Sawed some basswood today

[Dave Shepard]

It's like slicing up a giant marshmallow. :D It's the whitest wood I've ever sawn, and cuts good too. I know it is a "white wood", good for trimming out windows and that sort of thing, but what else is it good for? I've heard carvers like it, but in what dimension? Does it air dry well? Thanks.


Dave

[Bibbyman]

We've sold a good bit of it at one time.  But no customers have been interested in it for years.

I've sawn several logs into 4" thick slabs and what ever else thickness it would make.

[Engineer]

Dave I sawed quite a bit of that fish wood when I cleared my land for my house.  I took several small cants (3x4) that were clear and stuck them in my shed to dry out of the weather.  They dried nice and white and clean but warped.  I sawed most of the rest into boards and stacked them outdoors and stickered them pretty well; they stayed flat but stained badly.  I think if you don't dry basswood (or other white wood like maple or birch) out of exposure to the elements, it will stain as fast as looking at it.

Anyway, old furniture sometimes has a funky smell to it?  It's because they used basswood for the drawers and internal frames.  It's not a BAD smell, just 'different'.  It is great for carving, basswood carving blanks can sell for big bucks.  Good for framing lumber but I think it's too valuable to be used that way.  It's fuzzy, too, so does not take a good finish.  Good equivalent for anything you'd use pine, aspen or cottonwood for.  No heat value for firewood, might as well burn your socks.

[Kevin]

The clear wood is used for drying boards in the fur trade.

[Dave Shepard]

Don't think there has been a fur trade in these parts for about 25 years. :-\

Engineer, what dimension are the carving blanks? What other specs are there? I only did one test log, have about 3500 feet of 12'x14"-20" logs. It starts turning a light brown within five minutes of sawing. Don't know if that will plane out or not.


Dave

[Engineer]

Carving blanks can be any size - cubes, squares, flats.  If you have some 20" logs, I'd try to get some 6x6 or 7x7 by 24-30" long pieces, free of heart, and carefully dry them indoors.  Maybe coat both ends with Anchorseal.  Somebody who likes carving large birds, wildlife, etc.  would probably pay some decent money for that size.

[Corley5]

The lumber warehouses are full of basswood here at the moment.  I just sent to two train loads to an Amish mill in Mio as the mill I usually deal with has no place to go with the lumber now and won't until sometime in July.  Logs aren't worth a whole lot.  I've been getting 230 a thousand woods run for tens and twelves and 85 a cord for 100" bolts.  It makes good construction lumber as long as it's kept dry.  Clear lumber usually dries pretty good but add knots and it'll warp around them.  I've found with my circle mill that it requires a very sharp saw or it will fuzz and the fuzz will heat the blade 

[Dave Shepard]

Yeah, it sure is fuzzy. :D I think I can get some good clear billets, I'll make some of those.


Dave

[adrean louis]

i cut up lots of basswood, it rots fast, air dries very well, works very nice for paneling or wanscoating if it has the cute little knots and streaks in it, but it does not hold nails well at all, so i don't like it for dimension lumber.

[olyman]

remember the carnivals of years ago??? and the horse drawn wagons??? guess what they were made of ???? found this out when was talking to a guy that goes to the ringling brothers museum to help rebuild those old wagons--he said its the only wood that was strong enough to stay together with all the twisting forces apllied to it going down the old dirt roads. i made the mistake of telling him i had cut one for firewood. after he was done laughing, he asked me if the firewood i got from the tree lasted more than three hours. and he was right, that stuff is worse than balsa wood!!!!!!!!!!!

[adrean louis]

one more thing, it holds the bark well, i sell a lot of it to wood burners with bark on two sides 7 to 10 inches wide

[mike_van]

There's a smell to it, especially after it's dry & you work on it. It's about the only wood 'smell' I don't care for.

[sharp edge]

I wouldn't use basswood inside a house, it will make it smell like a antique store.  ::)The older it gets the more it will smell. The woods is full of big basswood trees here. Not used much, because of the smell. I use a little of it for fire wood and like the smell of the smoke. Might be good for smoking meat, but haven't tried it yet.

SE

[Sunfield Hardwood]

I sold about 8 thousand feet of basswood lumber this spring to a guy who makes fur stretcher boards, we cut it 3/4 actual thickness, these are three piece adjustable stretchers for almost any kind of furbearer. I really liked cutting it, but it was the only sawdust that was able to plug up my dust collection system. I've heard rumers of a company here in Michigan that buys 6/4 bass for venietion[sp] blinds.

[Sunfield Hardwood]

I sold about 8 thousand feet of basswood lumber this spring to a guy who makes fur stretcher boards, we cut it 3/4 actual thickness, these are three piece adjustable stretchers for almost any kind of furbearer. I really liked cutting it, but it was the only sawdust that was able to plug up my dust collection system. I've heard rumors of a company here in Michigan that buys 6/4 bass for venietion[sp] blinds.

[Larry]

As already noted carving blocks are a good market.  If you can identify which wood will have the fuzzies and which won't your way ahead of 90% of the sellers.  The carvers also like the wood dried bright and white...even if they put 39 coats of paint on.

Plantation shutter stock, ready to finish and assemble for DIY's is a hot market right now.

Another hot market is quilting frames for little old ladies...unfortunately all the little old ladies I know don't have any money.

Stock for model builders can add value into the two figure per board foot range.  I have some wood in Texas right now that will end up in a model airplane, which hopefully can set a world record for speed.  Those speed freaks specify "A", "B", or "C" grain (plain, rift, or qs'ed) and want it light but strong.

Artists like the wood for painting because no bleed through as with other woods, plus it holds paint well.

My latest basswood endeavor...an item used to catch really big and mean fish...hasn't done me much good yet. :(




Yeap, I like basswood...it's even in my avatar over there to the left.

[adrean louis]

basswood also holds the bark well, around here people use it for wood burning crafts, they like boards that are 7 to 10 inches wide and bark on them

[Part_Timer]

sold about 500bf of it one time to a guy who used it for paneling in his living room.  That was a long time ago.

[trapper]

I made some nice little marking stakes for my garden.  they look real pretty and are easy to read the varietys of vegtables.  As mentioned earlier fur streachers.

[Brucer]

So let's talk price here.

I have a customer who carves things like full-size human torso's (clothed), jackets (hanging on pegs), interesting stuff like that. He works mostly in Western Red Cedar, but a couple of years ago expressed an interest in Basswood.

I'd typically saw him cedar pieces 3-5 feet long, 3" thick, 5"-6" inches wide, clear, edge-grain. I expect the quantities would be pretty small -- say 100 to 200 BF.

PM me a "talking" price if you're interested in selling (and shipping) small quantities. If he's still interested in buying, I will put you in touch with each other.

[stonebroke]

Afriend of mine took some of my basswood and had it cut trick for scaffold planks. Nice and light. Also loggers around here used to export it to japan for chopskicks.

Stonebroke

[cptbob06]

A local facility for handicapped people makes paint paddles and yard sticks from basswood. They have their own saw mill and kiln operation. The scraps are wrapped in bundles about a cubic foot in size and sold all over northeast Michigan at gas stations and convenience stores. They sell the fire wood bundles for 3 dollars.

[sjh]

Up till the late 80's 18'+ logs sold for a premium around here ???. They used them for ladder stock. There still is a ladder maker locally. The truck driver told me he is very picky on his logs. You can not have any grain run out on the ladder.

[7oaks]

When we built our log home a couple years ago we chose T&G basswood for the cathedral ceilings.  The widths varied from 4" to 8" and with the dark lines running through it it is very impressive.  We do have an odd smell when we've been away for a couple of weeks and now - maybe I know why!   

Cheers...Carl