Get Gorgeous Wood Cheaply

The lumber with the most personality is often the cheapest. If you need wood for a project, but are on a budget, there are many ways to find wood that is cheap, or even free. Before searching out wood, determine your needs for the project. Make sure you have a rough idea of what type of wood would best suit your needs. From there, look for cheap sources of wood at new businesses, yard sales, and flea markets. If you manage to find discarded wood or furniture at constructions sites or on the roadside, you may be able to take this wood for free. Always examine cheap wood closely. Cheap wood is generally more prone to defects.

Steps

Determining Your Needs

1. Decide between hardwood and softwood. There are essentially two types of wood to choose from for a project: hardwoods and softwoods. Each have benefits and drawbacks depending on your needs.
   • Hardwoods are made from trees that lose their leaves in the fall. Hardwoods are generally denser than softwoods, but they have larger pores making for a rougher appearance. If you're making high-quality furniture, desks, flooring, or any type of construction work that needs to last longterm, go for hardwoods.
   • Softwoods are from evergreen trees, which do not lose their leaves in the winter. Soft woods have smaller pours, making them look somewhat smoother. Lighter types of projects, such as windows and doors, are made from softwoods. If you're not making a heavy-duty wood project, you can go for softwoods.
2. Learn the grading system for hard and soft wood. If possible, you should know what grade your wood is to assess its quality. When buying cheaper wood, or salvaging free wood, this may not be possible. In situations where you can get the wood's grade, make sure to do so. This can help you determine if you're getting a good deal.
   • Hardwoods are graded on the amount of usable material in the wood, as well as the number of defects. Lower grades may be acceptable for smaller projects, or for foundational materials. Wood graded as "First and Second" or "Select" is higher grade material. These products have 83% usable material. Wood grade as "#1 Common" and "#2 Common" is of lower quality. These products have between 66% and 50% usable material.
   • Softwoods are graded based on strength and appearance. Woods with a lower grade tend to have more defects. C Select and D Select softwoods have the least defects, while 2 Common and 3 Common have the most defects. If you're using wood for something like shelves, you can probably get by with a lower graded softwood.
3. Choose a type of softwood, if you need softwood. Softwoods comes in many types. If you require softwood for your project, figure out what type you want. Keep in mind, however, when going for cheap wood, you may not get your first choice. Have an idea of a few different types of softwood you would be okay with using.
   • Cedar has a reddish color and is very soft. It's frequently used for things like decks, furniture, and building exteriors. Douglas Fir also has a reddish tint, and is relatively inexpensive. It can be a great alternative to cedar. It can also be used for furniture making.
   • Pine is very soft and easy to work with, and has a very light color. One downside is that pine stains very easily.
   • Redwood is typically used for outdoor projects. It has a reddish tint to it. It tends to be moderately priced, but you may be able to find cheaper redwood when looking in the right places.
4. Select a hardwood type, if you need hardwood. If your project requires hardwood, figure out what type of hardwood you need. As with softwood, you may not get your first choice when seeking out cheap wood, so have a few different types you would be willing to use.
   • Ash has a pale-brown appearance and is easier to work with than most hardwoods, but is somewhat difficult to find. Ash is probably not the best option when seeking cheap wood, as it's presence in the market is limited. If you want a pale wood, go for birch over ash. It also a pale appearance and tends to be less expensive than other hardwoods.
   • Cherry wood has a reddish-brown color and is very popular as it's easy to work with. However, it can be very expensive, so it may be difficult to find it cheap. Mahogany also has a reddish tint, and may be cheaper.
   • Maple is among the cheapest varieties of hardwood. Cheap maple can often be found at lumberyards. Poplar is another fairly inexpensive hardwood, that has a lighter color.

Finding Sources of Cheap Wood

1. Ask if commercial woodworking firms will sell you scrap material. Commercial woodworking firms are businesses that make wood products like furniture. These can include furniture factories, milling companies, and companies that install wood floors. Such companies almost always have leftover scraps from a given project that end up discarded.
   • You can buy scraps for fairly cheap. You will have to go to a local woodworking firm and ask to speak to the manager. If there is any leftover wood from a recent project, the manager may be willing to sell this wood to you for cheap. As this wood is being used in projects like furniture and floors, it should be fairly attractive in appearance.
   • One major downside is the wood you obtain will be small and fairly irregular in size. The wood pieces may be difficult to use for certain projects.
2. Go to a local lumber mill or lumber yard. Lumber mills and yards often have an abundance of scrap material. You can talk to the yard manager. He or she may be willing to sell you scrap material at a low price.
   • With lumber yards and mills, bugs are a major disadvantage. You will have to inspect wood for bugs, and may have to discard infected pieces. Often, you are only able to use a small amount of a large pile of wood.
3. Take advantage of the Internet. Cheap wood materials can often be found online. Postings on websites like Craiglist list may sell wood for cheap, or old furniture you can scrap for wood. Also, check out Facebook community pages. A woodworking community page may include posts by users selling cheap wood or other furniture that can be scraped.
   • Use common sense when buying online. You should always see a product and examine it before making a purchase. You should also meet the seller in public to assure your own safety.
   • If you're part of a Facebook community, you can also make a post letting people know what you need. Specify the type of wood and your price range. Someone may be able to give you a lead on a cheap source of wood.
4. Check out junk stores, yard sales, and flea markets. Old furniture can often be broken down and the wood can be reused in another project. With a little hunting, you can often find cheap and gorgeous sources of wood at places like junk stores, yard sales, and flea markets.
   • Pay attention to any item that contains wood. An old sofa that's falling apart may be set on a wood frame that's still high quality. You may be able to buy this item for very cheap, given it's not really usable, and obtain attractive wood in the process.
   • One downside is that you need to break down such products, which takes extra time and labor. You may also end up with irregular pieces that are not quite shaped for your needs.

Looking for Free Wood

1. See if new businesses have scrap wood. If a business has just opened, many materials are often shipped in pallets or crates. Businesses may want to discard of this material quickly and efficiently, so they may be willing to give it away for free on request.
   • Stop by new businesses and talk to a manager. Oftentimes, managers are eager to discard waste to get the store running. The manager may be enthusiastic about unloading unwanted shipping crates on you.
   • However, you may not get the wood you desire in this process. You're limited to the materials used in crates. You may want to ask to see the crates before deciding to take them, as you may dislike the color, texture, or grain.
2. Look for wood at construction sites and burn sites. Construction sites and burn sites generate a huge amount of waste. A large amount of wood may be found in dumpsters of these areas.
   • Always ask permission before going through dumpsters. You want to make sure you're legally allowed to salvage wood from such places.
   • One major downside is you have to dig through a dumpster. You'll have to do things like wear gloves for your own safety.
3. Salvage roadside furniture. Oftentimes, furniture is abandoned on the side of the road. People moving quickly may not have time to bring furniture with them, and simply leave it on the roadside. If you find roadside furniture made of quality wood material, you can salvage the wood for free.
   • If you live near a college town, you could take a drive through the neighborhoods there. Roadside furniture is very common in college towns.
   • One major downside is that you have to breakdown the furniture yourself. This adds labor, and there may be extra costs for materials.
4. Go to online woodworking forums. If you're part of a woodworking community, people may sometimes have scrap wood they're willing to give away for free. The site Freecycle was actually specifically made to give away wood for free. You will have to be vigilant about monitoring such websites to find wood that meets your needs.
   • On some woodworking forums, people may request a small favor in exchange for wood. If you're willing to put a small amount of labor into the process, you can get wood for more or less free.

Checking for Serious Defects Prior to Purchase

1. Watch out for bedbugs when examining old furniture. Old furniture may have been tossed due to a bedbug infestation. Bedbugs are difficult to remove and tend to breed quickly. You do not want to bring bedbug infested furniture into your home.
   • There may be rusty red stains on the furniture, particularly near cracks and crevices.
   • Tiny pale yellowish flakes may be eggs or discarded skins.
   • There may be tiny dark spots, which are droppings of bedbugs.
2. Check for common defects. Cheap wood may be cheap for a reason. When making a purchase, you want to check wood for common defects and imperfections. Some products, even if they are priced very low, may not be worth your time and money.
   • A board may be curved from end-to-end, which can make it difficult to work with.
   • Wood can also have crooks or uneven patterns. Wood may have a indent, known as a cup, running through the shorter side.
3. Look out for cracks and holes. Cheap wood may be cracked or filled with knotholes. While you may be able to work with cheap wood despite these flaws, an abundance of cracks and knot holes can make wood unstable.
   • Knotholes are generally less of a problem than cracks. They can usually be worked around in a project, but some people dislike the appearance.
   • There may be small cracks between grains of woods. Some pieces of wood may have a crack running all the way through the piece. These can be more difficult to work around when using cheap wood.

Tips

• Suppliers can usually cut wood to size for you for a fee if you don't have shop tools.
• You usually have to stain cheap wood for a project. If you have never stained wood before, it’s wise to ask for help. Different woods absorb stains differently and some need to be sealed first with sanding sealer or shellac.

Warnings

• Wear proper safety gear when working on cheap wood.

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