Shannon's Lumber Industry Update

By Shannon Rogers

What's Shannon's Lumber Industry Update about?

An 8/4, Kiln dried podcast all about lumber and your questions about it. Let's dispel some myths and broaden an understanding of this ancient industry and help us all become a little more wood savvy...woodier??

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Shannon's Lumber Industry Update episodes:

04.17.2024
123 - Wood Cell Structure & Sapele
A word of warning on this episode. New levels of nerdery on display here. If I had a white lab coat I would have worn it while recording. To sum up, woods with a higher T/R ratio...
04.03.2024
122 The News Show
Lots of breaking news in the Lumber world and it was time I dust off my teleprompter and read everything that is on it. News from Notre Dame, the Paris Aquatic Center, Carbon Fiber and Mass Timber, Key Bridge...
03.20.2024
121 - American Hornbeam
Today we talk about American Hornbeam, why some trees are brittle, fast growing trees for lumber, IBAMA strike and the CITES impact, and a possible source for urban lumber.
03.06.2024
120 - Wood Legacy
Let's talk about grassroots sustainability and how giving back as users of wood can start with education and grow into all kinds of programs for and individual or your local woodworking guild or even sawmill business.
02.21.2024
119 Iroko
Iroko or African Teak is the featured species this month. Found all across tropical Africa, the Iroko tree is enormous producing wide and long boards. It is growing in popularity as an alternative to Teak due to its...
02.07.2024
118 - Wood Strength??
Wood strength is a loaded statement. There are so many factors in HOW we use a board that determine which properties we look to for strength. This quickly gets complex so today I will boil it down to...
01.24.2024
117 - Yellow Birch
The featured species this month is Yellow Birch, Betula alleghensis. Its the most common Birch species and used for a wide variety of applications from plywood, to furniture and pulp products.
01.03.2024
116 Pine is Fine
Let's take a deep dive into the Pinus genus and for that matter the Pinus sub-genera and try to understand how Pines can appear and work so differently. I discuss the evolution of the genus and how the industry...
12.20.2023
115 Wenge
African Wenge is an odd species and I use it to illustrate the exceptions to the rules about technical properties. Its a popular species due to its dark color and its use as an alternative to Ebony. Also...
12.06.2023
114 - Yakisugi, Log Buying, Bugs & Pine
Trying to catch up on my email inbox in this episode and talking about Pine, log buying, bugs eating old wood, plywood movement, and Yakisugi (shou sugi bahn).
11.22.2023
113 The Elm Episode
The featured species this month is American Elm (Ulmus americana) but I discuss the different types of Elm as lumber and where they can be found. Plus some questions about cultivars, Spruce, and ripping for quartersawn stock.
11.08.2023
112 Completely Arbortrary
I welcome Alex and Casey from the Completely Arbortrary podcast on this episode and talk trees and Jack Pines and have fun with a little Treevia! Check out arbortarypod.com and subscribe to their show to learn more than you...
10.25.2023
111 - Cypress
The featured species this month is Cypress and I wax philosophical about why I like it so much and cover the technical details. Also in this episode: the White Oak shortage, Processing logs by hand, Amaranth?, and table top...
10.11.2023
110 RIP Board Foot
Today I talk about why the board foot unit of measure needs to be put to rest and how ordering by grade and board foot will only lead to disappointment. In short, how to buy lumber to get what...
09.27.2023
109 - Applied Wood Technical Properties
This is kind of a review of episode 5 but ideally a bit more applied look at what all those number mean when it comes to actually working with wood. In this episode I look at what I find...
09.13.2023
108 - Koa, Honey Locust, Cherry Veneer
In this episode I feature Koa and talk a bit about Honey Locust, Cherry veneer colors, and then the historical price of Cherry vs Pine.
08.30.2023
107 - Burl & Grain
In this episode I welcome Matt Farrell from Burl and Grain in Hillsboro, OR. They are a sawmill and lumber yard like many of my previous guests. But Matt has extensive experience in drying lumber and has been...
08.16.2023
106 - Featured Species Black Walnut
Questions covered in this show: why is Walnut so thirsty? Sticker Stain? Air dried vs Kiln dried for violin bow making. I cover the featured species: American Black Walnut, my favorite species to work. Finally I...
08.02.2023
105 - The Wood Yard
My guest this week is a retail lumber yard in Concord, GA called The Wood Yard. These guys are woodworkers themselves and totally get top notch customer service. I had a great conversation about their business and how...
07.19.2023
104 - Euro Beech and Kiln Drying 101
The featured species of the month is European Beech. I discuss all the things and tell stories about this lumber. I talk spalting your own lumber and borax bug treatments. Then a dive into kiln drying lumber...
07.06.2023
103 - Emerald Ash Borer
The Emerald Ash Borer or EAB is devastating the Ash forests all across North America. I have Dr. Jeremy Slone of Bartlett Tree Experts as a guest to talk about this pest and what is happening to the Ash...
06.21.2023
102 - Board Foot Estimation, Lumber Margins
This episode of the podcast discusses board foot rulers, lumber margins, and plantation management. Ultimately who gets to buy what lumber is based heavily on the demand and where you buy the material in the supply chain.
06.07.2023
101 - Harvest Lumber Co
Today I talk to Kris Burns from Harvest Lumber Co in Austin, TX. Harvest Lumber is getting logs from the city of Austin. They maintain a retail showroom and have a log pickup and sawing service. https://www.harvestlumberco.com/...
05.24.2023
100 The Journey of a Board
For my 100th episode it seemed fitting to discuss the long and muddy road of a board. From a tree in a forest somewhere in the world to a rough logging road to sawmill to truck to maybe even...
05.10.2023
99 - Wood in Aviation
This time I discuss the featured species of the month: Black Cherry and then dive into the deep topic of wood in the aviation industry. My guest Alex LaFavre is a pilot and works in the aviation industry and...
04.26.2023
LU98 GoodWoodsLumber
In this episode I welcome Josh Wertz from Good Woods Lumber LLC on the show to talk about his sawmill operation. We spend a good amount of time talking about his vacuum kilns and get into details on the...
04.17.2023
97 - Oregon Myrtle
Today I'm talking about drying vertically, making a fender, and highlighting Oregon Myrtle as my species of the episode.
04.03.2023
96 - Spruce is the Wright Species
Let me apologize in advance for the title pun. In this episode I discuss my trip to Kitty Hawk and the Wright Bros memorial. Of course I find a way to make it about the lumber chosen to...
03.17.2023
95 - Really Really Old Wood
Today we talk about Cypress for window construction and other alternatives like modified wood or stave core construction. Then we talk about really old wood and how it holds up after 1000 years like the oldest door in the...
03.01.2023
94 - EAB Good News, Log Scaling, and Exotic Dust
Today I share some feedback from listeners and discuss some Russian plywood, EAB, Exotic wood dust, drying for bugs, and the role of the log scaler.
02.17.2023
93 - Can An Oak Set Legal Precedent?
In this episode we talk about a famous Oak tree setting a legal precedent, possibly the largest tree ever, killing bugs in the wood, jointers at the lumber yard, and finally, roasted Poplar. What is it and what is...
01.19.2023
92 - Lumber Dries Faster than You Think
I dive into my inbox and answer some questions on this episode. Including several questions about drying lumber, Wenge, and rift & quarter sawing.
01.05.2023
91 - Mobile Sawing with Sedmak Custom Contracting
Today Jacob Sedmak joins me to talk about the business of mobile sawing. Both from the homeowner and sawyer's perspectives. There are some great tips for working with a sawyer and how to be prepared for the sawing...
12.21.2022
90 - North Pole Lumber Sourcing
Have you ever considered the volume of lumber that Santa's Workshop must go through in a given year? What kinds of woods do they source and why. Moreover how would they source all that wood sustainably and yet...
12.07.2022
89 - CITES CoP19
A general look at how CITES operates and the lumber results of the CoP19 with a focus on proposals 44, 48-51 relating to Pernambuco, Ipe, Cumaru, Padauk and Khaya.
11.23.2022
88 - Reclaimed Lumber
Today I have two guest who are experts in the reclaimed woods market. Alan Solomon of SawKill Lumber in Brooklyn, NY and Klaas Armster of Armster Reclaimed Lumber Co. This was a treat to not only talk about...
11.09.2022
87 - CITES Convention is Nigh
Next week the CITES convention opens and I discuss the wood species that have been nominated for Appendix II and I status. I talk about why 2x lumber isn't actual 2x, and then dip into sourcing reclaimed lumber ahead...
10.26.2022
86 - Opportunity Logging Tools
What tools do you keep in the car for those opportunistic roadside stops to grab a fallen tree or some choice turning blanks? How about choosing a wood species for making wooden hand planes? Both of these topics...
10.12.2022
85 - Garrett and the Great Big Oak
Today in our story time circle we talk with Garrett and his adventures with the great big Oak tree that fell outside a local historical home. How he tamed the beast and will be working with Oak lumber for...
10.06.2022
84 - Don't Be a Sap, Use that Sapwood
In this episode I talk about sourcing historic woods, rubberwood, Ukrainian woods, and why Walnut and other species have so much sapwood. Plus we learn that younger trees may not sequester as much carbon as we thought.
09.15.2022
83 - Buying Lumber from a Dude in the Woods
This time I answer listener questions like: -What to look for when buying lumber from places like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. -Wood movement based on density -Expanding your sawmill to buying lumber -CITES passports on the stuff you make
08.31.2022
82 UVA Sawmilling
UVA Sawmilling is the product of 2 architecture graduates who wanted to put the trees to use that had been felled on campus. Today they are a cross disciplinary "department" that is sawing logs and making the wood available...
08.18.2022
81 Soil chemistry
Soil chemistry plays a major role in the appearance and working characteristics of the lumber we use. In this episode I look at several examples where geology and weather and even mankind have altered a tree species. It...
08.03.2022
80 - David Barmon wrote the Book on Urban Lumber
I have guest David Barmon with me to discuss the urban logging movement. David successfully funded his book "Trees from the City" on Kickstarter and is in the throes of getting it finished up and on shelves. We...
07.20.2022
79 - So You Want to Start a Lumberyard
Are you considering starting your own lumber business? Or maybe you just wondered about how they work as a business model. This is a big topic but on this episode I take a shallow dive into some of...
06.23.2022
78 - A Replacement for Western Red Cedar?
I'm cleaning out some of my inbox this time and answering a question about the difference between green and air dried timbers. Talking about the checking inherent in larger timbers, and planting your own grove of trees. Plus I...
06.08.2022
77 - Poplar is so Popular
Let's talk about Poplar...or Tulip Poplar...or Eastern Cottonwood...or White Poplar or Yellow Poplar or Quaking Aspen or (gasp) Tulipwood. No they are not all the same tree. Or are they? Today I talk about the Populus genus...
05.26.2022
76 - Wood Identificaton
Let's talk about wood identification and the process I go through. In this episode I give you a few resources to use but mostly a hierarchy of things to follow to get you very close to a positive ID...
05.12.2022
LU 75 Finding Lumber at Auction with Tommaso Valeriano
This week I have Tommaso Valeriano join me to talk about the ways in which he has acquired nearly 30,000 board feet of lumber without ever visiting a lumber yard. Mostly his success has come through auctions and he...
04.27.2022
74 - CD's Trees
I talk with Caleb Darnell of CD's Trees. They are a tree removal service out of Hot Springs, AR that has gotten into sawing and drying lumber and even custom woodworking projects using the trees they fell for customers.

What's Shannon's Lumber Industry Update about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Shannon's Lumber Industry Update episodes:

123 - Wood Cell Structure & Sapele

122 The News Show

121 - American Hornbeam

120 - Wood Legacy

119 Iroko

118 - Wood Strength??

117 - Yellow Birch

116 Pine is Fine

115 Wenge

114 - Yakisugi, Log Buying, Bugs & Pine

113 The Elm Episode

112 Completely Arbortrary

111 - Cypress

110 RIP Board Foot

109 - Applied Wood Technical Properties

108 - Koa, Honey Locust, Cherry Veneer

107 - Burl & Grain

106 - Featured Species Black Walnut

105 - The Wood Yard

104 - Euro Beech and Kiln Drying 101

103 - Emerald Ash Borer

102 - Board Foot Estimation, Lumber Margins

101 - Harvest Lumber Co

100 The Journey of a Board

99 - Wood in Aviation

LU98 GoodWoodsLumber

97 - Oregon Myrtle

96 - Spruce is the Wright Species

95 - Really Really Old Wood

94 - EAB Good News, Log Scaling, and Exotic Dust

93 - Can An Oak Set Legal Precedent?

92 - Lumber Dries Faster than You Think

91 - Mobile Sawing with Sedmak Custom Contracting

90 - North Pole Lumber Sourcing

89 - CITES CoP19

88 - Reclaimed Lumber

87 - CITES Convention is Nigh

86 - Opportunity Logging Tools

85 - Garrett and the Great Big Oak

84 - Don't Be a Sap, Use that Sapwood

83 - Buying Lumber from a Dude in the Woods

82 UVA Sawmilling

81 Soil chemistry

80 - David Barmon wrote the Book on Urban Lumber

79 - So You Want to Start a Lumberyard

78 - A Replacement for Western Red Cedar?

77 - Poplar is so Popular

76 - Wood Identificaton

LU 75 Finding Lumber at Auction with Tommaso Valeriano

74 - CD's Trees