At the same place I bought some cherry, they had a stack of random
width hickory that they're selling for $1.85 /bd ft. I asked why it was
so cheap, and he said that the cuts weren't very good.

My question is, what makes it "bad" wood? I guess if it is cupped and
warped, I can see that, but at a glance, it looked like the only
problem with it was that the cuts were pretty rough.

If it is nothing more than that, assuming it is 13/16", couldn't I buy
it and plane it down to some nice 1/2" hickory boards?

Thanks,
--Michael

Clint Eastwood said in "Pale Rider",
"There's nothing like a good piece of hickory."

I'm not sure the context fits your situation though.

wrote:
At the same place I bought some cherry, they had a stack of random
width hickory that they're selling for $1.85 /bd ft. I asked why it was
so cheap, and he said that the cuts weren't very good.

My question is, what makes it "bad" wood? I guess if it is cupped and
warped, I can see that, but at a glance, it looked like the only
problem with it was that the cuts were pretty rough.

If it is nothing more than that, assuming it is 13/16", couldn't I buy
it and plane it down to some nice 1/2" hickory boards?

Thanks,
--Michael

Hickory is actualy quite nice to work. It cuts cleanly on a table saw,
planes nicely except around knots, and has an interesting chocolate
ripple effect in crotch cuts. The center of crotches are often
"Pithy", so use care where they are in the wood.

I finished a couple of rough tables from a chain sawed crotch before
Xmas. It's tough wood, but not hard to work. Literature says that
dimensional stability is poor so be a bit careful how you use it. It
is definitely not "bad wood". Now, if the cuts are bad (cups, twists)
that's a different story.

Regards.

Tom



On 19 Jan 2006 13:36:38 -0800, wrote:

At the same place I bought some cherry, they had a stack of random
width hickory that they're selling for $1.85 /bd ft. I asked why it was
so cheap, and he said that the cuts weren't very good.

My question is, what makes it "bad" wood? I guess if it is cupped and
warped, I can see that, but at a glance, it looked like the only
problem with it was that the cuts were pretty rough.

If it is nothing more than that, assuming it is 13/16", couldn't I buy
it and plane it down to some nice 1/2" hickory boards?

Thanks,
--Michael

It is often the case that Hickory and its cousins will have an
interlocked grain pattern, which helps to give it toughness but
sometimes defeats those who would attack it with a plane. There are
more forgiving sections of hickory, which are often used as tool
handles and such. When the yardman was talking about "bad cuts" my
guess would be that he knew those sticks to be suffering from the
crossgrained problem. It can be a very intersting wood in its
crossgrained form, used in small pieces that can be surfaced with a
scraper.

On 19 Jan 2006 13:36:38 -0800, wrote:

At the same place I bought some cherry, they had a stack of random
width hickory that they're selling for $1.85 /bd ft. I asked why it was
so cheap, and he said that the cuts weren't very good.

My question is, what makes it "bad" wood? I guess if it is cupped and
warped, I can see that, but at a glance, it looked like the only
problem with it was that the cuts were pretty rough.

If it is nothing more than that, assuming it is 13/16", couldn't I buy
it and plane it down to some nice 1/2" hickory boards?

Thanks,
--Michael

Hickory is a good coarsely-textured wood and can have some interesting
patterns. Due to its toughness it can be difficult to work but makes
good handles, knobs, chairs, and other applications where strength is
important. It steams, bends, and finishes well.

Also, at the mill, when a blade gets dull, one end of a board may be 1"
and the other end will be 7/8" or 1 &1/8. That's a bad board. Rural
mills don't usually have kilns or planers to finish lumber. Often
times those bad boards are thrown in the scrap heap, free for the
taking. When squaring logs, sometimes there are ugly side cuts that
are thrown to scrap, also. I recently picked up 4X5X12' ash and other
varied dimensioned lumber. Anyone with a planer can often times get
some really good "bad" lumber, free or cheap.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll buy a board or two and see what I
can do with them.

Thanks,
--Michael

Hickory is a good coarsely-textured wood and can have some interesting
patterns. Due to its toughness it can be difficult to work but makes
good handles, knobs, chairs, and other applications where strength is
important. It steams, bends, and finishes well.


Yeah... the handles on my Buck Bros. chisels are hickory, leather topped.

--
Alex - "newbie_neander" woodworker
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I think I'll buy a board or two and see what I
can do with them.

Thanks,
--Michael

I've used ALOT of hickory in my house and apartment. About 2500 ft of
hardwood floors and all the trim in both buildings. Some thoughts on
it:

It's similiar to hard maple in a couple of areas. It's very hard but
saws nicely. It planes or joints nicely if the grain is going in the
correct direction but it changes directions often.

It can route nicely too but sometimes a piece will start to tear out
with the grain and there's not much you can do to stop. Sometimes you
have to use climbing cuts to route it.

No problems glueing.

It's a bear to sand! If you know someone who has a large, stationary
belt sander or drum sander, become friends with them! :-) Sand the
planer marks out before you start cutting to size.

IMO, it's one of the most beautiful woods there is. It's frustrating
at times, but worth it in the end.

Bryan