Hey everyone! I've been into woodworking for about a year now, starting from an Ana-White bookshelf project and moving on to Red Oak. I've used up about 200BF of that wood, and now I want to stock up for future projects instead of hunting down supplies each time. In my area, good wood is hard to find—mostly just wholesale or scraps. I've found a supplier offering 4/4 Rustic Ash at $2 per BF, with a minimum of 300 BF available, and I'm thinking of getting around 600 BF to keep on hand. Ash reminds me of White Oak but at a much more affordable price. I've tested a piece and really liked the finish. However, I'm curious if anyone has experiences—good or bad—with buying Ash in bulk or opinions on using it in general. I plan to store it in my garage, where the humidity is around 45-50%, but I do have a dehumidifier running 24/7. Any advice?
3 Answers
If you can, try to get 5/4 boards instead; it gives you more flexibility with thicknesses. A bandsaw would also let you resaw boards, which is super handy. If you’re going with 1/2" thickness, resawing could get you two usable boards. Just something to think about before dropping a lot on wood!
I’m not a pro, just a hobbyist, but I find Ash pretty great to work with. It doesn’t have that yellowish tint of White Oak, which is a plus for me. Just remember, it's still prone to warping if it's not stacked properly in humidity control, but not as bad as Walnut, in my experience!
I really like working with Ash; it's such a beautiful wood! I actually prefer it to Red Oak. Just keep in mind that it’s not super durable naturally. You’ll want to monitor your ventilation closely and occasionally flip your wood stack to avoid sticker-stains or spalting. It can be a little finicky that way!
The seller bands the pallets for shipping after kiln drying, so they won’t be stick-stacked. But I'm worried about warping since it'll be sitting in variable humidity. It’s only 4/4, and I don’t want to have to mill it down to 1/2" or 5/8" if it warps too much.
I have a small benchtop bandsaw that can only handle 3.5 inches, so it’s not the best for that. I’ve been considering upgrading to a bigger one, especially after your suggestion. Thanks for the tip!