So at my local model railroading club, a feller pulls me aside and says….do you
need any oak lumber?

Reflexively I say, “YES!”, to give my brain time to think things over. I of
course do not need any oak lumber, but I have friends who may.

So after the meeting we head out to his van, where he has a sizeable pile of
lumber, all 2-6inches wide, all 15/16thick.

We transfer the considerable load from his minivan springs to my minivan
springs, and he says there is some ash in there as well.

I call two friends and load them up, they take about half of it.

So now I gotta store the rest….sheesh. I’m not much of a hyper-organizer, but I
DO start sorting this lumber.

Red oak pile, that’s easy.

THEN I gotta break out my 7x loup and Hoadley’s Understanding Wood.

Interesting, Ash.

Ash pile.

Then this mystery stuff.

I’m no expert, but the endgrain doesn’t lie. It’s in the hickory family.


So now I have ash and hickory. I sent the red oak with my son for their school
RUBE GOLDBERG project.

Ash and Hickory are good shock woods, so then I’m thinking tool handles, but
nothing thick enough.


SO


If you have to laminate two (or) three pieces to get the right thickness…..is it
still worth it? Are laminated hammer/blacksmith top tools/sledge handles doomed
to failure if not made from single pieces of wood?


Matthew Groves
Springfield, MO