Many, many years ago I worked next door to a business that sold ceramic tiles that they imported from all over the world. Of course, these tiles came in on pallets, and sometimes there were some exotic and gorgeous woods that they used. Yes, it was still not very good wood, but some of it was salvageable.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EJhxFfQ0DQ8
I think it's a good thing I have a few close-by neighbors because that is all that prevents me from making a full-size log milling machine for my back yard. I just love milling wood, and I can see why the people who collect logs and mill them, either full time or even just as a part-time job ... love their work. Every log you open up is a mystery until you see what's in it. I always liken it to opening a present ... you never really know what's inside until you open it and everyone is different.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/pFF3vhdJ76Y
It's even more fun when you can find special logs that "might" contain special features like figure or spalting, and even if the longs are short, I still get that same thrill ... and the wood is every bit as useful, you just use it for smaller projects, or for feature wood on larger projects ....
One of the nice things about wood is that it comes in so many different varieties and because it's organic, all of those varieties can be further modified in structure by heat, fungi, and various other elements. In this video, I took my electric bike into the forest to harvest, what I hoped would be some spalted wood.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BkjjVNQL7u4
The one thing I was counting on was that even if the wood was not fully spalted, it would still be modified in its coloration and therefore would be another interesting wood to work with ...
Read more: Finding Spalted Wood for Woodworking / Free Lumber
The first time I ever purchased "door skin plywood" was at a lumber store, probably 30 years ago. I was recommended to me for what I was building at the time, and in that period, the material came in door-size sheets. Now when I purchase it, it comes in 4 x 8 foot sheets, which gives much more material, and each sheet of plywood is still very reasonably priced.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Df748qOXMvc
One of my main reasons for wanting the plywood right now is to try to make my small workshop more efficient by making some wooden trays that are the correct size for the drawers and for what I want to put in them to help economize my space ....
Read more: Woodworking with Thin Plywood, like Baltic Birch Plywoods
