For my 100th episode it seemed fitting to discuss the long and muddy road of a board. From a tree in a forest somewhere in the world to a rough logging road to sawmill to truck to maybe even a ship at sea. The number of hands that touch the board you hold in your hand may startle you. The sheer volume of time and labor sunk into a single board by the time you buy it makes you wonder why anyone would choose to sell lumber! I guess you just gotta love wood ..read more

This time I discuss the featured species of the month: Black Cherry and then dive into the deep topic of wood in the aviation industry. My guest Alex LaFavre is a pilot and works in the aviation industry and he shares all the fun bits about how wood has been used in airplanes through the nearly 125 years since the Wright Brothers took flight on a mostly Spruce airplane. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/lumberupdate. At the Walnut tier you will receive a collectible sticker about the featured species of the month! Collect them all and start now as this month is our first one ..read more

In this episode I welcome Josh Wertz from Good Woods Lumber LLC on the show to talk about his sawmill operation. We spend a good amount of time talking about his vacuum kilns and get into details on the perceived stability gained from a low heat drying process ..read more

Today we talk about Cypress for window construction and other alternatives like modified wood or stave core construction. Then we talk about really old wood and how it holds up after 1000 years like the oldest door in the UK at Westminster Abbey. Then how about deep frying your wood to preserve it ..read more

Today I share some feedback from listeners and discuss some Russian plywood, EAB, Exotic wood dust, drying for bugs, and the role of the log scaler ..read more

In this episode we talk about a famous Oak tree setting a legal precedent, possibly the largest tree ever, killing bugs in the wood, jointers at the lumber yard, and finally, roasted Poplar. What is it and what is the deal with thermally modified wood ..read more

I dive into my inbox and answer some questions on this episode. Including several questions about drying lumber, Wenge, and rift & quarter sawing ..read more

Today Jacob Sedmak joins me to talk about the business of mobile sawing. Both from the homeowner and sawyer's perspectives. There are some great tips for working with a sawyer and how to be prepared for the sawing day in this episode. Check him out at https://www.sccwoodworks.com ..read more

A general look at how CITES operates and the lumber results of the CoP19 with a focus on proposals 44, 48-51 relating to Pernambuco, Ipe, Cumaru, Padauk and Khaya ..read more

Today I have two guest who are experts in the reclaimed woods market. Alan Solomon of SawKill Lumber in Brooklyn, NY and Klaas Armster of Armster Reclaimed Lumber Co. This was a treat to not only talk about the types of woods but how this market is completely different from the one I work in daily. Learn to build a lumber shopping list, visit www.lumberupdate.com/buying-lumber ..read more