Where to Store the Wood - The Brandegee Blog

Ramblings on Crafting Useable Art (and other things that I find interesting)

Where to Store the Wood
Posted on April 9, 2013

I’m a little worried about my storage for the antique building materials I use in my furniture designs. The log cabin property that we’ve loved since the mid 90's is now on the market. Over the years I’ve filled a 40-square-foot pole barn upstream from our cabin with loads of log cabin logs, beams, and joists, and barn boards, and moving it all will be a bear.

The biggest challenge is three planks of African sapele wood. Each of those is 12 feet long, over four feet wide, and 3 inches thick, and each weighs over 1,000 pounds. Three boards = a ton and a half.

I have potential space in some warehouses in Cumberland, Maryland, where Donald Dicken, my primary cabinetmaker lives. Donald is a gem who has the combination of cabinet making skills and patience to work with materials that are anything but standard. Every piece has its own unique challenges.

The rent is reasonable but I’m not crazy about driving there from home in Pittsburgh to work with him to pick the right materials for each new commission. I may have to split the materials between Cumberland and someplace closer to home. Or maybe just stop fussing until there’s a live prospect for the property.

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