I have been lurking around these forums for the last couple months now and finally this is my first post.
I have been wanting to get into serious wood working since before I was in high school but never had the money to start on such a venture. Now that I have just graduated from college and started working I finally have some time and a small amount of money (what is left after paying college loans :smile to get started.
Right now I am looking for a decent used table saw on craigslist, but the right deal just hasn't shown up yet.
So while I am waiting, my question is how to obtain affordable materials. I am from rural northern Minnesota. My father in-law is a farmer and has his own homemade sawmill that he used to cut all the white pine and oak for his furniture at home. We have more oak, birch, aspen, and basswood than we know what to do with; in addition to quite a bit of maple and ash.
We have A LOT of wooded land, an endless supply for my personal use. The problem is that I really love the look of the wood not prevalent where I live such as walnut, cherry, and hickory. The nearest hardwood mill is about a two hour drive away and their prices are pretty high. I have no problem taking logs, milling them, and planing them myself to keep the cost per BF low. Are there any suggestions as to what I can do to get some Walnut or Cherry logs/rough cut lumber for a reasonable price? Have you ever heard of anybody trading Walnut for oak, say at a ratio of 1:2 Board Foot?
I have been wanting to get into serious wood working since before I was in high school but never had the money to start on such a venture. Now that I have just graduated from college and started working I finally have some time and a small amount of money (what is left after paying college loans :smile to get started.
Right now I am looking for a decent used table saw on craigslist, but the right deal just hasn't shown up yet.
So while I am waiting, my question is how to obtain affordable materials. I am from rural northern Minnesota. My father in-law is a farmer and has his own homemade sawmill that he used to cut all the white pine and oak for his furniture at home. We have more oak, birch, aspen, and basswood than we know what to do with; in addition to quite a bit of maple and ash.
We have A LOT of wooded land, an endless supply for my personal use. The problem is that I really love the look of the wood not prevalent where I live such as walnut, cherry, and hickory. The nearest hardwood mill is about a two hour drive away and their prices are pretty high. I have no problem taking logs, milling them, and planing them myself to keep the cost per BF low. Are there any suggestions as to what I can do to get some Walnut or Cherry logs/rough cut lumber for a reasonable price? Have you ever heard of anybody trading Walnut for oak, say at a ratio of 1:2 Board Foot?