When it comes to buying wood, most woodworkers head straight for the local hardwood dealer, according to the latest poll on Knots, the user forum on Fine
Woodworking.Com.

Nearly 3 out of 4 people who responded said that they usually buy from a local hardwood dealer. Most of them buy rough lumber rather than presurfaced stock. The table below gives the details.

A total of 1,089 people responded to the poll, which closed on August 1, 2008.

According to some of the responses, not everyone pays retail. Here’s a selection:

“Scrounged! You left out scrounged!”

“I keep an eye out in those Free trading postmagazines. Occasionally you can find good buys from people who need to/want to get rid of some wood. I also have a buddy who buys shorts from the local lumberyard. He only picks out clear straight boards with pretty figure. I usually try to get some of his stuff for presentation boards/special projects. It is pricier but well worth it and very little waste.”

“I have my own portable saw mill.  I have the word out that  I buy speciality logs or trees like walnut, cherry, tigermaple, butternut, white oak,  burls.  Keep the pick of the sawn boards,  sell the rest. ”

“I have been real lucky buying lumber at auction.”

“‘Buy wood’? I don’t understand the concept. The woods are full of it. Green woodworking is the way to go.”

The poll is a thoroughly unscientific (but, we hope, totally entertaining) feature of FineWoodworking.Com. There’s a new poll posted on the home page.

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