the wood. I just finished a Shaker style Mantle Clock using wormy (holey) Red Oak and love the look the bore holes gave to the piece.

JW

[ssmith1627]

I don't think any of the spalted wood has the bore holes. I haven't jointed or planed any of that because I knew I didn't want it for my current projects.

Lots to learn in this hobby !

Steve

[JimD]

I think spalted wood and other wood with a lot of character is good for raised panels in raised panel doors and other similar applications where strength and straightness are not the main criteria. My general theory is to flaunt unique pieces of wood - but I agree you have to have the right project.

You might also want to at least comment to the sawmill. You might get lucky and they would feel bad and give you some more wood or something. They may not have been aware of the insect damage.

Jim