Nyce Refinishing & Furniture Repair 28 West Third St. Lansdale, Pa. 215-361-3900  

   3    Can you use wood from my old tree, barn, etc?

Not really. Typically the question is about some family wood. If it's off an old tree, has it been rough milled into slabs? It is unlikely the wood has been properly stacked to air dry. Where was it stacked/stored? Has it collected layers of dirt, grit, bird droppings, etc.? Such wood is not usable until both sides are surface planed smooth. It is usually in random widths with no straight edge to make it readily workable. Such wood can have nails, staples, barbed wire, bullets, gun shot or who knows what imbedded in it. Air-dried wood, if correctly stacked can take upwards of 10 years to properly dry. Surface grit & grime will instantly dull any planer or jointer used on it. Risk of imbedded metal is highly dangerous to work with on machines. Pieces can become like bullets if nicked by saw blades, etc. Air-dried lumber, even if usable tends to develop shrinkage cracks later in the created item. Such wood tends to have wide color and darkness variations, creating finishing nightmares. Check with a local woodcarvers club. They might have some use for it.

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