SoCal (greater L.A. area) contractors, builders. Please help.

slodave · slodave's Garage

As a number of you may know, I enjoy woodworking and woodturning as a hobby. My day job is supposed to be as an IT consultant, but with the recession, that's not happening these days. I am also just burned out and frustrated with the whole industry. I've struggled or many years and I am not where I want to be. So.....

To try and keep the bills paid, I thought I would get into the shop more and produce things that may be of interest to others and that they may actually buy something from me. My ultimate dream would be building guitars, but that industry is swamped and not easy to get into. I would also like to build some larger furniture pieces, but I need to have some extra money up front to buy expensive pieces of wood and that is just not in the cards at the moment.

At the moment, I have settled on practical woodturnings and smaller boxes, cutting boards, bread boards, etc., to try and bring a few dollars here and there. To even do that, I need wood. I would also like to try and be environmentally friendly to a point and work with reclaimed woods. That is where you builders come in.

I am looking for boards, planks, beams, counter tops, doors (solid), window frames and sashes.... I really am not looking for pine or doug fir, just the better stuff. Walnut, maple, mahogany, oak. Hard woods and woods that hopefully have some interesting grain patterns and colors.

If anyone can accommodate me, that would be great. I don't have a huge storage space, nor a truck, but I am willing to drive to the location and shove or strap what I can to my Toyota.

Thank you very much in advance.

Dave

look 171 · 11-18-2012, 10:49 PM

Dave, sorry to hear about your situation. Give me a couple of weeks and I will see what I can do for you. My men was suppose to help clean our place, I hope they did not throw away this old Maple bench top. I will get talk to them first thing tomorrow. How's Rock Maple and Beech sound? Oh, you will need a truck for this. No truck, no problem. I do, if the wrench can get it started tomorrow (see my other thread).

Jeff

slodave · slodave's Garage

Jeff,

Hard rock maple is fantastic. Beech is pretty bland, but I do have a use for it. I'll PM my number. Thanks! I was hoping you would chime in.

Oh, not interested in redwood either. I'm not planning on building fences.

slodave · slodave's Garage

I should add: Any other Pelicans around the US that have property (with trees

) and either cut down trees or they just fall, I am interested in burls. I'd be happy to pay shipping.

slodave · slodave's Garage

Bump.

911Freak · 11-19-2012, 06:59 PM

PM sent

look 171 · 11-19-2012, 08:51 PM

Dave, It looks like there might have a couple of 14' x 9" African Mahogany way in the back of a pile of crap. It is so full of dust and crap so I can't see it really well. We normally clean house right before Christmas because we finished everything for the holidays, or we sit and chew on our thumbs. Get back to you on that as soon as I get a little time. Are you in a hurry for this stuff?

slodave · slodave's Garage

I'm not in a rush, Jeff. I was talking with my dad tonight and he is open to letting me use just about any of the wood he has stockpiled over the years. It's not a huge warehouse, but I do have access to some figured maples and other exotics. A minor issue with his stuff, is that a lot is pretty thin in it's rough cut stage and by the time I mill it flat, it becomes too thin to use for heavier stuff, it's basically stock for making small boxes and things.

I am hoping that you guys can come across stuff that is usable for larger projects like tables. The beauty of it being reclaimed is that it supposed to be rough and full of nail/screw holes. Although, finding boards that will clean up is good too.

I would hope that this could be ongoing. Find something interesting in 6, 9, 12 months, let me know.

Whatever becomes of this, I still plan on keeping up with woodworking as a hobby and will always need wood. *hehehehe I said "wood".

look 171 · 11-19-2012, 09:46 PM

All right, I might have a few small pieces of Cocobolo, and Padauk hanging around. We haven't done any work with that kind of stiff in a long time. We just make boxes now and hang big matching panels now. Boring stuff that pay bills.

Keep up with the woodworking. It is very satisfying. I am a dual major. What an idiot, one is Woodworking from the university. I couldn't get away from it.