Where to buy wood for turning

There are many places to buy wood for turning, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. This blog post will discuss some of the best places to buy wood for turning to make the best decision for your needs. Remember that the quality and type of wood you get will vary depending on where you go, so it’s essential to do your research first. Let’s get started!

Where can I find wood to turn?        

Look online for a variety of woodturning suppliers

Just like anything else, you can buy wood online. Several woodturning suppliers offer a wide variety of wood at affordable prices, making it an excellent option for anyone looking to purchase wood for turning. Some online retailers specialize in hardwood, while others offer a general selection. While shopping online has many benefits, including convenience and a large selection, it’s essential to do your research to ensure that you’re getting the best quality wood for your money.

Order wood from a local sawmill

If you want to ensure that you’re getting high-quality wood, it’s worth considering ordering from a local sawmill. This way, you can see the wood before you buy it and ask any questions that you may have about its quality and type. Additionally, many sawmills offer lower prices on lumber than they have in excess, making it an excellent option for anyone looking to get wood at a discount.

Consider buying wood from other woodworkers.

If you’re looking to get wood at a bargain price, keep an eye out for wood being sold by fellow woodworkers. Often, woodworkers have extra wood that they don’t need and are looking to sell it at a discounted price.

When choosing where to buy your wood for turning, do your research and carefully consider your options to find the best fit. With the correct type of wood and high-quality suppliers, you can enjoy beautiful and long-lasting woodturning projects for years to come.

Buy from a lumber yard

A lumber yard is a great option if you’re looking for a wide variety of wood types and sizes. Lumber yards typically sell wood by the board foot, so you can purchase as much or as little as you need.

Another advantage of buying from a lumber yard is that you can often negotiate prices, especially if you’re buying in bulk.

Hardware store

Hardware stores often stock a variety of wood types, making them an excellent option for anyone looking for high-quality wood at an affordable price.

However, the selection tends to be more limited than what you might find at a lumberyard or online, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for before heading to the hardware store.

Woodworking Store

Stores specializing in woodworking supplies are a great place to get high-quality wood specifically suited to your needs.

Woodworking stores typically have a wide range of types and sizes available and helpful staff who can answer any questions you may have about the different types of wood they offer.

Whichever option you choose, do your research beforehand to find the best quality wood for your project. With a little bit of planning, you’ll be sure to find the perfect wood for your next woodturning project. Online woodworking stores such as Woodcraft have an excellent range of blanks.

Where to get it for free:

• Tree Services
• Municipalities
• Power Companies
• Construction Sites
• Landfills
• Storm Chasing
• Craig’s List
• Lumber Mills
• Cabinet makers 
• Spread the free wood word 

There are multiple sources for free wood all around. You only need to choose one source and pick your wood wisely. Make some investigations before you buy reliable, durable, and competitive wood. The above sources produce fabulous free wood for your next turned bowls.

What is a blank in woodworking?

A blank is a stock of material that has been processed and dimensioned to produce a particular object. 

How dry should wood be before turning

If you want to use wood you acquired yourself and air drying it, a general rule of thumb is to allow at least one year of drying time per inch of wood thickness. You can also dry wood in kilns for faster results or purchase wood that has already dried.

Knowing how to dry wood before turning is complicated, depending on what you plan to do. If you want to make sure you know how dry your wood needs to be before working with it, your starting point is clear. 

The dryness of wood for turning, staining, or burning can vary between the three. There are estimates for how to dry wood should be before turning—one year of drying time per inch of wood thickness when air drying is required. If you air-dry wood is ¾ inch thick, you should air-dry it for almost nine months.

How to laminate wood for turning?

Designing the laminate. To make your laminated turning stock, you need to have something to glue up. While it is possible to buy wood resawn to thin dimensions, it tends to be costly and of a limited selection. You can let your imagination guide you when picking woods for 

laminated stock. There is not much point in using stock that is all the same thickness. It would be a lot less expensive to buy some color-ply. Try using a different thickness for each color for a more dramatic, less mechanical look. 

After picking your wood types and thickness, you have to decide how deep and wide to make your laminate. Go for dramatic color differences, but fancy figures, such as curly maple, do not have much room to show up. You have to use some nice stock to get color, but it is hard to justify using super-exotics. 

One inch is a convenient depth since a lot of the wood you have lying around is about that thickness. But if you are making standard pen blanks, that is very wasteful. If you first rip your stock to 1-3/8inch wide and make the laminate that deep, that will allow for two 5/8inch pen blanks and a kerf. The wider it is, the less you will waste on the ends, sawing the laminate at an angle. But the wider it is, the more you will have to cut and the more you will be stuck if it does not look as good as you think. 

To glue up the laminate besides wood, you will need glue, clamps, properly sized cauls, a glue spreader, and waxed paper. Use polyurethane glue for laminating. It has a long open time, which you need, and dries thoroughly overnight. Ordinary wood glue requires closer to 48 hours to dry when laminating. You can use any clamps big enough. 

Cut cauls from scrap wood that are the same size as your strips to spread the pressure of the clamps. A thin piece of cardboard works fine to spread polyurethane. If you misguidedly insist on using ordinary white or yellow wood glue, use a thin plastic card to spread the glue. A credit card or piece of milk jug will work. 

        What wood is for the lathe?

Lathe boards are made from the castoff portions of larger pieces of cedar or from smaller trees that do not lend themselves to dimensional framing or landscaping lumber. A wood lathe is a type of lathe designed for woodworking applications.

        What is a wood pen blank?

Pen blanks are little pieces of wood common to the pen turning industry.

How do you prepare stock for a wood lathe?

1. Remove hazards from the wood.
2. Make rough cuts.
3. Build jigs for trimming.
4. Seal the wood.
5. Rough turning bowls and spindles.

Can you make money turning wood?

Yes, you can make money depending on what you are making. Make items that are in high demand and make quick money.

Compare prices and shipping rates.

Prices and shipping costs vary depending on where you purchase wood for turning. Check around for the best deal before making a purchase.

Don’t forget to factor in the cost of shipping when comparing prices. Shipping costs can add up, especially if you’re purchasing wood from a location that’s far from you.

Read customer reviews to learn about the quality of the wood

Reviews are an excellent way to find out about the quality of the wood. If you’re purchasing wood online, read customer reviews before buying.

If you’re looking for wood that’s easy to work with and doesn’t require a lot of preparation, consider purchasing cedar. Cedar is a softwood that’s easy to shape and sand. It’s also resistant to rot and decay, making it ideal for woodturning projects.