Bye-Bye Birds-Eye

Bye-Bye Birds-Eye

An Army buddy from northern Michigan stopped when he came upon a truck that had overturned and scattered its load of lumber. The trucker, who was unhurt, told my friend to take all the boards he wanted, because the load would be considered a total loss. While loading his pickup, my friend realized that the lumber was highly-figured bird-eye maple. He raced to his father’s house and stacked the boards behind the garage. Then he returned to the wreck—twice—to salvage more of the spectacular wood.

Shortly thereafter, my friend’s Army unit was deployed overseas. He returned a year later, only to discover that his dream lumber stash had disappeared. Thinking the boards were only salvage, his father had given the entire stack to a neighbor who was planning to build a shed.

Hoping to retrieve the precious birds-eye, my friend visited the neighbor. But all he found was a peculiar-looking shed, sheathed with bird’s-eye and partially covered with tarpaper. When he asked what it had been like to hammer in the roofing nails that attached the tarpaper, the neighbor rolled his eyes and said, “I finally gave up. That’s the worst lumber, ever!” -Phil Hobson

Porcupine Cabine

To save a little money on the bathroom cabinet I was building, I decided to use 1/2-in. cherry plywood. I cut grooves in each side to house the metal tracks for the adjustable shelves. Then I assembled the cabinet, glued on the face frame, installed the molding and applied the finish.

I cut the metal tracks to length and installed them in the grooves, using the flat head nails that came with the track. Then I stepped back to admire my handiwork.

Ack! Every nail had broken through, tearing out chunks of the plywood’s cherry face veneer. I had used those shelving tracks for years—but always with 3/4-in. plywood. Repairs would have been difficult, so I opted to build a new cabinet—using 3/4-in. plywood. -Alan Blanchard