My great-grandfather was a carpenter in Palo Alto California in the early part of the 20th century (in fact, he was in the 1st graduating class at Stanford University), but he hurt his back and had to quit. To keep his hand in he built a small lathe from scrap parts and wood. I have inherited the head- and tail-stocks, a couple of tools made from old files, and various attachments such as a sanding disk.
However, the ways and the stocks parted ways sometime in the distant past. I would like to make a pair of short ways to mount the stocks on, but I want to keep them period-appropriate, and want to use wood that was cheaply available in the 1920's. Most of the wood in the bits I have is redwood, which was cheap and plentiful in the San Francisco region then. Not now, though! Besides, I live in Seattle, and virgin redwood compares to tropical hardwoods in availability and price.
I could use Douglas fir (I have a bunch of old growth VG fir salvage), but was this wood generally available and cheap in San Francisco then? Or were other types of pine more generally available?
Ironically, I grew up in the Bay Area, but I didn't get into woodworking until I moved up to Seattle, so I never paid attention to wood when I was a kid. Should have, though. I do remember that the local lumber yard carried 4-foot-wide redwood shelving as a stock item.
Thanks for any help you can give.
scritch