Working with wood is fun - it was decades ago I did (for myself) - in the sculpture studio at University. There we used donated recycled wood from motorcycle crates that came from Asia. Once we planed it, what looked just grey and rough, we discovered that many had some very interesting grains and colors. Cutting out the bad parts (nail holes and such) we wound up with pieces that we then laminated together to make blocks for carving. My piece was almost finished, a abstract sculpture, when it got stolen out of the studio. It was almost done, just had to fine polish it and then treat it with oil.
Many years later at work on the railway, we used to replace decking in boxcars. These pieces were super strong, laminated hardwood. Cutting some of them to fit there were chunks left over that were of no use, but instead of tossing them out, we could take them home. I made chopping blocks out of them. I can't remember the price of one such board (we did the computer billing) but it was rather expensive.