My great-grandfather was a carpenter in Palo Alto California in the
early part of the 20th century (in fact, he was in the 1st graduating
class at Stanford University), but he hurt his back and had to quit. To
keep his hand in he built a small lathe from scrap parts and wood. I
have inherited the head- and tail-stocks, a couple of tools made from
old files, and various attachments such as a sanding disk.

However, the ways and the stocks parted ways sometime in the distant
past. I would like to make a pair of short ways to mount the stocks on,
but I want to keep them period-appropriate, and want to use wood that
was cheaply available in the 1920's. Most of the wood in the bits I
have is redwood, which was cheap and plentiful in the San Francisco
region then. Not now, though! Besides, I live in Seattle, and virgin
redwood compares to tropical hardwoods in availability and price.

I could use Douglas fir (I have a bunch of old growth VG fir salvage),
but was this wood generally available and cheap in San Francisco then?
Or were other types of pine more generally available?

Ironically, I grew up in the Bay Area, but I didn't get into woodworking
until I moved up to Seattle, so I never paid attention to wood when I
was a kid. Should have, though. I do remember that the local lumber
yard carried 4-foot-wide redwood shelving as a stock item.

Thanks for any help you can give.

scritch