Save big on your next woodworking ptoject

If you're an avid woodworker like I am, then you probably know that material for new projects can get expensive. Going out and buying lumber isn't cheap these days no matter where you buy it, whether it's on sale or not. I've done hundreds of projects and if I would have gone out and purchased material for them at a lumber store, it would have cost me thousands just for wood alone.

To save some bucks, I will use some used lumber. As long as the wood isn't dry rotted or have lead paint on it I will use it. I keep a good stock pile of used wood, some even with nails or screws still in them and when I'm ready to do a project, which is always right after I finish one. (It's like that with me...one project right after another as I'm always asked to make something for family or friends.) I'm always happy to oblige as long as it doesn't cost me a lot of money for wood, I'm retired and a cheapskate. You have to be since a sufficient amount of income is no longer there. I've had to figure out ways to cut down on expenses

Last spring, I helped my daughter re-build her deck using cedar. Not only did I keep some of the better treated deck boards, I saved the cut pieces as well. I also visit sites where new homes are being built and collect pieces of plywood and cut up lumber. I can pretty much pick and choose the bigger pieces as they would be taken to the land fill anyway or burned. Another way I accumulate my stockpile is driving by houses on garbage days. People are always throwing out good wood whether stained or painted. Most of them have nails still in them or nail holes, but for me that's not a problem.

I'm not afraid of a little elbow grease in cleaning used wood. Filling in nail holes is no biggie either. By the time I cut them up and use them on a project the holes are hidden. If the wood is weathered, I just sand them down. Most of the old wood is simply dirty and wet and just needs a little cleaning and drying out. I often find little cracks, especially in treated wood. If the cracks don't go all the way thru, I just use the other side. I will either stain or paint the wood and then cover it with several coats of polyurethane, outdoor type if the projects ends up for outdoors.

By now you're probably wondering how these projects look after using used/old wood. Below are just a few of my recent projects. Every one of them were created using either old decking or pieces I picked up from discarded material.

my stockpile of old used wood

a starting piece for the Adirondack chairs just below

Adirondack chairs and a pie shaped table from used wood

this outdoor table and chair set were made from discarded lumber

This rocker and table was made from used wood

this birdhouse was made from used wood

this birdhouse was also made from used wood

these birdhouses were made from discarded old weathered wood

this masterpiece birdhouse I created for a friend, was mostly made from both weather-beaten  lumber and discarded material I found next to a garbage can

Kicking it up a notch or two

I'm a musician that needs a challenge or two to get my rocks off. I pretty much thrive on creative challenges whether in music or in other aspects in life. When I can't seem to get it musically, I find it in other areas. One aspect of creativity in my life has to do with woodworking. It's still something where I can learn from my previous works. I'm not saying that I can't learn anything new from music but after 5.5+ decades of being a musician, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of new creative ideas any more in any of the genres let alone jazz that has kept me challenged for most of my musician career.

I have no idea where this creative form of woodworking came to me from. I built some cabinet speakers for my guitar amp way back when I was a teen ager. I did get involved with remodeling in the 80's and about 5 yrs ago built a toy box for my grandson. But, nothing was ever so intriguing and fun to do until an elderly neighbor lady asked me to build her a simple bird house. When I was finished with it a few hours later, I told her that I would build her something a little more elaborate when I had a chance. After that everything just seemed to fall in place as I built one complicated bird house and then another. Before I knew it I had built about a dozen, each being more complex than the previous one. I had learned something new and had the balls to try something different when something didn't workout the first time. That's the way I learned to play jazz. When one thing doesn't work, you try something different until you find something that works. Anyway, those few bird houses got me started in building outdoor furniture which became another source for creativity.

When I was a re-modeler I learned to go with the flow. There were times when a job would be so difficult and to get things done, I had to fight my way thru because, things just didn't workout as it was supposed to according to the plans given to me. I learned to listen to the house because it would tell me what it needed and how to do it. Using that idea, the jobs went much easier and the job came out better than the original plan. In music, I began using the same idea, letting the music lead me in the direction it wanted to go. To do that, you need to listen to it, no...I mean really listen to it closely. Listen to the chord structure and the melody and then let it take you where it wants to go. Don't fight it. It's just not worth the effort and it'll sound like crap.

Ever wonder what a bird house would look like that cost over $2,000.00? I built one for a friend of mine which would go for about $2,400.00. Yeah, it's definitely an art form and if I was being paid by the hour for my efforts like in a real job, I would still only make under $12.00 an hour. The, and we'll call it a miniature, work began on April 1st and was completed April 27. That's 27 straight days of work between 8-10 hrs a day continuously only taking bathroom breaks and lunch. Power tools would perhaps make the job a bit faster but there were so many small cuts involved that power tools were pretty much useless. Everything had to be cut by hand, either a hand saw (mini) and/or a utility knife. The wood in question was cedar. I love the look of cedar and it handles weather better than most woods..

After I built the basic box, I could now add the rest of the components of the house. You see, it was pretty cut up. It was not a typical box house. I glued strips of wood (cedar) over the 3/4" wood to create a siding look and then painted it.  When I got to the roof, I decided to frame it out using wood strips I had cut for it with a utility knife. The roof sheathing I used was lauan. Lauan is a 3/16th" plywood that withstands weather pretty well also. Mostly it's used for a flooring underlayment. I used it because it was light enough and easy to cut with a utility knife. All pieces were glued using a waterproof white outdoor glue. When it came to shingling the roof, I made my own. There are many other factors also involved in building a $2,400.00 miniature which I won't reveal at this time but I assure you that the completed miniature/bird house is pretty f'in cool. Here's some pics that don't do justice to it but does show how cool it really is.

here I am with the  miniature

this shows the front of the house in an outdoor setting. notice the brick look. the green stuff is grass

side view

here's the back with a cedar deck and a screened in room

 you can see here how I laid out the roof with different length wood strips glued together