RWW 109 The Monster Plank

At my day job I am working on building up a web presence for our wholesale lumber business, but also trying to see how we can service the retail market as well. One of the areas I think we can make an impact is with our “defect” lumber. There is a graveyard at the back of the lumber yard where over exposed and weathered lumber goes to be written off. These are S2S or S4S boards that for one reason or another has not moved and due to exposure and checking can not be sold to our wholesale customers.

Most of the woodworkers I know revel in defects and many of us use reclaimed lumber for our projects. The weather beaten, warped, checked, and twisted board should be no exception. I firmly believe that most woodworkers and furniture makers can do something with this wood and as a test, I was given one of the planks to test the theory.

Enter the monster plank: 8 feet long, 18 inches wide, and 16/4 finished to 3 3/4 thick. In this episode I take an assessment of the health of the board and determine that it not only has a very usable life left, but it is a goldmine of potential.

I know, I know, this is a tough job but someone has got to do it. So what would you do with this board? Leave a comment with your project ideas. I hesitant to cut up such a large board, but it may be too big to do anything with it. I’m all ears…

Thanks to my employer, the J. Gibson McIlvain Co. for this incredible board. I promised to do it justice.