16 Ways to Get FREE Lumber for Woodworking

In the 50 years I've been woodworking, buying wood has been one of my biggest challenges. Most of the time, I either couldn't afford it or couldn't afford the wood I really wanted. That forced me to find alternative ways of getting wood, for little to nothing.

Today, I want to share with you 16 ways I've found to get wood basically for free. Let’s dive in.

1. Pallet Wood

Let's start with the easiest and most obvious one: pallet wood.

Now, I know — a lot of people look at pallet wood and think, "Come on, I want quality wood." But you'd be surprised at what you can find.

For example, both of these boards I'm holding came from the same pallet. One is oak, and the other is poplar. After planing the rough surface, I ended up with some really usable wood. I’ve even found good-quality maple hiding inside pallets.

It might not always be the best grade, but oak is oak, maple is maple — and if you’re willing to put in a little work, you can turn pallet wood into beautiful projects.

2. F.O.G Wood (Found on the Ground)

Another source is what woodturners affectionately call F.O.G wood — Found On the Ground.

Drive around town and you’ll see it: trees that have been cut down, limbs piled at the curb, just waiting for the city to haul them off. And that's all potential lumber.

A lot of my small projects have come from this kind of wood. I've gotten cedar, eucalyptus, myrtle, and even spalted palo blanco just picking up curbside wood.

Now, sure, these pieces aren’t huge. But think about it: how often do you cut a big board down into small parts for a project? With a little creativity, you can turn these smaller pieces into beautiful trays, boxes, turnings, and more.

In fact, I made a serving tray recently from a piece of FOG wood, rough-cutting the planks with nothing more than a chainsaw. The grain? Absolutely gorgeous.

3. Tree Trimmers and Landscaping Services

Speaking of FOG wood — a lot of it comes from tree trimmers or landscaping services.

These are the folks who go from house to house, cutting down trees, pruning limbs, and clearing brush. Sometimes they pile the wood at the curb, and sometimes they haul it away themselves.

I got lucky one time with a neighbor who runs a tree service. I spotted some fresh logs stacked behind his place, grabbed my chainsaw, and asked him about them. He handed me a can of spray paint, told me to mark what I wanted — and next thing I knew, he cut the sections I chose and dropped them off in my driveway with his little tractor.

If you build a relationship with someone like that, you can even make special requests. For example, I’ve asked my neighbor to keep an eye out for any oak he comes across. Oak’s a little harder to find, but when he does, he knows where to deliver it!

4. Curbside Furniture Finds

Another place to watch? Curbside furniture.

Now, you’ve got to be picky here. A lot of the furniture sitting on curbs these days is made from MDF, particle board, or other low-quality materials that won’t hold up in woodworking.

But older furniture — the good stuff — is usually made with real hardwood. Even if the whole piece isn't solid wood, you can often salvage edging, frames, or slats made from genuine hardwood.

I’ve pulled pieces of oak and maple off curbside furniture that turned into really nice small projects later on.

Just keep your eyes open — and know what to look for.

5. Garage Sales

Speaking of old furniture sitting on the side of the road — it’s not the only place you’ll find it.
Garage sales can be goldmines for old wood furniture, especially if you live in an older part of the country like the Northeast.

A lot of people practically give away great pieces just because the finish is beat up. But for us woodworkers, that’s no problem. You’re going to strip it down, refinish it, or cut it up anyway.

The rougher it looks, the cheaper you can usually get it — and sometimes, if you time it right, you can even get it for free.

My advice? Even if you’re not planning to stop, slow down when you pass garage sales. Take a quick look and you might spot a piece of real wood worth grabbing.

6. Online Marketplaces (Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist)

Going a step up from garage sales, there’s Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.

Now, I don’t check Craigslist that often anymore, but I'm always seeing wood posted on Facebook Marketplace. Some of it’s junk — leftovers from a construction project, weathered decking, or old fence panels — but sometimes you find beautiful weathered wood or even top-notch slabs someone never got around to using.

Tip: If you see something you want, act fast. Good free or cheap wood disappears quick.
Contact the seller right away, be polite, and be ready to pick it up that day or the next. Sellers are tired of no-shows and people who waste their time. If you show you’re serious, they’ll be happy to deal with you.

7. Construction Sites

This is an old-school trick I learned back when I was a kid.

Construction sites — especially new builds — often have scrap lumber lying around: wrong cuts, mismeasured boards, offcuts from framing. Sometimes it's pallet wood from shipping bunked materials. Either way, they don't want it.

Important: Always find the foreman or whoever’s in charge and ask permission first. You don’t want to get some carpenter in trouble because he told you it was okay to take something the boss had other plans for.

8. Remodeling and Demolition Projects

Now, remodeling and demolition sites are a little different — and honestly, even better for finding great wood.

Old houses — especially ones built in the 1940s or earlier — are full of high-quality lumber. I’ve pulled beautiful mahogany panels, thick pine 1x6s and 1x8s, and solid trim boards out of remodel jobs. 

And the quality of that old wood? Better than anything you can buy new today. Tight grain, properly dried over decades — it’s gold for woodworking projects.

Just like with new construction, talk to the foreman and offer to haul it away. You’ll be saving them time and disposal costs — and you’ll walk away with some fantastic material.

9. Flooring Installers

One more thing to think about in the construction world: flooring installers.

Now, a lot of flooring today that’s called “hardwood flooring” isn’t really solid wood — it’s laminate, with maybe a millimeter of real wood on top and a bunch of MDF and rubber layers underneath.

But sometimes they still install real solid hardwood floors — like this Acacia wood I’ve got here.

Flooring installers always order more material than they need — usually about 10% extra. When the job’s done, they’re stuck with the leftovers. And more often than not, the homeowner doesn’t want it... so it ends up in the trash.

If you can build a relationship with a flooring installer or a local company, you can ask them:

“Hey, if you ever have real hardwood flooring scraps or extras, I'd love to take them off your hands. I’m a woodworker — I'll turn it into something beautiful.”

They'll usually be happy to give it to you — but just like with Marketplace finds, you’ve got to be ready to pick it up right away when they call.

10. Friends and Family

You never want to forget about friends and family when you're hunting for free wood.

Your cousin just bought a new house? Ask:

“Hey, is there any old lumber sitting in the basement, attic, or garage?”

You’d be surprised how often the answer is, "Yeah, there’s a stack over there. I was about to throw it away."

And you get there... and it’s gorgeous maple, walnut, or oak — just sitting there, waiting to be rescued.

It doesn’t mean anything to them, but to you, it’s a goldmine.

Tip: Always offer to help them clean up and haul it out — and if they refuse money, make them something nice out of the wood later. A small project can go a long way toward saying thanks — and it leaves the door open for more freebies down the road.

11. Other Woodworkers

We’re getting into the home stretch here. And another fantastic source of free wood? Other woodworkers.

You know the saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure? Well, in woodworking, it's one man's scrap is another man's project material.

In my 50 years of woodworking, I’ve made a ton of little projects — sometimes really little — because buying big boards just wasn’t always possible. Meanwhile, a lot of woodworkers who focus on large pieces (furniture builders especially) have no use for small scraps.

For them, anything under a certain size — say, less than a couple of feet long — just piles up in the corner. There are times when they don’t want to throw it out, but it’s not worth the effort to use it.

That’s where you come in. If you know local woodworkers — or if you have a woodworking club in your area — just ask:

“Hey, do you ever have scrap wood you’re trying to get rid of?”

You’d be surprised how often the answer is a relieved "Yes, please take it!"

12. Cabinet Shops

While we’re talking about other woodworkers, don’t forget about cabinet shops.

Every town’s got at least one shop where they’re making custom kitchen cabinets, reception desks, conference room furniture—you name it. And they deal with big sheets of hardwood plywood and long pieces of solid hardwood edging.

The good news for you and me? Anything too small for them — like pieces smaller than 2 feet by 3 feet — is basically useless to their operation.

And because they’ve already rolled the material cost into the job, a lot of them are happy to have you haul off the scraps.

Cabinet shops are a fantastic source for small panels, trim pieces, and high-quality plywood — often way better than the stuff you can buy today.

13. Furniture Factories

Not as common as cabinet shops, but if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby, small furniture factories are another goldmine.

These are usually specialist shops — they might only make coffee tables, end tables, custom doors, or small batches of furniture for local stores. They're not mass-producing like the giant furniture brands.

Because of that, they often have good hardwood scraps that are just too small for their production needs — 2–3 foot long boards they can’t work into their layouts.

If you build a good relationship with folks at one of these places, you might be able to pick up fantastic hardwood scraps — sometimes for free, sometimes for a few bucks for a truckload.

Either way, it's a tremendous way to stock up on quality wood without breaking the bank.

14. Home Improvement Stores (Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc.)

Let’s talk about one of our favorite places to not buy wood — Home Depot (or Lowe’s if you prefer).

We all joke about how warped and twisted the lumber can be there — but remember, they’re selling construction lumber, not woodworking lumber. It’s wetter, it moves more, and it’s not graded to the same standards we’d like.

That said, most of these stores have a cull lumber bin — usually tucked away near the back of the lumber section.

This is where they dump boards that are cracked, bowed, or broken. And you can find some real gems if you're willing to sort through the mess.

Sometimes they’ll sell it dirt cheap — or even let you haul it away for free.

Here’s a little insider tip: Every Home Depot employee is authorized to give discounts. If you’re friendly and ask nicely, especially on cull lumber, you might just walk away with a sweet deal.

15. Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Another hidden treasure trove is your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. They’re all over the place — just plug it into Google Maps.

These stores resell building materials — often donations from contractors, supply houses, or big companies. You can find doors, trim, lumber, sheet goods — and sometimes at crazy low prices.

If something doesn’t sell fast enough, they’ll keep dropping the price week after week… and sometimes they’ll even give it away.

I once turned a big, empty TV cabinet we picked up from a ReStore into my wife’s dresser — just by adding some shelves and drawers. Total cost? Almost nothing.

Moral of the story: don’t overlook the ReStore. You never know what gems you’ll find.

16. Old Barns, Buildings, and Even Fence Pickets

Finally, let’s talk about barns — and old buildings in general.

Old barns, especially, can be a goldmine. Depending on the region, you might find pine, hickory, maple — whatever was available locally when it was built. Weathered wood like this has a beautiful character you just can’t fake.

But always get permission.Don’t just start pulling boards off a barn — the owners know that old barnwood is worth something.

And it’s not just barns.Old 2x8s that were left outside, old fence pickets — they might look rough on the outside, but wire-brush them, cut them down, and suddenly you’ve got beautiful, rustic wood ready for projects.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it — 16 different ways I’ve found wood for little to nothing over the years.

If you’ve been thinking, "I can’t afford wood" — hopefully now you see there’s no shortage out there. You just have to be willing to dig a little, clean it up, and put in a bit of extra work.

And honestly, that effort just makes the finished project even more rewarding.

Big projects, little projects — beautiful woodworking doesn’t have to break the bank. All you need is some creativity, a good eye for possibilities, and maybe a little elbow grease.