100 Board Feet of 4/4 Bandsaw Milled Ash

Last night's adventure was a lumber run to Ashby. I brought $95 with me to purchase project wood at what promised to be a great price. The choice was between 200 board feet of 2nd, or 100 board feet of 1st quality Ash. Sean and I arrived a little bit later than expected and the light was fading, but there was enough light to see piles of drying lumber everywhere: a kind of wonderland for woodworkers. All of it was bandsaw milled to 4/4 (if only there had been some 8/4 and 12/4, but beggars can't choose).

On looking at the 2nd quality lumber, I could see there was much more splitting than in the 1st, and for the projects I have in mind 200 board feet would be much more than needed. So I bit the bullet and paid a little more than twice the price to get 100 board feet of first quality ash. On getting it back to the barn, I could see that I had made the right choice: Sean picked up 300 board feet of the 2nd, and while it was great quality, there were plenty of knots and splits to work around. There is very little splitting and almost no knots in my pile.

The picture above is what $95 got me: a little bit more than 100 board feet all stickered and in out of the weather. There are two boards that look to be 12" wide, five or six that look to be 10" wide, and most of the rest are over 8" wide.

From what I've seen, Ash isn't the prettiest wood, but I might be surprised when the milling and shaping is done. I'm keeping an open mind, and will choose the finish depending on what I see when the work is done. Paint is on the list of possibilities.