Live Edge Lumber & Slabs: Out With the Old & In With the New

live edge lumber

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, it was kind of a fad to use live edge lumber on the gable ends of ranch and split-level houses. Many people, myself included, thought this was a total mismatch of architectural styles, but it sure was big for a while. “Live edge” boards are flat sawn for the width of the log, which ideally should have a wavy pattern on one side, due to protrusions from tree branches, etc.

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Custom Moulding vs. Stock Moulding: The Pros & Cons

custom moulding vs. stock moulding

Years ago, there were basically two types of casings available; “colonial” and “clamshell,” in either 2 1/2″ or 3 1/2″ widths. Of course those two old standbys are still around, also available in finger jointed versions, either primed or bare wood. I refuse to use anything that is finger jointed. If you buy finger jointed mouldings, you…

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Woodworking Tools: The Art of the Lathe

woodworking tools lathe

As you become more and more skilled at woodworking, you will find yourself trying and using more different tools, often becoming more interested in certain ones. In my case, years ago I became fascinated with the lathe. I didn’t have much money, so I made my own, quite primitive. I made all the usual turned…

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Woodworking is What We Do

woodworking

Years ago, there was a joke going around about woodworking. “A guy walks in to a library, and asks the librarian where he could find the book entitled, “How I Became A Millionaire With My Basement Woodworking Shop.” She replies, “Oh, yes; it’s right over there in the fiction section!” Well, it’s no longer such…

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Popular Types of Softwood for Furniture Making

softwood for furniture making

When considering which types of wood to use for furniture-making, you may be presented with the choice between hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is not necessarily harder or denser, it actually has to do with the plant’s reproduction process. Hardwood trees are angiosperms—plants that produce seeds with a covering, like an apple or an acorn. Softwood…

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Specialty Lumber is Our Legacy, Since 1922

barney and carey specialty lumber since 1922

A loaf of bread cost 7¢ and a pound of steak would run you about 26¢. The gummy bear was just invented in Germany, and Babe Ruth was the most famous person in the country. It was 1922, and it was the year that Barney & Carey Company Inc. was founded on the banks of…

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