Episodios

  • LU158 Ponderosa

    LU158 Ponderosa
    Oct 30 2025
    Today I feature the mighty Ponderosa Pine. I was marveling at these trees on a recent trip out west and knew I had to feature the species. A mainstay of the construction lumber industry often labelled as PP/LP on lumber racks. But also a species with a different life in the form of clear boards in moulding, interior flooring, paneling, etc. The species is fire propagating and is a perfect example of how healthy forest management needs a little fire from time to time. The Beetle Kill Pine is the result of weak forests without natures cleaning mechanism. Ponderosa is a yellow pine but a pale version of yellow pine both in appearance but in workability with softer and less difference between early and late growth. It makes for a more uniform working experience with planing, sawing or cutting joinery. Also in this episode I answer questions about: - Kiln Drying schedules to reduce trial and error when drying lumber - How pulp wood forests no longer destined to a paper mill could be turned into saw timber forests. - Typical construction lumber species in the 1920s in the NE United States
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    55 m
  • 157 - Roots of Terror

    157 - Roots of Terror
    Oct 16 2025
    Happy Halloween! Let's explore some lumber and tree lore from around the world and some spooky tales that may make you think twice before you cut down that tree or plane that board for your next project.
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    22 m
  • 156 - Catalpa

    156 - Catalpa
    Oct 8 2025
    The featured lumber species today is Catalpa. A very oak like tree but with a really soft workability. High quality, clear lumber that is easy to work and comes in decent widths and lengths. Why doesn't this wood more popular? Also on the show, Tree of Heaven as lumber and the engineered wood products world of PSL, LSL, and LVL.
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    58 m
  • 155 Composite Lumber

    155 Composite Lumber
    Sep 18 2025
    Today I fight my strong wood bias and take time to talk about composite lumber. All the various plastic boards you will find on the market from wood flour and plastic slurry to polyethylene capped boards and fully plastic HDPE or PVC. What you should know about the differences and how you can actually work with this stuff.
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    49 m
  • 154 - Buckeye

    154 - Buckeye
    Aug 27 2025
    My featured species this episode is Buckeye. Its a non commercial species but not terribly hard to find and has some unique color and high propensity to form burls. But the real meat of this show is a look at how a forest regenerates after a disturbance like a fire or logging. The successional forest model helps us understand how forestry managers can foster a healthy forest through logging. But then we look at how bugs and blights can disrupt the succession model even further.
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    49 m
  • 153 Hard to Source Woods

    153 Hard to Source Woods
    Aug 21 2025
    How do you find unusual and typically non commercial wood species? In this episode I give some tips to help the listener build a network of wood sources.
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    39 m
  • 152 Monkeypod

    152 Monkeypod
    Jul 28 2025
    Monkeypod is a great timber coming out of Costa Rica that is almost entirely FSC. It is often sold as wider slabs due to the lighter weight and the way it is sawn in the jungle. A great alternative to many of the tropical species out there like Koa and Blackwood or even some of the fancy Rosewoods.
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    40 m
  • 151 - Plantation vs Natural Forests

    151 - Plantation vs Natural Forests
    Jul 16 2025
    Let's define plantations and natural forests and talk about what we can expects from the lumber coming from plantations. Also how plantations can evolve into natural forests. Ultimately why do we need plantations and why do we need natural forests. Also answer some questions about air drying and dealing with bugs as well as drying large timbers.
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    1 h y 13 m