Shannon's Lumber Industry Update
128 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 322 ratingsAn 8/4, Kiln dried podcast all about lumber and your questions about it. Let's dispel some myths and broaden an understanding of this ancient industry and help us all become a little more wood savvy...woodier??
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Episodes
126 Hemlock
May 29, 2024 13:29 - 49 minutes - 89.9 MBToday 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.
125 Monocots
May 22, 2024 11:32 - 58 minutes - 108 MBToday 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.
124 Wood Structure from a Rocket Scientist
May 02, 2024 11:07 - 1 hour - 110 MBThis 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".
123 - Wood Cell Structure & Sapele
April 17, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 144 MBA 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 Maho...
122 The News Show
April 03, 2024 11:13 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBLots 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.
121 - American Hornbeam
March 20, 2024 11:41 - 39 minutes - 54.2 MBToday 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.
120 - Wood Legacy
March 06, 2024 12:17 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBLet'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.
119 Iroko
February 21, 2024 12:57 - 44 minutes - 60.5 MBIroko or African Teak is the featured species this month. Found all across tropical Africa, the Iroko tree is enormous producing wide and long boards. It is growing in popularity as an alternative to Teak due to its similar color. But Iroko is a great species all on its own for exterior and interior projects.
118 - Wood Strength??
February 07, 2024 12:51 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MBWood strength is a loaded statement. There are so many factors in HOW we use a board that determine which properties we look to for strength. This quickly gets complex so today I will boil it down to a density number and dispel the myth that rate of growth (width of rings) has anything to do with the density.
117 - Yellow Birch
January 24, 2024 12:29 - 47 minutes - 65.2 MBThe featured species this month is Yellow Birch, Betula alleghensis. Its the most common Birch species and used for a wide variety of applications from plywood, to furniture and pulp products.
116 Pine is Fine
January 03, 2024 20:50 - 1 hour - 108 MBLet's take a deep dive into the Pinus genus and for that matter the Pinus sub-genera and try to understand how Pines can appear and work so differently. I discuss the evolution of the genus and how the industry has grown around these hugely varied properties and geographic distributions. Big thanks to all the great questions I got for this show from all of you.
115 Wenge
December 20, 2023 12:51 - 1 hour - 90.1 MBAfrican Wenge is an odd species and I use it to illustrate the exceptions to the rules about technical properties. Its a popular species due to its dark color and its use as an alternative to Ebony. Also covered in this episode: faux figure, burnishing, and property changes due to growing conditions.
114 - Yakisugi, Log Buying, Bugs & Pine
December 06, 2023 12:30 - 47 minutes - 64.9 MBTrying to catch up on my email inbox in this episode and talking about Pine, log buying, bugs eating old wood, plywood movement, and Yakisugi (shou sugi bahn).
113 The Elm Episode
November 22, 2023 12:35 - 48 minutes - 66.3 MBThe featured species this month is American Elm (Ulmus americana) but I discuss the different types of Elm as lumber and where they can be found. Plus some questions about cultivars, Spruce, and ripping for quartersawn stock.
112 Completely Arbortrary
November 08, 2023 13:42 - 1 hour - 110 MBI welcome Alex and Casey from the Completely Arbortrary podcast on this episode and talk trees and Jack Pines and have fun with a little Treevia! Check out arbortarypod.com and subscribe to their show to learn more than you ever wanted to know about trees.
111 - Cypress
October 25, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 72.1 MBThe featured species this month is Cypress and I wax philosophical about why I like it so much and cover the technical details. Also in this episode: the White Oak shortage, Processing logs by hand, Amaranth?, and table top splitting due to movement.
110 RIP Board Foot
October 11, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBToday I talk about why the board foot unit of measure needs to be put to rest and how ordering by grade and board foot will only lead to disappointment. In short, how to buy lumber to get what you actually want.
109 - Applied Wood Technical Properties
September 27, 2023 11:38 - 1 hour - 111 MBThis is kind of a review of episode 5 but ideally a bit more applied look at what all those number mean when it comes to actually working with wood. In this episode I look at what I find are the most important numbers to consider and the tests that give us these numbers.
108 - Koa, Honey Locust, Cherry Veneer
September 13, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MBIn this episode I feature Koa and talk a bit about Honey Locust, Cherry veneer colors, and then the historical price of Cherry vs Pine.
107 - Burl & Grain
August 30, 2023 11:59 - 1 hour - 118 MBIn this episode I welcome Matt Farrell from Burl and Grain in Hillsboro, OR. They are a sawmill and lumber yard like many of my previous guests. But Matt has extensive experience in drying lumber and has been a consultant to many firms to improve drying operations. So we talk quite a bit about preparing your space for drying and how important the air drying step is if you want to then kiln dry.
106 - Featured Species Black Walnut
August 16, 2023 11:29 - 49 minutes - 68.2 MBQuestions covered in this show: why is Walnut so thirsty? Sticker Stain? Air dried vs Kiln dried for violin bow making. I cover the featured species: American Black Walnut, my favorite species to work. Finally I spend some time talking about a few stories about gene editing.
105 - The Wood Yard
August 02, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 60.9 MBMy guest this week is a retail lumber yard in Concord, GA called The Wood Yard. These guys are woodworkers themselves and totally get top notch customer service. I had a great conversation about their business and how they are embracing urban logging as well as good old fashioned community outreach. www.thewoodyard.com
104 - Euro Beech and Kiln Drying 101
July 19, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 91 MBThe featured species of the month is European Beech. I discuss all the things and tell stories about this lumber. I talk spalting your own lumber and borax bug treatments. Then a dive into kiln drying lumber and explain the irony that to dry lumber you need moisture.
103 - Emerald Ash Borer
July 06, 2023 11:29 - 54 minutes - 74.9 MBThe Emerald Ash Borer or EAB is devastating the Ash forests all across North America. I have Dr. Jeremy Slone of Bartlett Tree Experts as a guest to talk about this pest and what is happening to the Ash trees.
102 - Board Foot Estimation, Lumber Margins
June 21, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 94.1 MBThis episode of the podcast discusses board foot rulers, lumber margins, and plantation management. Ultimately who gets to buy what lumber is based heavily on the demand and where you buy the material in the supply chain.
101 - Harvest Lumber Co
June 07, 2023 11:20 - 1 hour - 122 MBToday I talk to Kris Burns from Harvest Lumber Co in Austin, TX. Harvest Lumber is getting logs from the city of Austin. They maintain a retail showroom and have a log pickup and sawing service. https://www.harvestlumberco.com/ or @harvestlumberco on Instagram I also feature this month's species: Paulownia, Kiri, or the Royal Princess Tree (depending on how fancy you feel)
100 The Journey of a Board
May 24, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 91.4 MBFor my 100th episode it seemed fitting to discuss the long and muddy road of a board. From a tree in a forest somewhere in the world to a rough logging road to sawmill to truck to maybe even a ship at sea. The number of hands that touch the board you hold in your hand may startle you. The sheer volume of time and labor sunk into a single board by the time you buy it makes you wonder why anyone would choose to sell lumber! I guess you just gotta love wood.
99 - Wood in Aviation
May 10, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 111 MBThis time I discuss the featured species of the month: Black Cherry and then dive into the deep topic of wood in the aviation industry. My guest Alex LaFavre is a pilot and works in the aviation industry and he shares all the fun bits about how wood has been used in airplanes through the nearly 125 years since the Wright Brothers took flight on a mostly Spruce airplane. Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/lumberupdate. At the Walnut tier you will receive a collectible sticker about...
LU98 GoodWoodsLumber
April 26, 2023 15:01 - 1 hour - 96.1 MBIn this episode I welcome Josh Wertz from Good Woods Lumber LLC on the show to talk about his sawmill operation. We spend a good amount of time talking about his vacuum kilns and get into details on the perceived stability gained from a low heat drying process.
97 - Oregon Myrtle
April 17, 2023 11:24 - 29 minutes - 40.2 MBToday I'm talking about drying vertically, making a fender, and highlighting Oregon Myrtle as my species of the episode.
96 - Spruce is the Wright Species
April 03, 2023 12:19 - 57 minutes - 78.8 MBLet me apologize in advance for the title pun. In this episode I discuss my trip to Kitty Hawk and the Wright Bros memorial. Of course I find a way to make it about the lumber chosen to build an airplane. Then there is a lot more kiln drying talk and more talk of bugs like the EAB.
95 - Really Really Old Wood
March 17, 2023 17:09 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBToday we talk about Cypress for window construction and other alternatives like modified wood or stave core construction. Then we talk about really old wood and how it holds up after 1000 years like the oldest door in the UK at Westminster Abbey. Then how about deep frying your wood to preserve it?
94 - EAB Good News, Log Scaling, and Exotic Dust
March 01, 2023 12:21 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBToday I share some feedback from listeners and discuss some Russian plywood, EAB, Exotic wood dust, drying for bugs, and the role of the log scaler.
93 - Can An Oak Set Legal Precedent?
February 17, 2023 13:00 - 56 minutes - 77.3 MBIn this episode we talk about a famous Oak tree setting a legal precedent, possibly the largest tree ever, killing bugs in the wood, jointers at the lumber yard, and finally, roasted Poplar. What is it and what is the deal with thermally modified wood.
92 - Lumber Dries Faster than You Think
January 19, 2023 12:05 - 56 minutes - 78 MBI dive into my inbox and answer some questions on this episode. Including several questions about drying lumber, Wenge, and rift & quarter sawing.
91 - Mobile Sawing with Sedmak Custom Contracting
January 05, 2023 14:04 - 1 hour - 104 MBToday Jacob Sedmak joins me to talk about the business of mobile sawing. Both from the homeowner and sawyer's perspectives. There are some great tips for working with a sawyer and how to be prepared for the sawing day in this episode. Check him out at https://www.sccwoodworks.com/
90 - North Pole Lumber Sourcing
December 21, 2022 20:04 - 45 minutes - 61.8 MBHave you ever considered the volume of lumber that Santa's Workshop must go through in a given year? What kinds of woods do they source and why. Moreover how would they source all that wood sustainably and yet still maintain secrecy? This is something only a lumber nerd thinks about really...and luck you, I have thought about it. A lot.
89 - CITES CoP19
December 07, 2022 12:31 - 1 hour - 84.6 MBA general look at how CITES operates and the lumber results of the CoP19 with a focus on proposals 44, 48-51 relating to Pernambuco, Ipe, Cumaru, Padauk and Khaya.
88 - Reclaimed Lumber
November 23, 2022 12:36 - 1 hour - 99.1 MBToday I have two guest who are experts in the reclaimed woods market. Alan Solomon of SawKill Lumber in Brooklyn, NY and Klaas Armster of Armster Reclaimed Lumber Co. This was a treat to not only talk about the types of woods but how this market is completely different from the one I work in daily. Learn to build a lumber shopping list, visit www.lumberupdate.com/buying-lumber
87 - CITES Convention is Nigh
November 09, 2022 12:42 - 39 minutes - 54.1 MBNext week the CITES convention opens and I discuss the wood species that have been nominated for Appendix II and I status. I talk about why 2x lumber isn't actual 2x, and then dip into sourcing reclaimed lumber ahead of my dedicated show on the topic.
86 - Opportunity Logging Tools
October 26, 2022 11:20 - 52 minutes - 72.6 MBWhat tools do you keep in the car for those opportunistic roadside stops to grab a fallen tree or some choice turning blanks? How about choosing a wood species for making wooden hand planes? Both of these topics and several other detours discussed in this episode.
85 - Garrett and the Great Big Oak
October 12, 2022 12:34 - 1 hour - 102 MBToday in our story time circle we talk with Garrett and his adventures with the great big Oak tree that fell outside a local historical home. How he tamed the beast and will be working with Oak lumber for many many years to come. Big thanks to Garrett Roberson of HMR Woodcraft for joining me on the show to show how urban lumber can be harnessed for even a guy without a saw mill.
84 - Don't Be a Sap, Use that Sapwood
October 06, 2022 11:37 - 41 minutes - 56.8 MBIn this episode I talk about sourcing historic woods, rubberwood, Ukrainian woods, and why Walnut and other species have so much sapwood. Plus we learn that younger trees may not sequester as much carbon as we thought.
83 - Buying Lumber from a Dude in the Woods
September 15, 2022 12:04 - 51 minutes - 70 MBThis time I answer listener questions like: -What to look for when buying lumber from places like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. -Wood movement based on density -Expanding your sawmill to buying lumber -CITES passports on the stuff you make
82 UVA Sawmilling
August 31, 2022 11:54 - 1 hour - 117 MBUVA Sawmilling is the product of 2 architecture graduates who wanted to put the trees to use that had been felled on campus. Today they are a cross disciplinary "department" that is sawing logs and making the wood available for student projects and for the University to use in its own construction projects. Essentially turning the UVA campus into a forest concession and supplier of raw materials for its own development. Learn more at https://www.uvasawmilling.com/.
81 Soil chemistry
August 18, 2022 11:33 - 54 minutes - 75 MBSoil chemistry plays a major role in the appearance and working characteristics of the lumber we use. In this episode I look at several examples where geology and weather and even mankind have altered a tree species. It is a fascinating subject and I tap into my long unused geology schooling...and probably mess most of it up.
80 - David Barman wrote the Book on Urban Lumber
August 03, 2022 11:28 - 1 hour - 130 MBI have guest David Barman with me to discuss the urban logging movement. David successfully funded his book "Trees from the City" on Kickstarter and is in the throes of getting it finished up and on shelves. We discuss how urban lumber isn't all just slabs and the direction the urban logging industry is heading.
80 - David Barmon wrote the Book on Urban Lumber
August 03, 2022 11:28 - 1 hour - 130 MBI have guest David Barmon with me to discuss the urban logging movement. David successfully funded his book "Trees from the City" on Kickstarter and is in the throes of getting it finished up and on shelves. We discuss how urban lumber isn't all just slabs and the direction the urban logging industry is heading.
79 - So You Want to Start a Lumberyard
July 20, 2022 11:20 - 36 minutes - 49.8 MBAre you considering starting your own lumber business? Or maybe you just wondered about how they work as a business model. This is a big topic but on this episode I take a shallow dive into some of the things to consider when you start selling your lumber to others.
78 - A Replacement for Western Red Cedar?
June 23, 2022 16:43 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBI'm cleaning out some of my inbox this time and answering a question about the difference between green and air dried timbers. Talking about the checking inherent in larger timbers, and planting your own grove of trees. Plus I delve into the possible replacements for Western Red Cedar.