Shannon's Lumber Industry Update

Holly is a shockingly pure white in color with almost no visible grain. But it stains quickly if not felled, sawn and dried in the same day. Moreover kiln drying it can be tricky to keep it white. It also has a lot of significance and lore surrounding it that makes it a central part of the Christmas sacred traditions as well as waaaaay back in history as a symbol of life and protection.

This episode is the Venn diagram of me. I talk nerdy sciency stuff related to wood that can be moulded into high bike frames. What a perfect confluence! Chris Mroz of Pure Timber joins me to discuss cold bending hardwoods using compressed wood technology. This stuff will blow your mind and yearn for one of those flexy straws and a cold drink.

This time I feature White Oak but spend time talking more generally about the Oaks and the differences between the Red Oak group and the White Oak group.

This week I dive into curly figure in wood. Curl encompasses a lot of different types like blister, pommele, beeswing, fiddleback, etc. I look at what causes it and how to grade it.

In this special Halloween episode I will talk about magical woods. Woods with folklore and mystery that surround them. A listener who has a Harry Potter obsessed daughter asked me about the properties of wand woods and that is what has inspired this episode.

Today I have guest Dan Edelman from TimberHP a wood fiber insulation company out of Maine. This company has create 3 insulation products: fill, batten, and board using the wood waste from the nearly defunct paper mill industry in Maine. They repurpose a large percentage of the millions of tons of wood chip waste and create a fire rated, high R value, and acoustical value, fully non toxic insulation from what is a waste product.

Today I discuss the featured species, Narra. It is a beautiful SE Asian wood mostly known in its burl form where it is called Amboyna Burl. Narra is undoubtedly a tropical wood in the Padauk genus but unlike many tropical woods it is easier to work with due to a lower hardness and a luster that serves to lubricate tooling while working its. I also discuss some of the elements that may make locally sourced timbers more expensive than wood brought from across the country. And finally how you might start the process of having your own trees introduced into the urban lumber market.

Today I talk about burls. What are they to the best of our knowledge and how to work them. But I also spend a fair bit of time talking about genuine Mahogany and some statements made lately that 80% of Mahogany is illegally harvested. Buried the lede a bit on that one but its important to understand how to buy a wood if you are not sure about its sustainability.

This week I feature the Tamo Ash, Fraxinus mandshurica. It is a species of Ash primarily sought for the unique "peanut" figure. Like a lot of figured woods it is not totally understood how the figure is formed but proper use of the whole tree must be considered for the health of the species. Also talk about ray fleck in White Oak and drying wood. Is there an ideal environment for drying and preventing bugs in your woods?

What is a healthy forest? Today I have a guest, Nick Smith from Healthy Forests to talk about it. Nick is the executive director and he is the man behind building awareness and policy that can help us manage our forests and reduce the growing threat of wildfires that are decimating our forests today.

The featured species of the month is Sweet Chestnut or European Chestnut. Similar of course to the blighted American Chestnut, but the Sweet variety flourishes in the UK and Europe and is often lauded for exterior cladding and for all manner of bushcraft work. The Chestnut is also a prime species for Coppice Forestry and I have a discussion about that silvicultural practice too.

Wood dust is a major health risk. Mostly as a cumulative effect (AKA sensitizer) that can sneak up on us and ruin your health after decades of working with wood. It is imperative we protect our lungs from even the most benign wood dust. So imagine how dangerous more toxic woods can be when in dust form that you get on your skin, in your eyes, or lungs. In today's episode I discuss the various categories of wood toxicity and what you can do to ameliorate your risks when you are working with a toxic wood. But remember that just about every wood is toxic and everyone will react differently. Moreover what doesn't bother you now could very well cause health problems in the future with continued exposure.

This time I feature the Eastern Cottonwood and actually do some field reporting on it as I was recently out in the prairie states. I also go some time to work with a slab of Cottonwood to give some hands on experience with it.

Today I discuss Hemlock, our featured species. This is a wood with an identity crisis. Its long been a mainstay in construction lumber yet has more refined purposes as a high end clear, CVG siding and cladding product. Now it has an even brighter future as a thermally modified option for both interior and exterior uses.

Today I look at Monocots. The Bamboo and Palms that you may have seen showing up in flooring or plywood or even turning blanks. I also answer questions about branch wood, air dried wood, and the commercial vs local names of lumber.

This week I welcome Brandon Long, a structural engineer who plays as a woodworker at night. Brandon actually knows what he is talking about when it comes to structures and fatigue rates and all that stuff that I pretend to know about from watching "The Big Bang Theory".

A word of warning on this episode. New levels of nerdery on display here. If I had a white lab coat I would have worn it while recording. To sum up, woods with a higher T/R ratio will be harder to dry. But if you are like me and want to know why a higher T/R ratio is harder to dry, keep watching to dive into some organic chemistry and cellular structure. Also I feature Sapele this month. A much more mainstream species but one worth looking at closely due to how it has taken over the Mahogany market. A reminder that Walnut tier supporters on Patreon will be getting the fancy Sapele sticker with all of the details I discuss in this episode. Become a supporter at: https://www.patreon.com/lumberupdate

Lots of breaking news in the Lumber world and it was time I dust off my teleprompter and read everything that is on it. News from Notre Dame, the Paris Aquatic Center, Carbon Fiber and Mass Timber, Key Bridge Tragedy, and lots of great feedback from y'all. Plus I fit a few questions in about drying end grain cookies, lumber jobs, and Aniegre.

Today we talk about American Hornbeam, why some trees are brittle, fast growing trees for lumber, IBAMA strike and the CITES impact, and a possible source for urban lumber.

Let's talk about grassroots sustainability and how giving back as users of wood can start with education and grow into all kinds of programs for and individual or your local woodworking guild or even sawmill business.