Spalted wood

The weather has been very solar kiln friendly, so we are already on our third kiln load. We have pulled out white and red oak (quartersawn and other cuts) and those bins are now bursting with awesome material. Now in the kiln is some 12/4 cherry, 4/4 cherry and spalted birch. I mentioned the spalted birch a while back and it should be ready in a couple weeks. There is slightly less of the most awesome stuff than I remembered, so if this is the kind of stuff that you like I suggest pouncing in June. We will price it coming out of the kiln; the best boards will be at a premium over our normal birch price.

I personally find this kind of material to be rare and prized when found. Spalted wood is not always the easiest wood to work into a successful design, but when it is done right, it says One of a Kind right there for everyone to see. A couple pieces are likely to end up in Tom's Private Stash. We have 4/4 and 8/4.

Speaking of spalted wood, here are a couple of maple root pieces we have for sale:

How to build a lumber rack

Why does it always seem that when you venture into building something you have never built before, it takes two or three or more attempts to get the design just right? We built two large lumber racks in the old building and moved them into the new. Moving them exposed some structural weaknesses on top of the design flaws that we hoped to improve as we built out a couple new sections.

And so Tom and Joe, using only a chainsaw, nail gun, some 16' 3x3s, and some 8' and 10' 1x3s, in 3 hours built the best lumber rack we have, able to store and display some 4-5,000 bf of lumber. The bins are now wider and shallower, so you can see more boards and dig down more easily to that perfect board. Plus, there are now TWO bins at eye level, not just one. This is what we wish we had done from the beginning!

It is sort of a mixed feeling when you realize how stupid you once were by finally doing something smart.