Free Wood and Other Stuff

[Eddie 2002]

Hey everybody, first real post here. Just tracked down some free 7/16 8 ply plywood. One of the motels in the area has closed and all the furniture is out for trash. Stopped by today to check it out and found most of the stuff is made out of particle board but all the drawer inner fronts and sides are 7/16 plywood with the bottoms 3/16 plywood. Took a few home and they just pop apart with a few whacks with a mallet. Ran a piece through the scroll saw and it cuts nice, made a rabbit and a bird cutout which is about as far as I have got with the cedar fencing slats. The plywood cuts slower than the cedar and gives a smoother cut. Think I need to head back and grab a lot more of the drawers and see what else is made out of solid wood. I was hoping the faces were solid, but it wasn't so. There are some side tables with 2x2 inch maple legs that caught my eye also. Anybody else uses free wood? 

   Don't laugh too hard at my setup I upgraded to a foot switch. We all need to begin somewhere. 

[Fab4]

Hi Eddie
Welcome aboard
You can never go wrong with "FREE"
Keep it up. It only gets better from here on in
Fab4

[ChelCass]

Have to agree with Paul. Nothing like Free wood.  I even use left over flooring.  Makes great ornaments. Welcome to the Village.

 

[Scrappile]

Sometimes, older free plywood is better than what is currently available on the market.  So is a lot of other wood that was used in furniture and cupboards.

[Fab4]

Eddie:
Here's more free stuff to look for
I replaced my ceiling tiles with 1/4" vinyl ones
The scrap pieces from the tiles are so easy to cut and don't fuse together when cutting slow
Made a few address signs and signs for a golf course with them.  They are textured but still work
Glued and brad nailed them to the board
Will see in the long run how well they hold up
These were not glued yet that's why they're crooked...lol
Fab4

 

[Eddie 2002]

3 hours ago, ChelCass said:

Have to agree with Paul. Nothing like Free wood.  I even use left over flooring.  Makes great ornaments. Welcome to the Village.

 

Have a small pile of oak flooring which I plane down in the jointer to 1/2 inch thick. Tried it with the scroll saw but had the wrong blade. Cut it mainly on the 10 inch band saw when I feel the need to work with a hard wood.

[BadBob]

Welcome, I used a similar scroll saw for years. The only reason I got rid of it was that I discovered the EX-21 and easy, fast blade changes.  

 

[ChelCass]

Here is the snowman I cut from leftover flooring.

[BadBob]

I have made a good bit of items from drawer sides. 

[barb.j.enders]

Free is always good.  If nothing else, it will make great backers for intarsia or fretwork pieces.

[Ber Gueda]

I agree with all of you that free is always an excellent choice. But what I like the most is the feeling of giving these pieces of wood a second chance. 

[Eddie 2002]

5 hours ago, BadBob said:

Welcome, I used a similar scroll saw for years. The only reason I got rid of it was that I discovered the EX-21 and easy, fast blade changes.  

 

So far I'm enjoying the saw. Can see how a deeper throat is better for bigger work but the Rexon was free from a house cleanout done years ago. Been tweaking it and have the saw running well using pinned blades. 

[Eddie 2002]

Just got back from a second run for more drawers. Picked up 6 more along with another set of 4 more 2x2 inch table legs. Think I'm out of storage room for the wood for now which is too bad since there are a lot left. 

[Aaron K5ATG]

Welcome to the village!

Yeah free stuff is always the best price. I often cruise the neighborhood for free wood. It's recycling at its best. As I type this I hear a chain saw being used. I like your setup. Looks like you have twice the space that I have. Looks like you have a pretty nice workbench. My big winter project is to make me a proper workbench. 

Keep on scollong!

[littlecope]

All of my early supplies of wood was found wood, old furniture, dumpster diving... At one point, my Friend's Brother worked at a Glass company and brought us over the glass shipping crates,  an endless supply! (The company was just throwing mountains of nice lumber into a compacting dumpster, Sinful!)

[Richard Hotchkiss]

Eddie, your set up looks just fine and if it works for you that's all that matters. Agree with everyone else, free is always good to pickup and use again on other projects. I have taken old 2 inch legs off of old trashed tables and turned them into some beautiful pieces and handles on the lathe. Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new hobby!