Shannon's Lumber Industry Update

Its not actually a Cedar but who cares. Western Redcedar is an amazing exterior wood used in everything form boats to guitars, decks, shingles, siding and pergolas. Its known as the tree of life among the native peoples of the PNW. This tree produces some amazingly clear vertical grain boards and as you might expect, has gotten pretty darn expensive these days.

Spalting is essential fungal rot in wood. But it is pretty and therefore people seek it out and even go so far as to "grow" their own. In this episode I discuss the 3 types of spalting found in wood and even discuss the fungi responsible for it.

In this episode I feature Pacific Madrone. An interesting pinkish-orange hardwood with the same hardnesss of Hard Maple but a lot more character. I also talk about drying Holly and the gunk build up from Olive and many oily woods.

Decorative arts trends are often tied to a particular species of wood. In this episode I discuss how and why certain species become intertwined in a design style. I also answer a question about the dramatic price differences between similar plywood products.

Today I feature Black Locust and talk about how it was/is used for tree nails, how it resists rot for a hundred years in ground contact and how it invades and colonizes the soil around it for total world domination. Its a tough and imperialistic tree, what is not to love?