I live in one of the country’s leading furniture making areas. It’s all pretty upscale and lots of my family members have all worked for one or more of them at one time or another. One of the big secrets they all share, though, is that the reclaimed and distressed wood they use isn’t actually reclaimed, recycled, or being reused. Turns out, it’s all too unpredictable for the company’s ultra high-end customers, and can often end up being too expensive, even for them. I understand, but there’s something kind of wonderful about the unpredictable and beautiful imperfections that real-life reclaimed wood can offer.

So, now, I have all these wood-working and finishing skills in my famiy, and yet, where could I get really and truly used wood to reclaim for our home decor, gifts, and more, I’ve wondered. And that’s why I’m so delighted with this book. It explains how to reclaim wood from pallets, discarded by virtually all our local stores. Plus it helps me get up to speed with real (yet easy enough) wood working to rival the best of them.