Can any wood be repurposed?

[Positively Ralf]

I have no idea if I'm asking the right question but may aswell ask it with the hopes someone understands.

So my job is throwing away a custom office desk that was made for one of my bosses. It's a pretty solid desk and some of the pieces are heavy. I was told it was made about 15 years ago. Like I said, there are some really heavy pieces and was wondering if this wood can be repurposed to making something like a cue shaft? Unfortunately it's been sitting on the side of the building and it has snowed here. Is it even worth saving and doing something with it? I'll see if I can upload a picture.

 

[epoxypop]

I have no idea if I'm asking the right question but may aswell ask it with the hopes someone understands.

So my job is throwing away a custom office desk that was made for one of my bosses. It's a pretty solid desk and some of the pieces are heavy. I was told it was made about 15 years ago. Like I said, there are some really heavy pieces and was wondering if this wood can be repurposed to making something like a cue shaft? Unfortunately it's been sitting on the side of the building and it has snowed here. Is it even worth saving and doing something with it? I'll see if I can upload a picture.

If it's been sitting outside in the weather maybe you should try to upload it on a truck and make it go away, lol Just poking at you my friend. Might have been some nice wood, but now maybe mot.

 

[BarenbruggeCues]

I have no idea if I'm asking the right question but may aswell ask it with the hopes someone understands.

So my job is throwing away a custom office desk that was made for one of my bosses. It's a pretty solid desk and some of the pieces are heavy. I was told it was made about 15 years ago. Like I said, there are some really heavy pieces and was wondering if this wood can be repurposed to making something like a cue shaft? Unfortunately it's been sitting on the side of the building and it has snowed here. Is it even worth saving and doing something with it? I'll see if I can upload a picture.

Type of wood ( my guess...walnut or oak or pine or alder) Is it veneered or solid wood?
Thickness of wood
Length of thick pieces
Solidity of the wood

Probably had a finish on it. Snow shouldn't matter. The longer it sits outside the worst it'll get.

You haven't made it disappear yet?

 

[Inferno]

Depends on the type of wood.

Either way, before you could turn it into a cue piece, let it sit in a decent environment for about a year to let the wood settle (after being in the elements).
If it hadn't been out in the elements, this step would already have been taken care of.

 

[RidgeRaider]

Better question - Is it worth it?

Wood really isn't expensive, especially wood from a desk. I'd imagine less headache and cheaper in the long haul to just buy good wood.

 

[Kim Bye]

Yes you can repurpose hardwoods. I have shaft blanks made from old bowling alley floors, but if shafts is what you want to make, that's gonna have too meet some quite specific criteria. Could you use it for other wood projects that's not that critical in terms of grain etc. yeah, that would probably be fine. The question is: is it worth it. If it's some generic wood of not particulary good quality, just move on. Are you sitting on a treasure trove of BRW, yeah, obviously it's worth processing.

 

[Inferno]

Better question - Is it worth it?

Wood really isn't expensive, especially wood from a desk. I'd imagine less headache and cheaper in the long haul to just buy good wood.

You have a good point.
Unless you have some important or OLD wood, it's not really worth the hassle to repurpose an old desk.
An example would be that when I built my first house I had come across a seller that was offering up some reclaimed marble from a 200 year old library. It was 1.75" thick. My construction consultant thought I was nuts for wanting it because marble tiles were so cheap to install in comparison. I would have loved to have had that marble as the main floor and extending it to the front porch but, ultimately it was just too expensive to get it from the East coast to the West coast.

So, if the desk was 200 years old, from someplace historic, it would be worth it. Otherwise, bag it.

 

[WilleeCue]

Finding a cue maker that would be willing to make the cue might be problematic.

A friend of mine had this old piece of pine that had sat in his grandfathers barn for many many years.
He asked if I would make him a cue using that wood.
I explained that the wood was not a good choice for a pool cue being so soft.
He wanted it for sentimental reasons more than a player cue.
That wood was not as dry as you would think but the cue, both butt and shaft, stayed straight for the process.
He says it hasn't warped yet and he enjoys playing with it.
Do not expect Pine to sound, play, or last like good Rock Hard Maple.
But if you like it then go play some pool, drink some beer, and have fun!

 

[Canadian cue]

With the use of coring just about any wood can be used to build a cue. If you use a decent sized core the parent wood becomes more like a veneer. I bore out the inside of my piece with a taper that matches the cue. So the veneer is not very thick. Having said that the wood you choose should merit being used at least cosmetically. If the wood your using is a dense hardwood, then it may make a decent player but may not have much aesthetics. Domestic hardwoods used for furniture are usually quite vanilla in appearance IMO.

 

[Positively Ralf]

Don't know if it would be much help, but here are some pictures I took. With the exception of the first piece which has been inside the company van since it was disassembled, Unfortunately I was too busy to put the other parts away. They were covered in snow and now some rain that dropped here in southern NY. They are still very solid but maybe I just let them get past the point of no return.

Again, I'm no expert but I figured maybe some of you guys wanted to see what I would have been working with.

 

[Inferno]

That wood isn't worth the match it would take to light it on fire.

 

[R2PQZ]

Don't know if it would be much help, but here are some pictures I took. With the exception of the first piece which has been inside the company van since it was disassembled, Unfortunately I was too busy to put the other parts away. They were covered in snow and now some rain that dropped here in southern NY. They are still very solid but maybe I just let them get past the point of no return.

Again, I'm no expert but I figured maybe some of you guys wanted to see what I would have been working with.

Looks like particle board with veneer. Take it to the dump.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

That wood isn't worth the match it would take to light it on fire.

That 'wood' isn't worth the cost of developing the digital photos...

So my job is throwing away a custom office desk that was made for one of my bosses.

If your boss thought that was custom built for him, maybe he would like to buy a car I custom built:

 

[Inferno]

That 'wood' isn't worth the cost of developing the digital photos...



If your boss thought that was custom built for him, maybe he would like to buy a car I custom built:

View attachment 889400

Now now...

I have evidence that the desk as custom built.
Funny thing is I can even say about the time it was built because I was building a house in 2004 and the house next to mine was getting custom cabinets installed with that exact same "veneer" over pressed pulp. It doesn't even qualify as particle board.
Plus I can see the shoddy custom craftsmanship on the corpse of the desk.

 

[SSDiver2112]

I have a custom built IKEA desk…

Seriously no, this is not useable for cue making. Technically wood but no, not cue material.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

Now now...

I have evidence that the desk as custom built.
Funny thing is I can even say about the time it was built because I was building a house in 2004 and the house next to mine was getting custom cabinets installed with that exact same "veneer" over pressed pulp. It doesn't even qualify as particle board.
Plus I can see the shoddy custom craftsmanship on the corpse of the desk.

Well, there are 'custom' cabinets, and there are actual custom cabinets. It's kinda funny that you mention this because my father was a custom cabinet builder--in that he planed, sanded, milled every piece of real wood. When I was 22 I was a project manager/designer for a 'custom' cabinet and casework company (at the time, the third largest in the states). The cabinets I designed were closer to the desk seen here. We had lines of cabinets that could be customized with features and to fit rooms/needs, but they weren't custom cabinets.

 

[Zerksies]

Don't know if it would be much help, but here are some pictures I took. With the exception of the first piece which has been inside the company van since it was disassembled, Unfortunately I was too busy to put the other parts away. They were covered in snow and now some rain that dropped here in southern NY. They are still very solid but maybe I just let them get past the point of no return.

Again, I'm no expert but I figured maybe some of you guys wanted to see what I would have been working with.

Thats bulk office furniture. It looks like plywood. Definately not good for cues

 

[Positively Ralf]

That 'wood' isn't worth the cost of developing the digital photos...



If your boss thought that was custom built for him, maybe he would like to buy a car I custom built:

View attachment 889400

Is that the same make and model of car that the principal drove in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?