Saturday, October 29, 2022

Our semi-annual epic journey

Last week, Older Daughter and I made our semi-annual epic journey to our old wood distributor in Hayden (Idaho) to pick up lumber for the woodcraft business. We pulled along the little 4x8 trailer since we anticipated a large purchase.

Older Daughter has been saving her money for just such a purchase. It's her business now, and she needed wood. She set herself a generous budget.

What a beautiful selection they had! She spent two hours deciding, considering, and otherwise choosing her inventory with utmost professionalism. She weighed price against availability, considered what woods she already had, and gauged the boards for cracks and knots that might impact the final product. (I'm so proud, sniff.)

Naturally, the day we chose for the trip was rainy. In fact, it rained from start to finish. In anticipation of this, we brought two stout tarps and a bunch of rope. Before loading the wood in the trailer, I laid out first some rope, then the tarps, and then finally the wood.

The end result was a big wooden burrito.

The "shorts" were loaded into the back of the car.

It made for a ponderous load on the drive back, but the car was a trouper and chugged along beautifully. I'm guessing all that wood was somewhere in the range of 1,000+ pounds, so it was no light load.

Older Daughter now has enough wood to last her through multiple production runs. With luck we won't have to get more until late next spring or early next summer.

6 comments:

  1. Patrice, those are some beautiful slabs of lumber. Can you remind us newcomers, again what her business is? I have only been following you for less than one year but I know she took the business over from your husband bur I cannot remember what she is making.

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    1. We've had a woodcraft business for 30+ years, making hardwood drinking tankards (like beer steins, made of wood). It's exclusively wholesale. Older Daughter has been apprenticing to take it over and make it hers. See this post for a few photos:
      http://www.rural-revolution.com/2018/02/buried-in-tankards.html

      - Patrice

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  2. Looks like beautiful wood!

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  3. Rain - ah Rain! It sure would be nice to get a little here...

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  4. I should add, her color selection is beautiful!!

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  5. we bought one of your tankards, just before you went wholesale only, for our sailor daughter. she has never drank from it, and it is proudly displayed for her friends to ooh and ahh over.

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