How to mill basswood?

Stevenjohn21 · September 13, 2022, 09:30:59 PM

I have a few basswood logs measuring 13' long and 20"-24" in diameter.
I would like to sell it but I'm unsure on what size to mill them.
After reading a little about the species, it seems wood burners and carvers love this stuff. So what dimensions would be the best?

Old Greenhorn · September 13, 2022, 09:50:53 PM

Been there, done that, still have the lumber. ;D I asked the same question on the forum, got some good feedback. I also contacted some carving clubs and individuals. I had LOTS of folks who said they would come to buy some in a week or two. None of them ever showed. Some baled because it was fresh milled. I even got invited to come to a cavers show and sell it, but nobody could agree on what sizes they wanted. Drove me a bit crazy and was too high maintenance.
My advice, find a person(s) who REALLY has enough interest to show up with cash and mill what they want. The sizes I was given were all over the map from 3/4 for burners up to 6x6" for some carvers with a lot asking for 4x4. One thing, they all like short blocks, 16" max, so if you dry and wind up with a couple inches of sweep over a 12' log, when you chop it into blocks, that sweep is gone. :D
I still have every piece of that log I sawed (4x4's, 8/4, & 6/4) except one piece I gave to a neighbor for some interior trim. I still have a 20" log waiting for someone who will give me sizes and actually buy it.
I wish you the very best of luck and would say find a buyer first and mill what he/she wants. Let us know if you crack the code on this.

Larry · September 13, 2022, 10:10:23 PM

With a few logs good luck. You have to develop a market. The common consensus is quality basswood only comes from way up north so you already have two strikes against ya.

See if you have any local carving clubs and shoot them a email. Never can tell.

Basswood needs to be dried fast for the highest quality. Years ago I sold a lot of it. My market developed from selling a few pieces at a time on ebay to pallets of it once a month.

YellowHammer · September 13, 2022, 10:18:33 PM

I think it's a location thing, here in the South, basswood is actually highly desirable, and I sell more lumber than I can get logs for, and have to order it by the pallet in 4/4, wide sort. It's main use is a direct substitute for poplar in cabinets, and is the preferred choice when the cabinets are painted. Poplar will leave grain lines in the paint, basswood will finish smooth, with a "modern" or "minimalist" style. In order to achieve this look, the boards should be clear and free of knots.

We sell the occasional 8/4 and even 12/4, for carving (we have a guy who carved carousel horse head professionally) but since it's main use is for cabinets, 4/4 is where I saw most of it.

Also, it stay flat when dried, and is a preferred choice for "wide and clear" lumber, again as a direct substitute for poplar.

Basswood can also be stained.

Of course, if you have some cabinet or furniture shops nearby, you could try to market to them. Its not a big money wood, but it is a high volume species, and a couple logs may not generate enough interest to get attention. On the wholesale market, it demands a higher price than poplar.

Nebraska · September 14, 2022, 07:27:35 AM

The Basswood logs I got ahold of weren't real nice, I sawed them anyway. It made good project utility lumber. The last of it is going to get used in some cement forms soon. I thought it was easy to saw. It made some nice stickers as well.

moodnacreek · September 14, 2022, 07:51:14 AM

Unless you have an established store you can forget hobbyists. Even if they look you up nothing ever happens. It's like free firewood, no one shows so you have to deliver but the drive way will be blocked. 40 some years ago I stocked basswood, it may still be here. Another time basswood logs came in and the friend that helps me was building a shop/barn so we sawed it all 5/4 for shelves and stair treads and the loft floor, dried on sticks and used it all for that.

kantuckid · September 14, 2022, 08:51:29 AM

Might be worth calling the catalogs that sell basswood to whittlers & carvers.
I'd suspect they want a steady supply though.
Ebay is another possibility for smaller unit sales. Lots of people selling scraps of wood for this and that on there.
The above post is spot on. I tried to give people free pieces of Catalpa wood for carving and they won't "walk across the street to get it", so to speak, as they're oriented to the web world and retail walk-in places where a board cost the proverbial arm & a leg.

Stevenjohn21 · September 14, 2022, 06:22:51 PM

Thank you to those that replied. I think I'll make a ton of stickers out of them since I really don't want them laying around.
Would basswood be ok for framing a solar kiln? I've been thinking of making one for a while but I end up selling my own pine supply.