New timber is very attractive - it's clean and straight and full of promise - just waiting for you to cut and shape and finish.
But it costs, and while some may have been well seasoned, most is only kiln dried, which can result in shrinkage, warping and cracking over time. This may not matter, depending on what one is making.
You may have noticed with a piece of timber that is straight and true, when it is sawn down into two pieces, each can warp dramatically, due to the changed internal stresses.
Recycled Timber By finding sources of old timber to recycle, you can save a great deal of money, and reduce by a large amount the costs of your projects. There major drawback is that some time must be spent on preparation of the timber before you can go ahead.
I have used lots of second hand timber. It's usually dirty, but a sand or a plane soon returns it to its former beauty.
Oak beams are the best example of this transformation - the decayed looking, dirty crumbling surface is usually very thin, and once removed the resulting beam is clean, hard and beautiful.
One major attraction is that it is well seasoned - shrinkage and warping was done long ago.
True, if sawn in half, twisting can still happen as the stresses are changed, but mostly it will be stable.
One drawbacks is that there may be nails, and other faults, but depending on what is being used for, this may not matter.
Look for faults, twisting, and warping, when selecting wood to be used. Sources - reclamation yards, auctions, farms, demolition sites.
Old furniture This is another very useful source of timber although usually of smaller dimensions. Wardrobes, cupboards, tables, boxes all yield useful stuff.
Surplus stuff Look on-line for surplus wood and furniture. Often the damaged goods section will reveal a bargain.
Surplus roof trusses can provide loads of structural timbers if one can work round the connector plates, which are tricky to remove.
You could also ask at a local building site - they sometimes have over-ordered, or have damaged stuff they can't use. They might be pleased to see you.
Pallets Again depending what you are doing, pallets can be found all over the place, and the wood is usually well seasoned and strong (but with nails!).
Old stock Lots of places sell off discontinued lines at knock down prices - flat pack units and assembled stuff are a great source on mdf and chipboard.
More interesting Wood Working information
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