Anyone know of a hardwood supplier in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area? I recently moved to central MN and have not found a decent supplier yet. I am a hobbyist, so not looking for large quantities but would like to be able to pick and choose if possible.
Thanks
Tim
Replies
Ink Man,
Try http://www.woodfinder.com. Do trees grow that far north? I thought you guys just did ice sculpture. Have fun.
Steve
There are two secrets to keeping one's wife happy.
1. Let her think she's having her own way.
2. Let her have her own way. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
Fussy-I think they grow here. One time, while ice fishing on the 4th of July, it stopped snowing long enough that I thought I saw a tree. But, then it started snowing again so I'm not sure.
Tim
Tim,
I use http://www.hartzellwoodstock.bigstep.com/ in Lime Springs, IA, about 130 miles South of Minneapolis and http://www.wlumber.com/index.html, in Winthrop, IA, about 4 hours S of Minneapolis. Of course these are closer to me than you, but I have had good experience with both.
Try http://www.woodfinder.com/ to help you find something closer to you.
Paul
10-thanks for the feedback. Might be a little far for me, as I am located about 65 miles NW of the Twin Cities. The next time I'm down that way I will give them a look.
Tim
Frenchy will be along in a while and see this....he knows a good place down by Cannon Falls.
Stuart-I had heard of a supplier in Cannon Falls operating under the name of Northern Hardwoods Inc., but it sounds like they are no longer in business. If Frenchy sees this maybe he will confirm whether or not this is true. Thanks for the response.
Tim
I can confirm that Northern Hardwoods has closed - they auctioned off their remaining inventory and equipment several months ago. It is too bad, i got very good material from them at reasonable rates.Thew
I'll second Youngblood lumber. Service is second to none. If you are a hobbyist, you can get wholesale prices by becoming a member of the Minnesota Woodworkers Guild, which I would highly recommend regardless (http://www.mnwwg.org).Thew
Ink Man,
Check out http://www.forestproductssupply.com They are located in Maplewood on Hwy 61 just north of Hwy 36 and have a good supply of just about everything.
I like Forest Products too, but they're kind of a small potatoes operation.
I would also check out Youngblood's, which is one of my favorites:
http://www.youngbloodlumber.com/
If you're in the St. Paul side of the metro, Lake Elmo Lumber is worth a visit:
http://www.mniguide.com/info.asp?CID=86871
********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
The place in Cannon Falls is Johnson Brothers Logging.
Youngblood has the most complete inventory (thicknesses) around and lets you sort thru the piles for what you like. Just MAKE SURE you re-stack it when you're done! Prices are good too.
I'm sure there are small local sawmills in central MN near you - try looking here :
http://www.dnr.mn.gov/timber_producer/index.html?action=bytype&type=1
I think the Minnesota DNR also has a "secondary forest products" listing that shows some sawmills too. There can be some great deals at sawmills.
Oh yeah - Lake Elmo Hardwoods closed - the generation that inheritied it let it slide.
And Forest Products Supply - it's really a millwork shop that sells lumber too. It's a good place for shorts - 3' - 4'. They generate a lot and will sell them as low as $1-1.50bf if you take a bunch. Variety of species.
Lake Elmo closed the whole operation? The last I dealt with them was about 2 years ago. The order was big and complicated, and they seemed kind of disorganized. I ended up going back to Youngblood's, since I really needed to work with somebody who knew what they were doing.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Yup Nikki - closed completely. I understand they were quite the name in hardwood around the Cities at one time.
I first went there about 3 years ago and wasn't impressed. Prices seemed high and even worse, the employees didn't seem to even care if you were there and seemed to be irritated if you asked them anything. This may have been a reflection of employee unhappiness working somewhere that was going downhill. In any case, I never went back and I've heard other had the same feel about the place.
InkMan,
If you'd just like a few boards Youngblood lumber in Mpls is the place to go.. I forget the name of the place in Lake Elmo that I used to go to as well.. Maybe someone will recall it..
If you want wood for a tiny fraction of what it costs at places like that and are willing to dry and mill your own Buy wood from Johnson Logging in Cannon Falls MInnesota.. I bought some fiddleback maple for only 10 cents a bd.ft. and it.s beautiful (look at the pictures of my house) I got black walnut for only 17 cents a bd.ft.
Now those are all deals on wood that was ordered and not picked up and would be taken to pallet mills. Normal prices are white oak costs 80 cents a bd.ft. cherry is around $1.65 softwoods sell for around 40 cents.
everything is rough and green at the mill and it's mill run.. that means just as it comes off the tree..
If you are looking for bland wood that doesn't have any character you'll need to pay another ten sents a bd. foot for grading and then market prices for FAS etc..
The deal however as far as I'm concerned is in woods with character.. burls, flames, bridseye, crotch etc.. they are all part of Mill run..
For what the average wood worker pays for a few nice boards with character I can buy hundreds of boards and get some of that bland FAS knot free wood, get a few pieces of wood that are only suitable for firewood and get a lot of boards that have some charcter or are nice and straight grained for say 2 or 3 feet. but have too many knots to be graded FAS..
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