# Sourcing free wood



## samharber (5 Oct 2010)

Hello again.

My current source of free logs for turning is Laurel from the back yard. As this is a touch on the toxic side (especially in an unventilated cellar) I need a new source of wood to practice with.

So - what's the best course of action? Wander the local woodland with a rucksack and a saw for fallen trees/branches? Or is there a reliable source of recently felled wood that's otherwise destined for the wood chipper?

Cheers.


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## gandy (5 Oct 2010)

look about on freecycle and sties like to see if anyone local has some wood.

keep an ear out for a chainsaw, its a pretty good bet somone is doing work on a tree, and im sure maybe be happy for you to take some of the wood away, saving them taking it away, but ask the tree's owner 1st if this is ok.

befriend someone who is a tree surgen, or works somewhere where trees are, and have to be looked after (a local schools grounds keeper who is a friend of mine is forever offering me bits of wood)

thats all i can think off/have used im sure other turners will come up with other ideas



good luck


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## Bodrighy (5 Oct 2010)

You can't just help yourself to wood that is lying around legally I'm afraid. Most land owners are happy however for you to help yourself to wood that is lying around as long as you ask first. There is a lot there for the asking. Some tree surgeons will let you have wood they cut down as well. Also don't discount Freecycle, I get a lot from there, especially from garden trees and fruit trees that have been pruned etc. Also there is old furniture, depending on what you want to make an old table can be converted into quite a few things. There aren't many woods that can't be used, buddleia is one and willow and eucalyptus are pretty useless as well IME. otherwise just keep your eyes open and ask around. One thought, If you see what you can make with the wood you can get hold of instead of looking for wood for specific jobs you will rarely run out. I only tend to buy wood for commissioned work when I don''y have suitable such as treen which needs to be food safe. Not a good idea to make a rolling pin out of yew or laburnum no matter how pretty it looks :lol: 

Pete


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## tekno.mage (5 Oct 2010)

Tell all your friends, acquaintances, work collegues etc that you are learning woodturning & need some practise wood. When I first started out, it seemed like most people I mentioned it to were only too keen to offer me free wood (especially if I was prepared to help move it, fell it, cut some into firewood sized chunks to fit their grate etc etc).

One guy at my Welsh class brought me a car boot full of small yew logs once he heard I'd got a lathe. He had no use for them, didn't want to just burn them, so had kept them in his shed until he found someone to pass them on to!

Apart from it not being legal to just help yourself to wood you see lying around, you'll probably find a lot of such wood may be too rotten to be useful!!


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## Bodrighy (5 Oct 2010)

tekno.mage":3qbz01hj said:


> Apart from it not being legal to just help yourself to wood you see lying around, you'll probably find a lot of such wood may be too rotten to be useful!!



That can be where the fun stuff is. This 10" bowl was made from the root of a privet hedge dug up by someone about 8 years ago and left on the ground.



 



Don't ignore the 'rotten stuff' mind you we have a wood burner as well so nothing gets wasted :lol: 

Pete


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## Oakbear (5 Oct 2010)

You can help yourself to fallen wood lying around on any common land, or government managed (ie Forestry Comission) sites, as long as it's for firewood. It's an old magna carta right.
I've had a few bits from Forestry Comission land, fully prepared to used that excuse, but have never once been challenged, even with a log over each shoulder!

Have a word with council groundskeepers etc, as they be able to help as you do them a favour by removing it. They also allegedly have favourite 'dumping' sites for wood, which seem to be the holy grail of getting free bits if you know where to look....


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## Bodrighy (5 Oct 2010)

I'd be careful Oakbear, that isn't strictly true, Rights under the Magna Carta have been over ridden by the forestry commission for starters,
Common land isn't always common and when it is it is to assigned people within the parish classed as commoners and not to anyone. Sorry but we don't live in as free a society as we sometimnes like to think

Pete


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## Oakbear (5 Oct 2010)

Well b*gger me sideways!

Cheers for that Pete. I'll have to make sure i don't get caught be more careful in future!

Another good place for rustic bits is field boundaries, as farmers sometimes dig up roots and odd bits. Permission needed again mind....


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## Bodrighy (6 Oct 2010)

Keep your eyes open for anyone doing hedging as it is often hawthorn. Beautiful wood. Blackthorn (sloe) is good but look out for the thorns on both. Sloe thorns used to be used as pins and needles they can be so long and sharp.

pete


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## johnny.t. (6 Oct 2010)

gandy":3hzg4lse said:


> befriend someone who is a tree surgen.........................



A very Machiavelian attitude! :twisted: :lol: :lol:


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## whacky (6 Oct 2010)

I wrote a standard begging e-mail to all the tree services people and gardeners on yell.com in my area and got loads even had to turn some down.

Driving to work a few days ago some guys were felling a huge tree i stoped and they cut it into sizes that would fit into my boot.


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## gnu (6 Oct 2010)

Hello. I'm a new member from Wales and here is some free wood. Most of it is driftwood in the Dovey estuary that washes up on the high tides. This was on some farmers land who we did some work for and let us pick a few bits out.





Regards gnu


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## Jonzjob (6 Oct 2010)

We used to live on the edge of Rodborough Common, Stroud and as such had commoners rights to collect wood on the commons. I also befriended the Nat Trust warden too and he sorted some for me too..

Getting to know your local farmer is always a good source.


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## Bodrighy (6 Oct 2010)

Jonzjob":3q1vl38c said:


> We used to live on the edge of Rodborough Common, Stroud and as such had commoners rights to collect wood on the commons. I also befriended the Nat Trust warden too and he sorted some for me too..
> 
> Getting to know your local farmer is always a good source.



I am fortunate in living in the country surrounded by fields and woods with permission to help myself as long as I use my common sense. I also have a number of large overgrown trees and shrubs in the garden that my landlady has told me to do what I like with. Asking people usually gets a positive response as many people nowadays have central heating and so don't burn the wood (though having said that there does seem to be a bit of increase in the sales of woodburners) Unless you want to use exotics quite frankly there is a good supply of free wood available and some of it e.g. hawthorn is gorgeous as is blackthorn, also the garden shrubs such as laburnum, rowan, acacia all have wonderful figuring and grain at times. Don't forget the dreaded leylandii either as the wood from that is also well worth getting your hands on, easy to turn, smells nice and can have a good grain sometimes. Must be loads of that going free. 

pete


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## Jonzjob (6 Oct 2010)

Laylandii!!! If you want you can have some of ours. We have 82 of the dammed things up one side and the back of our garden. They were about 8 meters high, but now just about 4 and most are dying because the ground is not good enough to support such big trees. Pain in the situpon!!

Another good place to get friendly with, can't remember if it's been said, is your local joiners. I got to know several in and around Stroud. They normally have loads of offcuts they can't use.


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## Bodrighy (6 Oct 2010)

Bit far for me unfortunately John or I'd be around with the chain saw. It's good stuff to make things for pyrography as it's a nice plain wood . Think of all the tractors you could make with those trees :lol: 

Pete


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## Jonzjob (6 Oct 2010)

I'll have to seek out some wot didn't get taken away? Should be quite good by now..


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## big soft moose (7 Oct 2010)

gnu":2vvm40d3 said:


> Hello. I'm a new member from Wales and here is some free wood. Most of it is driftwood in the Dovey estuary that washes up on the high tides. This was on some farmers land who we did some work for and let us pick a few bits out.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



your image got mangled by the spam trap - it goes away once you have three posts


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## Ron Tock (24 Aug 2018)

> "There aren't many woods that can't be used, buddleia is one and willow and eucalyptus are pretty useless as well "



It depends on what you want to do with the wood. Buddleia is a hard, even grained wood with no figure to speak of but it is excellent for carving and turning. Willow is tough and woolly but probably has some uses beyond making cricket bats. Eucalypsus is prized as a carving wood by Aborigines.

Never turn your nose up at anything free. If nothing else, you can burn it.


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## topchippyles (24 Aug 2018)

What area are you as i have a sawmill and you are welcome to have a pick about.


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## thomashenry (24 Aug 2018)

I live in Oxford and there's frequently large volumes of willow being cut alongside all the rivers and waterways here. Would imagine it's the same in other towns with a lot of rivers and river paths.


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## finneyb (26 Aug 2018)

I got willow a few years ago - not the best wood. It was so wet that it continued sprouting in the garage. It a bit stringy but OK for practice.


Brian


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