Hello,
I am wanting to turn a set of chunky table legs for a farm table I am building. I have seen lots of table legs on the internet for sale that are about 5" square at the top. I can’t for the life of me find a 6"x6"x8’(or10’) piece of wood to cut up for legs. I’ve checked the special orders for normal hardwood stores and when I called Woodcraft he told me it would be very hard to find. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to get wood that size or how to improvise?
Thank you!
sounds like you’ll have to do a glue up. And unless it is a 10’ long leg, you’ll be better off doing the glue ups in 2 1/2’ lengths.
Lowes or Home Deopt should have 6x6 rough cut cedar posts.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-x-6-in-x-12-ft-Rough-Green-Western-Red-Cedar-Timber-563015/202094239
which means they are probably 5-3/4".
Modern trees will rarely produce lumber of that dimension, hence why you are having difficulty locating pieces that size. If you want that size, I suggest visiting places like the Habitat Restore (possible but not likely) or even better search for stores that specialize in reclaimed products from old homes. Not sure about availability locally, but out east these places routinely sell beams from old barns and such that are as large or larger then what you want.
The other possibility is to contact timer framers and see if they are willing to part with a beam.
Architectural Salvage would be a good place to check.
Look for a place that cells Cedar posts. Cedar Supply in Dallas can probably tell you where to go. I know there are places out near Weatherford that sell cedar posts.
Thank you all so much! That is all super helpful! So much to learn…