Woodturning Tips - Finding Free Green Wood Logs For Your Projects

!±8± Woodturning Tips - Finding Free Green Wood Logs For Your Projects

Overview

One of the most common challenges facing new woodturners is how to find sufficient quantities of low cost, or free green wood (fresh cut) to turn. Finding a reliable supply of free wood is the key to maintaining fresh turning stock for your projects. Of course, you could just buy all of your blanks and turning squares from a local supplier, however most woodturners enjoy turning wood that's free whenever possible. There are numerous places where you can find low cost, or free green wood in the area where you live. All you need to do is to develop a core group of friends that are "on the lookout" for you and with a little effort on your part, you will have plenty of wood to turn.

What to Do and Where to Look

One of the first things you need to do is to tell all of your family, friends and business associates that you are now a woodturner and that you're looking for low cost, or free green wood to turn. Over the years, some of the most beautiful timber I have ever turned has come as a result of friends that have called me about wood being cut in their area. Here are a few other places you can investigate that may help you find low cost, or free green wood for your woodturning projects.

Tree Surgeons

A tree surgeon can be one of your best sources of supply for green wood logs. Look in the telephone directory where you live and call any tree surgeons to let them know you're a woodturner looking for green logs.

Tree Cutting Services

Local tree cutters, like tree surgeons work with trees every day. All you have to do is find a few that are willing to let you have some of the wood. One good tree cutting service contact can keep you supplied with lots of green wood logs for your projects.

Local City or State Cutting Crews

The city or town where you live may have a cutting crew working to keep trees on city right-of-ways and esplanades trimmed. If you see a crew working one day when you are driving around, stop and talk to the supervisor and ask them if you could have some of the timber. Some cities also maintain dump sites where they take cut trees. You may be able to obtain permission from the city to go onto the site and cut a few green wood logs. Every city has different rules, so check with your local city administrators and ask if they will allow you to remove some of the timber from their dump site.

Local Landscapers

Ask your yard service supervisor if they know of any tree cutting services where you can get green wood logs. You may be surprised at the contacts you can get. My landscaper has been an invaluable source to me over the years for green wood logs. Not only do landscapers know other tree cutters, they also know about clients they have who are taking down trees to install pools, patios, fences, new landscaping and other projects.

New Building Construction Areas

Think about where new homes are being built in your area. These are prime areas for obtaining green logs, as the trees that grew where the foundation, driveway and pools will be built must be removed. Through the years, I have gotten untold amounts of timber from areas where new homes were being constructed.

Green Recycling Centers

Green recycling centers are another great place to look for green wood logs and stumps. Many local landscapers and tree cutting services use recycling centers to dump their logs, so they can be turned into mulch and compost. Although there might be a fee for wood at these companies, the cost is usually very low.

Land Developers And Architects

Land developers and architects who build new construction projects can be a good source. As I pass by vacant lots that are slated for new construction, I copy down the information from the construction sign and call the developer, or architect to inquire about any timber that will be removed. Sometimes you get lucky!

Lumber or Veneer Mills

If you live in an area that is logging timber, you can contact local mills and ask about off-cuts, or veneer cores. Of course, you will have to pay for these, but the cost is usually quite low and the supply is reliable.

Pool and Patio Companies

Companies that install pools and patios usually have to take out trees. If you see a pool company working in your area, stop and ask the workers or the homeowner about any trees that will be removed and if you could have some of the green wood logs.

Storm Related Weather

When strong storms hit, trees are often blown down. Most homeowners are more than happy for you to remove any logs piled up by the curb awaiting heavy trash pickup. A nice benefit here is that the tree has already been cut and stacked by the curb for trash collection. All you have to do is load your truck or trailer. Just make sure you ask for permission from the homeowner first, before removing any wood.

Local Firewood Dealers

Firewood dealers can be another useful source for timber. Although they will not give you free wood, you usually only have to pay firewood prices or less for your wood. You should try to negotiate a lower price than split firewood, because the dealer will not have to split the log sections, thus eliminating much of their labor in processing the firewood.

Your Own Land

Do not forget your own land or property. If you have acreage, you may have trees that need to be removed or have died, that can provide valuable timber for your turning activities.

Ask for Permission Before Taking Free Wood

It should be understood, but make sure you have permission to go onto property you do not own before removing logs. Some cities will not allow you onto city property for insurance or other reasons. Some cities also require permits or insurance before you can access their property. Since every area is different, you must determine what is necessary in the area where you live. Do not worry if you are stumped at a few places; there are plenty of logs elsewhere. Just move on down the list and keep talking to folks until you find someone who will work with you.

When you do find a valuable resource, remember to return the favor by presenting them with a nice turned gift from your studio's workshop. Hand turned pens are a great gift to give for a referral that resulted in a beautiful log for your projects and they're easy to keep on hand. For more information on drying green wood logs and blanks, visit my resource library.

Woodturning Tips - Finding Free Green Wood Logs For Your Projects

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Home Composting: 10 Ways to Make It Successful for You

!±8± Home Composting: 10 Ways to Make It Successful for You

Gardening is a fun and invigorating activity. It keeps one busy and productive and brings the creativity and ingenuity in everyone. Gardening beautifies our homes but it also produces a good deal of yard waste. What better way to make this waste wok out for you than to use it to enrich your garden through composting? You'd be making your soil more fertile for the health of your plants and at the same time, you'd be helping you community dispose of waste in the cleanest, cheapest and easiest manner. Here are some simple ways to make home composting successful for you:

1. Select the best compost material. Composting is simply simulating, if not imitatinag nature's natural process of breaking down dead matter and using it to replenish the soil's nutrients. The best source would obviously be your own yard waste such as the dried leaves, straw and wood chips from your own vegetation. Experts recommend using "browns" and "greens". Browns are rich in carbon while greens are rich in nitrogen.

2. Correct combination of compost materials. To make home composting successful, it is better to combine different compost materials that to use just one type. Combine some of the materials mentioned in the above tip and shred them into small pieces to make them easier to store in case you might want to pile them later.

3. Use of manure can also mean successful home composting. Manure is also a rich source of organic materials and may come from a variety of animals such as chicken, ducks, pigs, sheep, cow and goats. They are rich sources of nitrogen which plants need in building up their tissues. It is best to layer this manure with dried leaves and to not simply add it into the pile s that it is effectively decomposed and incorporated into the compost.

4. Cold composting. Cold composting is easy enough to do which involves piling all the materials you have chosen as compost materials. Put them up in a pile and give them time to decompose, after months or a year, you'd have a rich compost from the decomposition of these materials.

5. Hot composting is more systematic and laborious than cold composting but it works. The pile should be at least 3- feet deep and is made up of alternating materials. Water is sprinkled regularly on the pile keep it most for microbial growth and action. Once in a while, you may mix the pile to expose the lower layers to oxygen and promote further decomposition of organic matter. This should generate some heat in the compost as gases are produced with the breakdown of organic matter.

6. Stink management is also a key to successful home composting. If the pile is not aerated enough, it begins to give off a bad odor. To resolve this problem, turn and mix the pile once in a while. Do not allow your compost pile to simply stink up.

7. Keep moisture level up but not too much. Adding too much water will waterlog your microorganisms which will not be good for them too and will inhibit their decomposing activities.

8. If the pile is dry and is not heating up, one has to do the entire pile all over again and this time cut the materials into smaller pieces. Add enough water also to make the entire pile moist to stimulate microbial activity.

9. No matter how you are promoting the decomposition of organic waste, you compost should not be a breeding ground for flies and ants that can be sources of diseases and may hard your plants in the long run. Another key to successful home composting is management of these insects by covering the pile with dirt. It does not do if these insects would proliferate in your compost because they may do more harm than your compost may do you good.

10. For a successful home composting, keep your compost pile within your yard. It should be contained within a particular space so it does not look like a dumpsite of some sort. Building a simple fence may do the trick. Your enclosure should also allow some air to get in through the sides.

Home Composting: 10 Ways to Make It Successful for You

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Guide to Using a Compost Tumbler

!±8± Guide to Using a Compost Tumbler

Compost tumblers have been around since gardeners learned to appreciate the importance of compost and the necessity to put air into. Before, aerating requires a shovel and lots handwork. With the help of tumblers, turning and aerating is a breeze. So how do you speed up the composting process of your organic materials by using tumblers?

The first thing to do is put up the tumbler and installs it in a solid, leveled surface, be it on pavers, bricks, or concrete pads. This helps in securing the device so as to avoid spillage and unnecessary skipping of odor.

Second, gather and prepare all your organic. Preparation includes separating the green from the brown. Green materials include those that are rich in nitrogen like grass clippings, manure, garden refuse, tea, coffee grounds, and hair. Brown materials are those rich in carbon like woody branches, sawdust, straw, fall leaves, dried grass, and paper. You may also need to shred or chip the items, you can use shredder or chipper.

Third, put all the materials onto the tumbler with the right ratio. The most ideal is fifty percent green materials and fifty percent brown materials. A balance of these materials will get rid of unpleasant odor. If imbalance in materials takes place, an ammoniac odor occurs; this is caused by the building up of nitrogen. Too much of the green materials then is not good.

You can counter the odor by adding dried leaves, pine needles, and wood ash.

Fourth, cover the materials with water until sponge-like dampness is achieved. And finally, close the unit and use the tumbler according to its instructions. The best way to achieve good compost under little time is to rotate the device at least three times a week. Instructions vary from product to product. The fastest you can probably get is 14 days.

Guide to Using a Compost Tumbler

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