Dirty, Dirty Wood

I was out in the lumber yard yesterday looking for a good photo of our Maple and Cherry lumber shed when I came across the dumpster filled with metal banding, sawdust, and small off cuts.  Laying on top was an 11″ wide, 50″ long board that is practically black from exposure, dirt, and bird (ahem) droppings.

The board has a fair amount of cup, some kiln sticker staining, and twist.  The end grain was also just as dark and dirty so it was obvious this had not been freshly cut off from a longer board.  The short length however does make it hard to sell to our wholesale customers so I have a feeling this board has been pushed aside for years before someone finally relegated it to the dumpster.

The thickness is 5/4 so with a little strategic planing, I’m confident I can remove the twist and cup and yield at least an inch of final thickness.  The thing is I have no idea what species I am dealing with.  The dumpster from which it came is in a central location in the yard so it could be any species.

I am thrilled to remove the outer layers of shame from this outcast and see what beauty hides beneath.  Based on the weight, I’m thinking it is a domestic species and probably something like Cherry or Walnut.  Needless, to say, I will have to give the board a thorough cleaning to remove all the dirt before I take a plane blade to it.  I can think of no faster way to dull my blade (short of dropping them on the concrete floor) than attacking a board like this.  All that sand and grit will be like sanding my finely honed blades with an 80 grit belt sander.

So here I sit at work, surround by lumber and all I can think about is my mystery board waiting for me in my shop at home.