Newbie Intro

Hurricane Kurt · #1 10/29/04, 07:19 AM

Hello from WV

I have been reading the board for a couple of months now and really enjoy checking it everyday to learn something new. After lurking for awhile I recon I'm ready to start contributing a little here and there

I live in a small bedroom community between Huntington and Charleston with my g/f and 10 yr old daughter. I design and build furniture and crafty type stuff from salvaged lumber, mostly barnwood, for a living. My g/f werks for Home Depot.

We plan on putting our house on the market in the spring and moving to the Roanoke Va area. Not sure yet if we will buy a home or build one (I'm leaning towards building a small passive solar place) it just depends on what we find in our range. We both can't wait to have enough land to have some farm animals and privacy.

Anyways... this is a great site and I'm glad I found it.

Kurt

quietstar · #2 10/29/04, 08:49 AM

Welcome Kurt: It sounds like you will have contributions to make here. Let us have some idea of the old wood you find and how you use it. I've got some beautiful 12 inch pine from the old structure on my place. Jump in and enjoy yourself here....Glen

Ana Bluebird · #3 10/29/04, 08:57 AM

Oh, my, you are making me homesick for Virginia. We lived there for 10 years, absolutely loved the area, but had to move back home to Missouri for elderly parents. Now our grandkids are here, but we still visit friends in the area. Sure loved it there. Welcome to our website. I should warn you that it is addictive, but highly interesting and always moving right along. Welcome.

cowgirlone · #4 10/29/04, 09:28 AM

Welcome to the forums Kurt! Glad you decided to un-lurk.

bumpus · #5 10/29/04, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kurt

Hello from WV
I live in a small bedroom community between Huntington and Charleston with my g/f and 10 yr old daughter. I design and build furniture and crafty type stuff from salvaged lumber, mostly barnwood, for a living. My g/f werks for Home Depot.
Kurt

Hello Kurt Welcome ! ! !

My Wife and I live between Huntington and Charleston
and between Scott Depot and Winfield.

We live about a 1 & 1/2 miles from the new Home Depot
they are getting ready to open at the Winfield exit on I-64.

Again I say WELCOME ! ! !

RedneckWoman · #6 10/29/04, 10:51 AM

Welcome, Kurt

Hurricane Kurt · #7 10/29/04, 11:25 AM

Thanks for the warm welcome y'all

Quietstar - I get my lumber from old barns, old houses, I even made a coffee table out of an outhouse once, hey it was some of the nicest maple I've ever seen.

I make rockers, buffet tables, coffee tables, chests, bed frames, gun cabinets, bird houses, entertainment centers etc. etc.

Bumpus - We are practically neighbors. I'm in Hurricane if you hadn't guessed. My g/f werks up at the new Home Depot, they are busy getting it ready for its opening next month. So do you have a homestead or farm? If so tell me about it.

Kurt

bubbba · #8 10/29/04, 12:57 PM

Howdy welcome aboard.
Do you usually pay someone to take their wood ? or do they hire you to tear down a old barn and u keep whats good? I love the look of old barnwood i envision having a bunch in my house at some point the old grey stuff looks cool. Do you sand off the old stuff for some of your projects?? I am not a woodworker (not yet anyways hehe) but ive allways thought doing something like what you are into would be a great way to make a living. How you sell your stuff??
Again welcome man

Hurricane Kurt · #9 10/29/04, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbba

Howdy welcome aboard.
Do you usually pay someone to take their wood ? or do they hire you to tear down a old barn and u keep whats good? I love the look of old barnwood i envision having a bunch in my house at some point the old grey stuff looks cool. Do you sand off the old stuff for some of your projects?? I am not a woodworker (not yet anyways hehe) but ive allways thought doing something like what you are into would be a great way to make a living. How you sell your stuff??
Again welcome man

Thanks bubbba

I very rarely get any lumber for free and what I have gotten free I did salvage myself. What usually happens is when the seller finds out I make something out of the lumber their price triples and I have to pass on it. Most old barns that people want torn down don't have much useable lumber because of rot and more commonly they are twisted and theres not a straight board left in it.

On almost all my finished pieces I plane all surfaces and then sand. I do make more rustic things to that remain weathered. And on some pieces, say for instance a rustic farm table, I might plane and sand the table top and then poly it and make it shine like glass but leave the rough weathered edges and knot holes untouched. It just depends on the board and my mood I guess, no two peices are ever alike.

Most of my sales come by word of mouth so to speak, someone will see something I made in someones house and will hear the story behind how its made of 100 yr old oak from a horse stable in such n such county in WV and then they might want a peice made. I most enjoy making people peices made from say their grandfather's old homeplace or their great uncles chicken coop, those are special because they mean so much more to the person than something made from #1 oak bought at Home Depot. But I'll also hit a flea market or show every once in awhile to.

Kurt

bubbba · #10 10/29/04, 09:42 PM

you know we gonna need to see some pics eh ??

bumpus · #11 10/30/04, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kurt

Bumpus - We are practically neighbors. I'm in Hurricane if you hadn't guessed. My g/f werks up at the new Home Depot, they are busy getting it ready for its opening next month. So do you have a homestead or farm? If so tell me about it.

Kurt

No I don't have a homestead or farm. But I do live on some property that belongs to someone else, A little over a 100 acres.
They have two ponies and I am thinking about getting a few brush goats to eat some weeds and undergrowth.

Hurricane Kurt · #12 10/30/04, 05:12 PM

bubbba I wish I had some pics but I'm pretty new to the www and just graduated from a web-tv to computer a few weeks ago, I did pick up a digital camera last week but don't have anything to take pictures of at the moment but some birdhouses and a halfway done gun cabinet.

bumpus it sounds like you have got plenty of excuse to get some goats if you have all that land to tend to. I'd like to get a few Boers and Pygmys myself when we move.

Kurt

bubbba · #13 10/31/04, 11:47 PM

No worries. Enjoy the internet and keep us in mind when u get a couple projects that you can photograph, I am sure someone would be able to show you how to post a pic.

Goats would be decent, is'nt it a trip planning out the different ideas for the future homestead??