Has anyone done the mail order lumber thing (like the 100 board ft or more)? How did you like it? How were the prices? How did it arrive? And any other pertinent info.
I’m not usually using anything terribly exotic. Oak, hickory, and maple can cover a lot of projects.
jt8
The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers. — Walter Percy Chrysler
Replies
Greetings John,
I have ordered via mail order from two pretty well known lumber suppliers in Lancaster PA. I much rather go to the supplier and pick out the lumber myself, which was feasible when I lived in Central New Jersey, but now that I live in NC, it's a little harder to do.
All the lumber I ordered has been rough sawn and the size of the orders were too large to be shipped via UPS, so it arrived motor freight. The lumber is usually just metal banded together with some scrap stock acting as the 'pallet' on the bottom.
Last time I ordered 500 BF of various thicknesses of Poplar and 100 BF of Walnut (about 2500 lbs of lumber) the lumber arrived in much better shape than I did after helping the truck driver unload the order :-).
Good luck
Bobabeui,I'm new the the Hershey PA area (30 min from Lancaster). Who are the suppliers you mentioned?ThanksSteve
Steve,
I live in Lancaster. Welcome! There are two suppliers you might want to look into. They are located near each other about 20 minutes south of Lancaster on 272. The one I use almost exclusively is Groff and Groff. They have an 800 number which I don't have handy at the moment. Haven't kept my Rolodex up to date, and of course can't find the damn phone book when I need it! You can walk around, pick your own stuff, help with the planing if you need it, etc. Prices are very reasonable, good quality stuff. Be sure to check out the second floor balcony, that is where the really cool stuff is.
A couple miles before them is Sandy Pond Hardwoods, they deal in really exotic stuff, flames, etc. I haven't much use for that at the moment, but is fun to check them out.
Let me know if you want directions.
FastEddie
FastEddie,Attached is my wood supplier list I created trying to hunt down suppliers in the area. Sandy Pond and Groff and Groff's are in there but didn't know them from Adam so.. There seem to be a number of small operators in our area that have very good prices (Bob Hollister in Lancaster for ex. selling cherry for $1 to $4 bf). Perhaps you have purchased from them or have heard of them.So far I've only purchased 100 bf of 4/4 clear cherry (flat sawn)from a small operation in millersberg for $4/bf. I have a 10' inclosed trailer so I picked up the wood. Would have preferred quartersawn but couldn't find a supplier with a good price but honestly didn't try everyone on my list.Alderfer lumber seemed to have pretty good prices as well. He's out of Mt. Pleasant Mills though (West side of Susquehanna and Northwest from Harrisburg) so that may not be such a good location for you.I'd be interested in comparing notes with you on price/selection/quality as I go forward. Thanks.Steve
Steve,
That is quite an impressive list. How about we skip knots and use direct email? I have no problem with that if you don't My email is [email protected] or [email protected].
I look forward to swapping stories, lies, and other assorted tales!
Ed
My mother-in-law lives in Lancaster. Last time we visited I took off to Sandy Pond Hardwoods. They also do mail order. I got some ash flooring from them many years ago, and I loved it. I would recommend them to folks in that area and to people who are interested in mail ordering from them.
Where are you in NC? There are a couple places here in the peidmont. Steve Wall lumber in Mayoden VA. and Carolina Hardwoods in Greensboro are two.
Shipping 200bdft of lumber costs about $1/bdft/1000miles. Shipping 20bdft of lumber costs about $1.75/1000miles. A lot of people do not know how to ship and can easily double your shipping costs.
Driving my van (ignoring my time and hotel costs) costs about $140/1000 miles one way, so if I have free time it is cheaper to drive 2000 miles for 200bdft of lumber than to ship it 1000 miles one way.
Unless you are buying high end lumber or have valuable time you will not get a good deal by paying for shipping.
My time has sufficient value that I am happy to pay $10/cdft for lumber delivered to my shop.
How can you ignore hotel cost? Cost is Cost. I can almost see you saying your time is worth nothing (my wife has that view of my time) but I think time is worth something. Take $140 add hotel, and time and I don't see how you are cheaper in your example? If you are, it's not much.
What I look at is what is the final cost /bft after adding shipping, tax, and initial cost. I then divide total by Bf. And compare to the local cost. If it is cheper then it's a good deal. I had contacted steve wall lumber in NC. The will ship anywhere. They gave me a quote of aprox $80 shipping on 300bf of lumber (I'm only about a two hour drive in VA). That was cheaper that buying from the local source. I ended up finding a nother source where I could pick it up (30 minute drive). Final cost was cheaper so I did not go that route. Look at your bottom line. Mail order also rely's on someone else picking out your stuff. I had not purchased from Steve Wall before, but he has a good reputation, so I was willing to take the risk.
"How can you ignore hotel cost? Cost is Cost. I can almost see you saying your time is worth nothing (my wife has that view of my time)"--posted by bonesMan!! that had me lughing pretty hard, i almost fell off of my chair..______________________________________________
--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad
Bones, how far are you out of Roanoke?I'm in the city proper and have bought from Steve Wall for several years.Leon Jester
Hey, Leon I'm in Mt Pleasant just outside the city limits (Brookfield). I was buying from plywood & plastics by the Civic Center. They have nice stuff and it is f3s. They have better prices that SW and no shipping.
The tip you provided about Phoenix hardwoods up in Floyd (I think it was you who gave me the tip) is greatly appreciated. I went up this past saturday and picked up various woods to give him a try. He is a very nice guy. I picked up 5/4 cherry for 3.50 & 8/4 for 4.00. His walnut was 3.00. I went there to pick up a couple of boards and wound up coming home with 150bf of lumber. It's in the shop stickered and I am going to give it a couple of weeks to even out and I'm ready to start cutting. Another interesting thing about this guy. He makes furniture for the log home industry. He gave me a tour of his shop in floyd and he makes some beautiful stuff. I found it interesting that he had a lot of Grizzly stuff. I asked him his opinion and he said that he throws away the blades and replaces them and thats it. His shop employs five and he swears by Grizz. Go figure! Take care.
A couple of the local mini-mills were charging $2-3bf for red oak rough cut. Then add another $.85bf if you cart it over to the kiln guy.
But without a planer, I'd be renting/borrowing one to smooth it out. All the costs add up.
I've never done mail order lumber. I've read one or two articles about it. I believe you can get rough cut and/or regular (finished cut?.. what is the term for rough cut that has been smooth cut?). So if the mail order cost with shipping was comparable to the mini-mill, kiln drying, planer renting price... Then maybe it isn't such a bad arrangement.
jt8
The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers. -- Walter Percy Chrysler
The prices I quoted in my original post were kiln dried rough. If it says rough you can expect rough on all sides. You may see f2s which would have two faces finished through a planer (not necessarily flat just parallel). F3s is finished two sides with a straight edge on one side. Of course F4s is all sides finished. Steve wall will do it to your choice but you just pay for the level of finish. The local provided I had previously supplied me with f3s, but added 25% to the bottom bf number. Even after factoring the 25% in, the bottom line of cost/bf was cheaper than ordering from Steve wall with shipping included. I would have ordered from SW lumber in a heart beat, if the cost were lower. I would add. you do not need a planer to finish the lumber. I only have a 6" jointer and a 12" portable planer. Some of the stock I just bought are 13" in width. I will be using a Jointer plane to get the stock that is too wide to fit down to usable lumber, and will joint the edge. If you don't have a jointer, a router with will put a edge on a board. There are other ways. I walk in the big boxes and look at the cost they want for a small finished oak board and just laugh. I could never afford to do anything at those prices.
I'll have to check them out, I'm only a few blocks from the Civic Center.Thanks for the tip.Leon Jester
No problem. They let me walk around and just check out what they have. They supply most of the cabinet builders in the area. I found out about them when I was looking for a piece of Formica for my router table top. I happen to see the hardwood as I was browsing the warehouse. They have some nice ply and good prices. Here is a link to their store.
http://www.hardwoodgroup.com/roanoke/index.htm
Hotels are more along the line of $40/night. I find the back of my van is good enough for sleeping.I usually drive 1000 miles, 15 hours, a day when on the road. Even at $50/hr shop rate that mounts up.
I lost a commission for a bedroom set because my 3 local hardwood dealers didn't have any decent walnut. When Steve Wall Lumber had a sale on walnut, I bought 200 bf, and threw in another 100 bf of other wood while I was shipping anyway.
With shipping costs, the Steve Wall sale price was back to comparable to local prices, but the quality was pretty good - better than I was getting locally at the time. I would do it again.
I have also had wonderful comments about the wood and service from Hartzell Wood Stock in Iowa, but I haven't bought from them yet.
I have had pretty good luck buying from dealers who sell from the top of the stack, without letting people pick all the good boards first - which includes most of the mail order lumberyards. I don't mind searching for a special board, but don't want to spend half a day picking 100 bf of lumber.
High volume shippers get huge discounts from the truck lines, so get the estimate from the shipper, not from the truck company. Also, there is a big premium (about $40) for residential delivery, but you can save the cost by picking it up at the truck depot at your convenience (typically open 20 hours per day, 6 days per week)
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Charlie Plesums Austin, Texas
http://www.plesums.com/wood
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