Christmas notes from Wisconsin

Hello Folks! It is 2 days after Christmas. I had one of my grandsons help me unload the kiln and haul it home. It sure makes things easier. He is also learning to drive and I let him drive home with many loads of lumber. That was scary. There are some good stories about his driving but will save that for another blog. Needless to say, it is a good thing I have a bald head or I would lose all of my hair.

This unloading has some wonderful material with great history and stories. First up was one log set of yellow birch that has laid at the bottom of a river for over 150 years. This tree was over 300 years old when it was cut which would put it back in the 1500's, when it started to grow. These boards range from 8" wide to 16" wide and 11' long. The boards have the tightest grain I have ever seen in a hardwood log. Most of this is cut into 5/4 thicknesses. The wood has a much darker tone because the river has a high iron content. I would like to sell this whole log set as one. I can cut it into shorter lengths or leave it long for shipping. There is probably 200 board feet, roughly. Very unique, very historical material. I would be asking $2,500.00 for this whole set.

Next up is some of the nicest, most colorful spalted hard maple. There is varying grades. I have this in both 4/4 and 8/4. It is sound but very light in weight. Lots of checking on the ends. Some has some incredibly heavy birdseye figure. Some has heavy curly figure. Some is just plain spalted maple.
The figured material will run higher than the plain maple. The low grade material will be sold for $2.00 per board foot. By low grade, I mean center cuts of the log. This will include pith and checking in the middle of some boards. The plain spalted maple will be $4.00 board foot. I have not priced the birdseye and curl yet, as I am separating boards from the piles. The story behind all the spalted maple is this. These logs sat in a veneer yard in upper MI for over 7 years. They got covered in dirt and leaves. Why the yard owner did nothing with them I am not sure. A mill I deal with had these logs dropped off several years ago. They were sawed and stickered and then left for several years at the back of the mill yard. A year ago I was asked if I was interested in some old , crappy wood in the back. As I walked back towards the pile I could see the figure in some boards, some 200 ft. away.
Luckily they had thrown some tin over the stack so it wasn't completely out in the weather. There were some super weathered pieces on the very outside of the pile but for the most part it is very heavily spalted.

The rest of the wood from this load is some beautiful white birdseye and curly hard maple. If you are looking for anything in particular let me know. I am working with a new trucking company for pallet loads. I also have used Fed Ex for pallet loads. Very economical shipping to the west coast. Email me for shipping pallet loads of wood.

 yellow birch from the river. More photos are available.

 spalted maple

 another shot in the rough

This is what I saw from over 200 feet away. Heavy birdseye

 8/4 live edge spalted

4/4 spalted birdseye

Wood in July

Well, it hot here in Wisconsin. But its July and it should be. Sorry, I don't believe in that global warming stuff.

But enough of that. Got a kiln load of wood to pile and sort. Got started with some really nice white hard maple that comes from a veneer mill. They hate figure. Thank you Jesus! What I get are pure white boards that have light birdseye and curl. Its usually not heavy enough figure for me, so I sell this for 4.50 board foot. Makes beautiful drawer sides or whatever you want. It runs from 6" wide to over 12" wide. 8 feet long with a little 10 foot stock. If you can use a few hundred feet or more, I can give you a bit of a discount. This costs me more then regular hard maple as it is all FAS and better.

Another thing this time is 8/4 bark pocket hard maple. I only have about 130 bd ft, so there is not much. But is it pretty. And some are 12" wide. Its all 10 feet long.   I have some 4/4 in the same thing, but with deep curl in it. I have maybe 500 ft of the 4/4.

Curly red oak is in stock. Wide and heavy curl for the most part. Again, this comes from the veneer mill. So the stock is all top shelf. A lot of wide  stock and also some 6/4 and 8/4 available. For red oak, it is nice!

Some crazy heavy curl in hard maple is here. It is one the hardest woods to get. But the curl is stunning. I have both 4/4, 5/4,6/4 and 8/4. I have a good supply of the 4/4, but the rest is much smaller amounts. If you want something pretty and breathtaking, the hard curl is it. Most is white one side at least and a lot of the 4/4 is white both sides. I love the heartweood, but some only want white. I do try and make surete curl goes all the way through.

One last thing. I get boards of neat stuff, but only a couple boards. This stuff is usually all hard maple with burl clusters, wierd colors, all sorts of stuff. If you want to make some cool boxes or smaller projects, this works great. It comes and goes, but I rarely get more then 4 or 5 pieces of one tree. I also get boards that have defects. Birdseye and curl mostly. The mineral streaks can cause cracks in hard maple boards. So I pull these and only charge for the sound material. Right now I have some wide boards , but you only pay like 25$ , as I only figure on the good stuff andcharge way less per board foot.
Got sa few photos for you this time. Let me know how I can help. I will help with advice on woodworking or finishing to anyone who buys from me. Its almost 40 years experience working with this wood and building custom pieces. Not many wood sellers can offer that. Check me out on facebook and instagram as well. Lots more pictures. My instagram is bobkloes456.

Heavy eye birdseye, curly bark pocket , tight curly maple and curly red oak all in one load

Just got done with 2 days of unloading , separating and piling wood. I have to say, its great exercise when the weather is nice.

Got about 4000 feet out of the kiln this time. I have one small load of curly red oak to get tomorrow. I am tired.

This load was a mix of stuff from both close by and from the great north woods. I love unpiling it and thinking what each board could make. The juices still run strong in making things. I see furniture and small pieces coming from each piece. Yes, I handle each board several times. That is why I know just how nice the figure is and what it can be used for. I am not like a cabinet shop where they make boxes and doors and drawers. I see log sets being made into outstanding pieces for someone's home. Each board in the set with rich heavy figure. This is all part of what I love to do. I don't have employees, just me and I do all the work. Again, no complaints, just allows me to see what is good, great or not so good. I have clients that like certain figures and I need to find and pull or at least sort so I know where it is.

I have a bunch of photos and will put some on here. This load had a little of everything.
Birdseye maple with some really heavy eye, some of the tightest soft curly maple I have ever seen and some beautiful tight curl hard maple that is just breathtaking. Last but not least, a nice selection of curly red oak, in 4/4, 6/4 and a little 8/4. A few hundred feet.  Lots of matching boards in the oak and also wide material. That came from a veneer factory that sorts out any figure. I am not a fan of red oak, but this material is stunning. Big wavy curl. Some on one side, some going across the whole width of the board.

If you would like to contact me to purchase any of this, check out my web site at
www.bobkloes.com or check me out on facebook here.
https://www.facebook.com/KloesCustomWoodwork/
I ship all over the country. There is stock for guitars,furniture,boxes,urns and most anything in many thicknesses up to 4" thick and 24" wide. I can help with questions on finish or construction of furniture. I think that makes me a little different from a lot of wood sellers.

its winter, no global warming in site

Hi folks.
Yep its winter. Being a born and raised Wisconsinite[not sure if that is correct], I am used to snow and cold. So, I am not complaining about this winter. I think its been kind of mild. But my logging friends are not to happy. We had a very mild December and the snow and cold really never came. Then we got 12" of snow  and the ground never froze. Had some good cold temps after that, but the ground was covered and never froze. So, here it is, prime logging weather and its really hard to get into the woods.

Kind of like how anything can make gas prices rise, when loggers can't log, prices can rise. I have seen soft maple jump again. Its about the same as hard maple here. That is weird for us. Hard maple is always a premium product.

I have a full shop of wood. Got some really cool stuff.
Curly red oak, wide boards and super nice curl. I have some here now and hope to get more next month out of the kiln. A lot of this came from a veneer factory. They hate curl. I am not a huge red oak fan, but this is sweet stuff. I also have some really nice spalted maple and bark inclusion maple. Some has all kinds of unusual figure. I am showing a spoon I made out of a cut off end. It has spots like a spotted dog. The cutting board was done in 2 end cutoffs that were narrow and crappy. It sold for over 200$.

Let me know if you are looking for something special. I am sure I can help. Email or call, I am usually around.

Just a note before Christmas

Hello folks.

Its been busy here at the shop. Had several furniture pieces to get done and I am almost finished with had to be done before Christmas. That is a good feeling.

The lumber has been coming in and slowly been getting dried. Just can not hurry the process. I have gotten a few loads of 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 material in this past year. My storage area is getting pretty full. Some beautiful white birdseye and some wide, heavy figure flame birch and curly maple. Got a few log sets of some stuff. I have not pulled as many log sets this time. I will be getting a big load of thick stock in the next week or two out of the kiln. Lots of 8/4, 12/4 and some 16/4 in most of the figured stuff. Flame birch, curly maple and birdseye. Some great turning stock or bed post material. I am having some more 12/4 flame birch cut. I only got enough for 1 bed and have several guys who want it. The problem is , it can take a few years to get the material dry. Thick stock is a bugger.

I also have talked with one of the mills I buy from about cutting some high quality birdseye veneer stock for guitar makers. The only size I know of is 5/4 material. If you are an instrument maker and want something cut, let me know. I can't promise anything, but will see what I can do. Veneer logs are a whole special thing. I would have 1000's of dollars just in the logs. I want to make sure folks will buy what they say. I do get a lot of 8/4 material that would work for bodies. The 5/4 is for necks. The specs are very tight and huge eyes with all white material.

I am still selling 20 ft packs, single planks with natural or live edges , turning stock ,etc. I can ship via Fastenal where possible on pallet loads or fed ex freight. Spee dee is a service I use for the upper midwest. If you need something special, let me know. If you can pass my info on to someone, I would greatly appreciate it.

I wish each and every one of the folks I deal with a very merry Christmas and a great new year ahead.

What I see when I look at rough sawn lumber

I have been asked many many times how I pick the lumber I do. I guess I have looked at so much over the years I think I know what will be good or not. Its not a perfect system by any means. The mill is the first ones to pull the wood. I have met with the owners and have also taken time to meet with the graders and sawyers.Believe me when I say, its all about trust and communications.

I take time to educate everyone that will be picking wood for me. Its only in their and my best interests to be forthright and honest. Once we are on the same page, it goes very smooth. You get some hiccups once in a while, but nothing that can't be worked out.

I go by the National hardwood graders rules on all my lumber. They are well explained and there are sources on the web to read them. I am not a certified grader. I go by what they tell me is what I am wanting. I usually don't mind color on 1 side of a board. By color, I mean heartwood or mineral streak. I can pull all white if the client wants that. Its just adds to the cost. On many of the pieces i have built over the last 35 years, I rarely needed both sides of a piece to show. And with using dyes to color the wood, it barely ever makes any difference. 

Instrument makers are the hardest to work with. I do sell to a few. Many are just asking for the moon and then do not want to pay the cost. I will work with anyone and try and be honest and fair. But you can't ask to buy the cream of the crop and then complain about the cost. The very top 10% of the wood is the easiest to sell. It is also the most expensive. 25$ to 50$ foot is not hard to get at all.
Whats hard is selling bulk. I get , what I consider , to be some very high grade material. It is easy to say I sell only the very best, but I do get a lot of wood and there is stuff that does not make the highest grade. By that, I mean some curly maple has some heartwood, or some birdseye has some color or wane [barky edges]. Never has it stopped me from using it in my work. But some folks are under the impression that God only makes pure white, heavy eye birdseye and they want 30" wide boards 5 feet long and all clear. For 17$....I have had that question asked, more then once. I guess what I am saying is , the wood is all cut to my specs at the mills. I have had very few issues with bad material. 

I try and sell only what will work for a project to folks. I ask questions about what they are building. Its a whole lot easier to help if I know what you are going to be cutting the boards into. I know in many of my pieces, I rarely use boards more then 4 or 5 feet long. Many times is 18 inches to 36 inches long. I never worry much about cup and twist in figured woods. It happens and always will. I wish I could dry it all in a vacuum kiln. But I can't afford to buy one. My wood is done the old fashion way. Air dried , then in a dehumidification kiln. It works well. But the figured woods all tend to twist and cup and God knows what. The wood is all sawn to inch and one either for 4/4 stock. I can cut the material I need and by jointing 1 side flat and then planing it, I still can get 7/8" to 13/16" for the pieces. If you think you can by 1 inch stock and resaw it to get two 1/2" pieces, it will not happen. At best you may get two pieces that are 3/8".

A piece of really heavy figured curl or birdseye can be dead flat or it can be twisted like a pretzel. I just have to figure out how to use it the best way. I will not toss and badly twisted piece. I'll figure out something can be made from it. its up to me to figure out.

I probably shouldn't say this, but for the pieces I have made in my home, I used the worst stuff no one would buy. It all worked.

Here are some pictures of wood in the rough and then some of it planed. I see the figure in the rough. Its the one way I tell the mills what I want. If I can't see the figure in the rough, I don't want the wood. The figure is not heavy enough. Many of my clients will say, "you just pick it out, because I know, you know what it will look like."I hope that folks will trust me to always give them great material. My word means something and if you don't like what I have picked, I will gladly take it back. The only way I
can't is if you have colored it or chopped into small pieces. In all the years selling wood, I only had 1 order refunded. Being a 1 person business, I am trying hard to gain and keep my customers.

 hard curly maple before and after planing

 Flame birch before planing

 after planing

 Weird figure maple before planing

bark pocket maple after planing

Birdseye maple after planing

Birdseye maple before planing

I hope this helps show what I see. Any questions, please email me or call. Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend.

New load from the kiln

Its been very nice so far in Wisconsin this spring. Wet and warm at times, but no complaining from the peanut gallery.

Just got several new loads from the kiln. Some stunning material. Flame birch in 5/4 , 6/4 and 8/4 and the same in birdseye maple and tiger maple. Even got a few pieces of 12/4 birdseye and curl mix. Those will make someone a stunning pencil post bed or turned bowls.

The wood business has been doing ok. I have had several new customers and they all seem to be happy with the material. I seem to be sending out more pallets lately as well. Had to buy more new pallets. Longer so it was easier for Fastenal and other trucking companies to haul them.

Its getting full in the shop. I am fortunate to have my grandson come help me a couple days a week.
Lots of unloading , stacking, measuring and checking figure. I wish at times it was easier, but I have to lift each and every board several times from when it starts air drying to when its finally put away. I probably touch each piece 6 or 8 times in the process. I guess I am not into "lean" processes.
I will be offering a veneer slicing service. I have contacted a company that slices veneer from boards. They steam it and slice it, anywhere from 1/42" to 1/16". If this is something you are looking for, let me know. Its not inexpensive, but if you want to work a lot of surface, it can be done. This is not something for 1 or 2 boards though.

These are a log set of wide 6/4 flame birch. All natural edges, just some stunning material. Some of these will be used in a class by Charles Neil this fall. I have some really sweet 8/4 material as well.

Let me know what you are looking for. I only sell figured lumber from Wisconsin, the UP , Iowa and Indiana. Best stuff in the world as far as I know.

Walnut and Cherry crotches just out of the kiln.

I always hesitate before writing the title to this blog. Not sure if I like the word crotches in the title, but then again, that is what they are called.

Just unloaded the solar kiln after almost a year. I had it loaded with walnut and cherry crotches. Got a big skid full that are ready to go. All 8/4 [2" thick]. Some matched sets, some singles. Only 5 cherry ones in the whole bunch. Great feather figure in most all of them . Some checking is always in these, but for the most part, its not bad. I dried these really slow. Would make great turning stock as well as resawing. Sizes are , what I think , is very large. Some are close to 18" wide and up to 48" long. I also have a 3 piece set of 1" thick walnut that is 23" wide and 69" long.

I will be unloading another load of green stock tomorrow. it has picked up from the mill as of late. Mostly all birdseye, heavy figure, 5/4, 6/4 and i am hoping for 8/4 tomorrow.

Also have a new delivery service for parts of the mid west. SpeeDee is the company. They are about 30 to 40% less then fed ex. They do Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and parts of Missouri and North Dakota. Look them up online and you can see what zips they all deliver to. Pallets will still go Fastenal, but I will also check other prices.Email me or call. Always glad to help with questions.

Springtime, 2015

Not a lot of pictures this time. The weather has seemed to finally have warmed a bit. Than again, its Wisconsin, so who knows?

The amount of stock that came out this winter is down from past years. I was up by the mill last week and talked with the owner. I always have known figured wood is rare. How rare is a matter from folks to debate. I can only pass on what I am told by the guys who saw it.
He sawed 75,000 board feet of yellow birch last week. I got 60 feet to bring home. Does that tell you anything?

This winter has been one of the best logging winters in several years. The weather was very cold and not a lot of snow, so the loggers could get into lots of areas that had been hard to get to for several years. The mill yard is full and its been a very slow winter to get figured wood. They have been sawing like mad, but there has been little stock that has been pulled. I have gotten about the equivalent of 2 full loads this winter. I normally run 7 to 10 loads.

Now this spring can still be good, but I am just in a holding pattern. I am getting a small load in today.
But I have gotten some really nice stuff this winter. It will be a year or so before the 4/4 and 5/4 stock is ready. 8/4 and thicker takes years. Just can't rush it.

I have gotten some wonderful birdseye, flame and curly. Like I sad, not a lot of pictures this time, but then again, I do have a few. Let me know if I can help with any of your needs.I always have material in all thicknesses. Just got a nice load of 6/4 birdseye and tiger maple out of the kiln. It is pretty.

 rough sawn birdseye, you know its good figure when you see it in the rough.

 Piles of thick birdseye, 8/4 and 12/4.

 A nice crotch piece of cherry, I have a few like this. All 8/4.

Walnut crotches. Really nice book matched sets.

Birdseye maple flooring, it took a year to get the material and have it made, but it turned out beautiful!

Just in tme for the start of winter

 The pictures above are a couple bookmatched sets of walnut slabs. The taller of the two is 7' tall and the the smaller set is a little over 5' tall. Nice crotch figure in both sets. The bottom picture is a crotch piece of mulberry. Its 30" wide and about 54" long. The color is wonderful. It will turn to a reddish brown over time. This one is only about an inch thick. Nice and flat. The edges are wonderful. I do have a thicker one that matches this as well. Email me for more info if you want. I have lots of other slabs as well. A pair of pretty curly cherry ones and lots of tiger maple and walnut ones as well.

This is a shot of "paint grade" tiger maple. It got stained while drying. The figure is really nice and some will clean up  to be white. I cannot say what the stain would do for coloring this. Some has a spalted look to it. The stock is all 5/4 and the figure is really nice. I will list the price in the wood letter. It way under the price of spalted maple and curly [tiger] maple. Its even under the price of plain soft maple.

 The picture above does not do justice to the figure, but its a pile of 12/4, 8/4 and 6/4 birdseye maple. Thick stock takes so long to dry. If you hurry it, it can have all sorts of issues. The 8/4 stock and thicker can take several years to dry right. That is why some looks so gray. It weathers, but cleans up just fine. I even have some 16/4 stock.

This is a cart of pieces left over from a job I did for an aircraft company. Its all 8/4 birdseye. Enough to fill a pallet. There is 1 piece of walnut and I think some tiger on there too. Email me if you want a great deal on this pile. Seeing as 8/4 birdseye sells for 12$ board foot, there is well over a grand worth of material on here.

Next is the pile of 4/4, 6/4 and 8/4 flame birch. Its just stunning stuff. If you follow Charles Neil, you have seen his use of some of this material. I have made several pieces over the years from it. I plan yo use it for my kitchen cabinets when I get time to make them.

This was a tavern table I made from some of it a few years back.

The flame figure is just plain stunning.
Please email me for any information you are looking for. I ship all over the country.

I wish each of you a blessed Christmas season and a great new year.