Hello, fellow wood nuts. Adam from Minnesota here (a ways north of Minneapolis), and am I glad I found this site! I have been thinking for years there should be a forum where people can buy, sell, trade, and talk about wood. Such forums exist for tools, cars, computers, gaming, knife making, and every other hobby, but I'd never found one dedicated to wood itself. But as luck would have it I came upon this site by pure accident. I've been collecting wood for going on 3 decades now, ever since I was in about 7th or 8th grade back in the 80s. I was taking woods shop in school, and went to a local(ish) hardwood supplier to pick out some wood for my project. While there I saw a piece of bocote - the first exotic wood I'd ever seen - and right from there I was hooked. Unfortunately we just ended up buying a piece of soft maple (my dad was ever the cost-conscious consumer). Since then I have accumulated what must be a fortune in exotic and not-so-exotic wood. Most of it purchased. And I still haven't lost the wood-collecting bug. I have a fairly large shop at home, so it's nice being able to just walk through my lumber room and pick out the stock I want. I always thought I was some kind of weirdo, collecting wood and all, but I have since learned there is an entire community around the planet with the same interest. Not to mention an international society dedicated to the same thing. :-)
Anyway, in real life I am a biomedical engineer. I work for a large company that makes all sorts of medical devices. My particular milieu is pacemakers and defibrillators. Besides wood collecting and wood working, I enjoy machining (in my shop), gardening, fishing (I grew up on the Mississippi and fished every day as a kid), and music. I was in a professional wind ensemble for 15 years.
I am always looking for new and unusual wood, so I will be checking out the for sale forum threads regularly. Especially for stuff that is not commercially available, since I have really been limited to the commercial stuff most of my life. Should I be keeping an eye out for any specific wood?
In Minnesota there really isn't a good choice for hardwood lumber locally. The place I mentioned my dad and I visited back in 80s just closed its operation. It's a pitty, too. They had been open in the same location since 1854!
Greetings to all of you!
Anyway, in real life I am a biomedical engineer. I work for a large company that makes all sorts of medical devices. My particular milieu is pacemakers and defibrillators. Besides wood collecting and wood working, I enjoy machining (in my shop), gardening, fishing (I grew up on the Mississippi and fished every day as a kid), and music. I was in a professional wind ensemble for 15 years.
I am always looking for new and unusual wood, so I will be checking out the for sale forum threads regularly. Especially for stuff that is not commercially available, since I have really been limited to the commercial stuff most of my life. Should I be keeping an eye out for any specific wood?
In Minnesota there really isn't a good choice for hardwood lumber locally. The place I mentioned my dad and I visited back in 80s just closed its operation. It's a pitty, too. They had been open in the same location since 1854!
Greetings to all of you!
