Solid flooring into blanks?

[Aces-High]

I am just getting into turning and am always on the lookout for blanks on the cheap. I went to a construction recycling place here in Boulder called "Re-source" just on a whim to see if they had any 3/4 solid wood flooring to cut into blanks. They had tons! I got splayed maple, cherry, acacia, golden oak, bamboo and a few others that I'm not sure of the wood. Has anyone else done this?

 

[dcrichlow]

Yes, I do it a lot, be wary of the direction of the grain on the wood once cut into blanks. pay attention to it...they turn out great, but some are very difficult to turn.

 

[keithbyrd]

Absolutely - great source of some great woods! I have a friend who owns a flooring company and get some from him frequently - from some very unique sources - U of M, MSU, NCCU, Hillsdale, Henry Ford Library and a few others!

 

[eharri446]

I started out using 3/4 inch hardwood flooring from sample boards which my wife had obtained from a flooring store that was going out of business. I used my table saw to rip them square and then used my mitre saw to cut them to length.

I had Brazilian Cherry, Bolivian Rosewood, Canary Wood, Hickory, Acacia wood, Santos Mahogany, Cumaru (Brazilian Teak), and many others.

I also got samples from Lumber Liquidators, Floor and Decor, and a couple of other flooring suppliers as well.

So all told, I probably have a couple of hundred blanks just from hardwood flooring samples.

Another source of material is to buy exotic hardwoods when they are on sale and rip them into blanks as well. I have been able to get Tulipwood, Kingwood, Paduak, Purpleheart, and Bubinga blanks that way.

Also, check with https://www.diamondtropicalhardwoods.com/

You can buy 100 pen blanks for $25.00 and up.

 

[tomtedesco]

Great way to get blanks. Also some flooring stores have samples they give to customers to take home. As flooring styles change they discard these samples.