# wood samples?



## bj000

I was browsing the internet and found hardwood flooring companies and lumber companies that offer free samples of wood.. has anyone every done this? 
I "ordered" a few samples from a few different places.. I am not sure what to expect really. But tiny pieces of free wood is awesome, no matter what.


----------



## alfshooter

I did not know anything, I hope you have luck and you get the order.
greeting


----------



## peash00ter

haha, can i say pfs .
, sounds like it should work, i mean also that wood is some top notch stuff for flooring


----------



## bj000

yeah , that is what i am thinking..I just stumbled upon one site offering samples, so i tried looking for more and found them easily. whats the harm.?


----------



## bj000

I just did the same with leather swatches for pouches.. if this all works out, i declare myself brilliant.


----------



## peash00ter

lol, all u have to do is get theraband samples and you now are winning


----------



## bj000

peash00ter said:


> lol, all u have to do is get theraband samples and you now are winning


i just got an order for free samples of rubber bands. I asked for the 3cm wide and 1-3mm thick. lets see what happens.


----------



## peash00ter

haha, i can see it now, the guide to free slingshots, i mean im thinking of getting some free samples, i mean i could get 4 samples of 5" by 5" boards delivered to my door for free
i mean i could make some exotic wood pfs's with them


----------



## bj000

peash00ter said:


> haha, i can see it now, the guide to free slingshots, i mean im thinking of getting some free samples, i mean i could get 4 samples of 5" by 5" boards delivered to my door for free
> i mean i could make some exotic wood pfs's with them


whos sending it to you? link?


----------



## peash00ter

http://www.andersonfloors.com/

there ya go


----------



## bj000

nice, thanks. i ordered some. i just clicked a bunch of boxes, who knows what i will get. lol


----------



## peash00ter

thats half the fun, itll be a suprise


----------



## AZshooter

I`ve ordered some bamboo floor samples this way....but you have to read the details and specs carefully....in some cases they will be very short (about 3 1/2 inches with the grain)...and some may be a super thin laminate over cheap hardboard...Some of the solid bamboo I ordered was usable, but only 1/2 to 5/8 inch thick...


----------



## bj000

i didn't even know that.. but who cares.. i bet i could find a use for whatever they send.. i will keep looking for more samples and look out for that, though.


----------



## bullseyeben!

You got no room left lol! Slingshotaholic alert!


----------



## peash00ter

umm i think they r legit samples , it says the specs for the wood and it says that they are 5" wide and 3/4 thick, but also some very exotic wood only comes in 3/8


----------



## bj000

bullseyeben! said:


> You got no room left lol! Slingshotaholic alert!


im am trying to fill in the tiny gaps between the wood with more wood lol.


----------



## bj000

i am getting some cork samples now too.. i love freebies!


----------



## bj000

wow, i got a package from Build Direct today.. a big package of wood samples.. i got a bunch of cork to see what it was like.. its 1/8 inch mounted on some kind of mdf board.. not too shabby, i can still use is for handles.... but the solid hardwood i got is perfect.. 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch hardwood .. some 3"x5" some a bit bigger, some smaller.. i got a few kinds of acacia and a tiger wood.. they look amazing.


----------



## peash00ter

the top leftmost and the top rightmost are gorgeous


----------



## SuwaneeRick

bj000 said:


> I just did the same with leather swatches for pouches.. if this all works out, i declare myself brilliant.


You are indeed brilliant. I salute your resourcefulness.


----------



## Ace

I have got to give this a try though i would suspect the flooring company to get suspicious if you do order samples too often from them


----------



## peash00ter

ehhh i dont think theyl get suspicious, and anyways we arent that large of a forum.
but i mean daym they even ship them to you for free








hello sir i was wondering if i could also get some free theraband samples, 10 feet shall do


----------



## bj000

peash00ter said:


> I have got to give this a try though i would suspect the flooring company to get suspicious if you do order samples too often from them


so far i have exceeded the samples by 5,.. they say 5 for free, and i got 10.. lets see if i get the other 20 i ordered.. so far so good, though.. i mean, really.. free beautiful hardwood that is the size we use for slingshots.. cant go wrong.


----------



## bj000

i just got ten more samples../ boy, are they fast at delivering.
this time i got all kinds of solid bamboo and a couple hard maples. these are way too perfect for slingshots. and for free.


----------



## Papa G

Got to hvae some of this, will try UK firms first and then try the states. yahoo


----------



## bj000

i am insane about this. My boss at work said i could order as much as i wanted and get it sent to the Bar i work at. So Build Direct says 5 free samples.. only go for the solid hardwoods or else they will send you crap.. each and every one they sent me is slingshot usable. the smallest one they sent was a maple, and it could easily be a PFS or handle material.. here are some pics of the new batch.


----------



## spanky

Nice one buddy-Good thinking there mate.


----------



## bj000

when i went to Lee Valley a few weeks ago I bought a 23 inch board of 1/4" X3" of bocote wood that cost me almost 20$.. its too thin to make most slingshots, but great for pfs or handles.. its tiny.. Now i can get all kinds of free exotic hardoods. its pretty amazing that i am getting away with this. everyone should try it if they live in north america.. they arrive two days after ordering.. You can't go wrong. free.


----------



## bigfoot

What type wood is that first one you are holding and what site did you get it from? I ordered a few samples from buildersdirect and anderson the anderson samples got here in 2 days only 2 are really useful. Big idiot me didn't pay attention and got 3 engineered instead of all 5 hardwood. By the way thanks for the tip


----------



## bj000

thats the tiger bamboo.. its really nice... yeah , the first order, i got a few cork but they are not very useful . but the solid hardwoods are perfect. i honestly cannot believe it.. the bamboo is the best , so far. a couple oak and maple are nice, but the bamboo is the really nice stuff, in my opinion.


----------



## peash00ter

what is the top leftmost and top rightmost, i need to get some


----------



## bj000

those are both types of bamboo./


----------



## Jacktrevally

Bj000, you've hit it man! Good thinking!

I had a store in my office full of wood flooring, boards, planks, wooden shingles made from tough african and eastern woods, compress plastic and reformed wood... etc all sent to me as samples!

I've received so many that a few years ago, I've binned all of them! They usually are of high quality stuff. Most of the time we don't request them, as soon a product hit the market it get sent to us so that we can promote their product and make us aware of the latest.


----------



## bj000

i have not seen wood this high quality. you cannot get this quality stuff at home depot or anywhere i have seen.


----------



## Jacktrevally

Exactly, these are high quality sample, top of tge market.

Since I work in the construction industry I get many samples, not only wood....


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Exactly, these are high quality sample, top of tge market.
> 
> Since I work in the construction industry I get many samples, not only wood....


what other samples can you get?


----------



## Jacktrevally

Construction materails andvstuff related to construction.

for e.g waterproofing membranes, dummy locks, stainless steel connections, glass, plastic, glue, joint sealant, paint surfaces including varnish, bolts, wall ties, skirting boards, pipe fittings, etc.... plently of stuffs, can't to name all there toooooo manyyyyyy! lol


----------



## bj000

amazing. i love the free stuff network lol


----------



## Jacktrevally

Lol, wait until you are flooded with junk mail everytimes they update a product or a specs, plenty of brochure and technical manual you'll receive! Lol, you can make target with them!

I don't like them to be honest because it's all junk to me!

BTW, have yo raided those rope company yet for wrist straps! Them rivets company too for making laminates or just as a cool pin on your slingshot! Brass, stainless, alu, they send you bunches!


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Lol, wait until you are flooded with junk mail everytimes they update a product or a specs, plenty of brochure and technical manual you'll receive! Lol, you can make target with them!
> 
> I don't like them to be honest because it's all junk to me!
> 
> BTW, have yo raided those rope company yet for wrist straps! Them rivets company too for making laminates or just as a cool pin on your slingshot! Brass, stainless, alu, they send you bunches!


i will have to look into them too! thanks for the heads up


----------



## bj000

holy crap i got 30 more samples . i got 15 sent to my work and 15 sent to my girlfriends work, plus the 30 I got delivered to my house lol.. soon enough i am going to have to stop collecting wood.


----------



## Jacktrevally

Lol, you can have the flooring re-done in one of your room with that amount you've got!


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Lol, you can have the flooring re-done in one of your room with that amount you've got!


honeslty, by the end of the week i could probably do a half of a room of mix matched blocks lol. im taking advantage until they cut me off somehow. the bamboo is really high quality stuff.. i just made a PFS variant today for a forum member out of bamboo, and now im gluing an oak handle.. i can't help spoiling surprises lol.


----------



## Jacktrevally

Pics please of the PFS? I remember I had a few bamboo laminated flooring sample a while back!


----------



## bj000

its not quite ready lol.. i said i was gluing some oak for a handle.. but here it is now.
i plan to make some more pfs's tomorrow.. they are really fun and quick. i made mine bigger than the original.


----------



## peash00ter

i think i have to get some samples now, i mean just like 2 nice ones


----------



## bj000

i got another order of samples of cork tile from forna corkfloor inc or something. 
i am pretty stoked about my accumulating pile of samples.


----------



## peash00ter

haha get like 100 samples and free wood floor lol,


----------



## Jacktrevally

Good work BJ000

The pfs look nice.


----------



## Snipez1978

Nice going buddy

I've ordered some samples from a few uk companies let's see what happens

Atb rob


----------



## bj000

Snipez1978 said:


> Nice going buddy
> 
> I've ordered some samples from a few uk companies let's see what happens
> 
> Atb rob


there are a lot of uk distributors of hardwood floors that will send free samples. look for leather too.


----------



## atom

just received some free samples today / walnut , oak and more walnut







not bad for free!!! still waiting for more.

good thinking bj i would never of thought of it!!!!!!!


----------



## bj000

you got from the uk? or build direct?


----------



## atom

from the uk


----------



## bj000

sweet.. i looked at a lot of UK samples but they wont sent to canada. the uk sample stuff looks great


----------



## Snipez1978

Received 1st pack today some nice red oak, walnut and maple got some more going to my parents house from same company

Atb rob


----------



## bj000

awesome guys! i am so glad other people followed suit and took advantage of this. i am cleaning out my wood closet today and im reorganizing it. cant wait to take a picture to show


----------



## Snipez1978

Was a good bit of info buddy and received some nice bits


----------



## Snipez1978

bj000 said:


> awesome guys! i am so glad other people followed suit and took advantage of this. i am cleaning out my wood closet today and im reorganizing it. cant wait to take a picture to show


Yeh I need to do the same but I need to extend my shed as I'm running out of room lol

Atb rob


----------



## Faust

Was in Home Depot today and decided to check the hardwood flooring section. I found that they had free samples







I only picked up 2 pieces though right now, they are both pieces of Bamboo. They are described as woven bamboo. Gonna try them out as some palm swells maybe on some Oak board I have.

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii378/syk0weasel/IMAG0266.jpg

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii378/syk0weasel/IMAG0266.jpg


----------



## bj000

good score!


----------



## bj000

bj000 said:


> its not quite ready lol.. i said i was gluing some oak for a handle.. but here it is now.
> i plan to make some more pfs's tomorrow.. they are really fun and quick. i made mine bigger than the original.


this one is looking nice! too bad its not for me







lol


----------



## atom

bj have you got anymore pics of the pfs you are making?


----------



## atom

wow 1,110 views


----------



## bj000

i do, but i will wait till tomorrow.. it looks effing great. just a bit more sanding tomorrow and then poly finish, then dry, then sending it off to charles!
plus i started another pfs today for myself that i can keep hehe. both pfs are bigger than the original design but still small-ish.
and both are bamboo types.. i will post them tomorrow or the next day as not to totally ruin the surprise lol


----------



## atom

cant wait to see it







did you just use wood glue or epoxy to glue the oak on to the pfs ?


----------



## bj000

i used gorilla wood glue


----------



## atom

cant upload pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







so i put them in my album


----------



## Jacktrevally

Guys,

Hint:

I've just received a few samples of frosted acrylic and polycarbonate of 110mmx110mmx10mm thk from South Africa. That's not slingshot related but for professional samples.

Just an idea!


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Guys,
> 
> Hint:
> 
> I've just received a few samples of frosted acrylic and polycarbonate of 110mmx110mmx10mm thk from South Africa. That's not slingshot related but for professional samples.
> 
> Just an idea!


were they free? where from?


----------



## bj000

Here is the first one i made.. and i have a second one on the go too.. not quite done yet.. more sanding today.


----------



## Jacktrevally

Yes free. Sorry can't tell you the company name as if they sussed out this comes from me that would be unprofessional!

Do a search!


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Yes free. Sorry can't tell you the company name as if they sussed out this comes from me that would be unprofessional!
> 
> Do a search!


lol. its all good. I really should not being acquiring anything new. i truly have enough wood and I should be happy with that.. and i have a few square feet of hdpe left. thanks though.. i posted one of my pfs.. ill show the other one later.. its a bigger pfs than the last one i made for charles, which is bigger than the original design of pfs... anyways , tea is on!


----------



## Jacktrevally

Woukd like to see that pfs man!


----------



## bj000

Jacktrevally said:


> Woukd like to see that pfs man!


look up ! i posted it


----------



## Jacktrevally

Look good the shape! Need to see it finished.


----------



## marcus sr

got my first two free samples today,some oak and a piece of black wallnut,good idea you had bj


----------



## bj000

i wish you guys had builddirect in england.. their limit was 5, but i would do 5, then make seperate order 5 mins later for 5, and so on.. my biggest delivery was 20 to my work. lol..


----------



## bj000

showing two PFS that i made today out of the samples.. both bamboo.. sorry about the shakes


----------



## bigfoot

I have got about 5 orders of the samples. My favorite woods by far are the acacia builders direct has and the tiger bamboo. They have some great natural colors will make great handles on some tricked out naturals. I may make a boardcut out of one of the acacia blanks. Has anybody worked with acacia before how strong is it?


----------



## bj000

i got a bunch of acacia.. don't know how strong it is for slingshots, but it seems super strong. i will try it out soon.


----------



## Jacktrevally

There are different type of acacia and hardness and properties varies. This is a tough wood and some of them are very dense.

They are availaible locally as the plant itself!


----------



## atom

bj000 said:


> showing two PFS that i made today out of the samples.. both bamboo.. sorry about the shakes


well done bj i like all 3 of em







love the shape of the 2nd one( bat)


----------



## bigfoot

Jacktrevally said:


> There are different type of acacia and hardness and properties varies. This is a tough wood and some of them are very dense.
> 
> They are availaible locally as the plant itself!


I wish we had acacia here it is a really nice wood. I did a search and pulled up some acacia naturals they are awesome. I got to try and get a couple naturall forks from it one of these days.


----------



## bj000

i will try out some designs soon , using the acacia.. the samples are thick and have beautiful colours


----------



## Jacktrevally

Bigfoot, I had a construction site a few month ago, it was FULL of acacia shrub. We had ro clear the site and didn't thought about keeping a fork.

We don't use acacia for making slingshot locally, we prefer guava, tamarind and mangrove branch which are now illegal to fell!


----------



## bj000

here is my final delivery of hardwood samples.


----------



## SuwaneeRick

I finally got around to placing my first order for samples. It seems too good to be true, but they make it so easy I had to do it. I ordered five hardwood samples. Next I'm going to order some bamboo. Thanks for the tip, BJ.


----------



## bj000

it is too good to be true, but its true. and the samples are wonderful.. the bamboo is my favorite. The ones i got today were bigger than all the other ones they sent. If you order 5, then wait ten mins and order a different 5.. I did this up to 5 times per order, and they would send over 20 in a package. i did this a few times before they called me to talk about my project, in which i told them i was planning to buy flooring hardwood to make slingshots. They were happy to talk to me, and sent out my next batch..

just make sure you are ordering solid hardwood and not engineered. maybe the engineered is good, but i wouldn't trust it for this application.


----------



## Jacktrevally

The engineered are better than solid stock. They are water, chemical annd have improved resistance. Now it depends what type of engineered board you are looking.


----------



## bj000

touche.
i was under the impression that the core was made of cheap chip board or something. 
my bad


----------



## Jacktrevally

These are resin bonded chip or powdered wood or reformed wood or plastic or other materials as well. They are tough and water resistant used as decking but some are very low graded if you get some technical data sheet with them it explains it.

Since you like Bamboo. There is a bamboo laminate which comes in 8-25mm thick used in construction called bamboo laminate for formwork!

These are nearly indestructible, you CAN'T compare them with classic bamboo flooring.

This is rather 'new' and I've been using that thing as formwork on a site, it is twice as tough as classic plywood and more resistant as well!

If you look at construction material supplies they can carry that and will send you a free sample. The 8mm according to their data sheet are as strong as 12mm ply!


----------



## Tirador

Thanks for the great idea BJ!!!
I just go my samples in the mail. They just sent me 3 samples though...1 Cherry, 1 Birch and 1 Oak. Looks like you cleared them out, so i guess that's all they had left.








I think it's enough wood to make 9 small PFS's though. Thanks again!


----------



## bj000

i cant believe they only sent you 3!
go back and order more.. lol. check the width and thickness of the samples before you order. you can get sizes that are perfect for full slingshots.


----------



## bj000

I just got another delivery of samples just now. i never ordered these ones.. lol.. i think they figured they would send me all the ones _i didn't _order haha. I am also waiting on some HDPE, fake wood decking samples. HDPE made to look like wood.. hmm.. might be cool.


----------



## alfshooter

"Wow" Bj, you have lot of work, your idea of order samples has been great.
Artist hugs


----------



## Aras

hey bj, do you know what's free? cheese in mice trap







. Just kidding. When you get it, make a video
Edit: oh, you've already posted it! sorry


----------



## DentedCan

i just made an order and found this place where you can get up to 6 leather samples it is called Saxon leather uphosterly


----------



## bj000

i got some samples from http://columbiaforestproducts.com/
they are hardoowd plywoods. one samples is 3/4 russian birch , 6" X6" just amazing.. the other samples are a lot bigger., and oh, man i will just make a vid tomorrow. This stuff is amazing.


----------



## DentedCan

thanks bj000 i got mine at ifloor, build direct, and anderson hardwood floors


----------



## bj000

ok this is the cream of the crop of hardwood plywoods.


----------



## AlmostHuman

Top blagging there bj your an inspiration , I've jumped on the band wagon myself , I now await some bamboo laminate samples , still trying to track down some nice exotic hardwood samples , can't see me being able to blag some ziricote and mappa tho .....

Pat


----------



## bj000

AlmostHuman said:


> Top blagging there bj your an inspiration , I've jumped on the band wagon myself , I now await some bamboo laminate samples , still trying to track down some nice exotic hardwood samples , can't see me being able to blag some ziricote and mappa tho .....
> 
> Pat


yeah exotic hardwood would be cool .my wood supply is overflowing so I am going to give it a rest.. it has been fun though. no one should ever have a problem finding materials on the cheap anymore.
I can't wait for my next days off so i can really dig into the hardwood plywoods. they are so nice looking for plywood.


----------



## monoaminooxidase

bj000 said:


> (...) so I am going to give it a rest.. (...)


I'll mark the day you wrote that in my calendar


----------



## Rapier

Thats hilarious. Hope it all works out for ya there bj. I pulled into a flooring joint and asked the little fella if he had any jarrah samples and poof! Three, three foot boards where plonked in my hands! Thanks I says. NICE...


----------



## bj000

Rapier said:


> Thats hilarious. Hope it all works out for ya there bj. I pulled into a flooring joint and asked the little fella if he had any jarrah samples and poof! Three, three foot boards where plonked in my hands! Thanks I says. NICE...


great score!
Yeah i got quite a bit of samples recently.. they seem to never stop coming to my door.


----------

