I was looking at one of the woodworking tool catalogs online today, thinking about stuff I’d like to have, stuff I could afford, and stuff that fit both of those categories at the same time. I suppose I have the same quandry as a lot of woodworkers. Do I need to spend $150 on a great dovetail saw? Save up for $250 on an air cleaner, or a vacuum press?
Then it hit me: What do I need right now to finish the 3 projects that are sitting partly-done in my shop right now?
I need the wood to make them with!
The trouble is, the closest hardwood dealer to me is 70 miles away. I can only get there Saturdays, when they close at noon, and that’s tough to do with a 4-month old baby. There are no cabinet shops close by who are willing to share a delivery fee (Jerk, but another story), and there are no native trees locally that are of any use (unless I can make something out of skinny Chinese Tallow trees, then I’ll cut them down tomorrow). I can get stuff delivered sight-unseen, but that’s a $50 delivery fee.
I’m sure there are more than a few people here who share my dilemma. What do you do when you only need 4 bd. ft. of 6/4 or 8/4 walnut, like I do? Do you just stockpile, buying several hundred bucks worth at a time of different woods, just in case? Is mail order a decent option, or do you get burnt on shipping costs, and a delivery guy leaving your $10-a-foot goncalo alves in the sun on a 100 degree day?
Keep in mind, this is just my hobby. I can’t really justify buying a pallet of wood for “someday” kind of use. I’ve only completed 4 significant pieces in the past year (tables, small cabinet).
Part of me knows the answer is just to suck it up and spend $10 on gas and a half of a Saturday for $30 of wood, but I’m an optimist…
Thanks a bunch,
Kevin
Replies
Kevin,
A lot of great furniture, including a lot of the nicest work done by the Shakers, was built with tight grained pine, which you can still find by searching through the stacks at the local lumber yard or Home Depot. You can find gorgeous wood at a quarter of the price you would pay for hardwoods.
Except that it dents a bit more easily and dovetails need different proportions working with pine is very much the same as working with hardwoods. If anything, for clean cuts your tools will need to be sharper but they'll hold an edge longer. Nothing smells as nice as a shop where pine is being hand planed.
Have fun, John
Edited 5/7/2003 6:23:19 PM ET by JohnW
Edited 5/7/2003 6:23:52 PM ET by JohnW
My problem is a little different. There are lots of lumber yards close by 15 miles or less but I do not have a vehicle to handle the 12 ft boards all the yards carry, so I borrow a pickup from a friend and go once or twice a year and load up on popular, walnut, white oak, alder and maple and plywood and make do for 6 months.
I have just the oposit proplem.. too much wood! I started from humble beginnings, I used to take pallets apart for the hard wood that is in them.. Pallets I can get free just about any manufactoring plant near by.
ash and oak are the most common woods but you'd be amazed at what you can find!
I learned early on to run a belt sander over it before I ran things thru my planner because there is usually a lot of dirt and grit fround into them and planner blades don't like dirt and grit.
After that I started to work back up the pallet making chain untill I got to the sawmill that provides the wood for the pallets.. Sawmills that provide wood for pallets don't generally charge high prices for the wood or spend a great deal of time sorting things (It's called mill run when you just take the boards as they come off the log)
Costs back then started out around 10 to 15 cents a bd.ft. (early 1999) I got black walnut for 17 cents..
as recent as last spring I got 5/4 ash for only 15 cents a bd.ft. (I could have had 6/4 Basswood for the same price)
Now that is green rough and at the mill so you'll need to use a pick-up to bring them home. after that you need to be patient to let them air dry for about a year per inch of thickness or if you can bring them inside a heated house during the winter you can get them to about 8% moisture in about 45 days
If you have 300 dollars worth of whatever kind of wood, I'm certain that you could find a few willing to trade some of their wood for some of yours..
whatever you do please don't get as carried away as I am, at one point recently I had 36,000 bd.ft. of wood in my house and yard. Now much of it is in my timberframe house, but that's another story!
I've seen a lot of your posts about your surplus of wood, Frenchy. Believe me, I'm tempted to call some of my relatives in Minnesota and have them come visit you, but I would probably still be in the same spot.
Actually, you've given me a fantastic idea! I'm making a clock out of a quilted makore (veneer I bought on ebay, so no driving) and I wanted to do the four corners with walnut to contrast (4 pieces 1.5"x1.5"x13"), but I've been saving the pallet my TS came on, and it looks like some kind of mahogany cousin. I think I'll start dismantling it this weekend and see what comes out of it!
Thanks for the idea. I think I'll have to save up for a big trip for the other stuff though.
As for the saw mill idea, I don't think a lot of good hardwood grows around Houston, except a lot of Pecan further South around Freeport, TX (I'm in Galveston). It might still be worth a trip if the price was right. $0.17 a foot ain't bad for walnut, huh?
Thanks,
Kevin
You never know, give wood miser a call and see where the wood is.. I'm certain that there is a ton over in louisana and some of those Texas valleys are down right crowded with trees..
I wish I could give you an idea for your area, but I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that there are several sawmills in texas just waiting for your visit.. Like I said Woodmizer might be your first call and then a call to your state office.. somebody in Texas is in charge of trees..
Kevin,
I too had the same problem in New Mexico until I learned that a hardwood dealer made a weekly run to our town and set me up with an account. I had to meet the truck and off-load the material since he couldn't get his 18-wheeler to my house, otherwise they would have dropped it off at the house. There was no minimum quantity. So, if your local cabinet shops are jerks, thats fine: contact their supplier and see what you can work out. They are in the business of selling wood and when their truck is coming to your area, the delivery costs is already covered by the initial order. They would even call me when they were running specials to see if I was interest.
In my case, the company was Paxton Hardwods operating out of Albequerquey, and I can't say enough good things about their service.
Oh yeah, stocking up on more than you need provides you with a ready supply for the unexpected project, can get you a better price per board foot, and, perhaps most importantly, gives the "extra" wood drying time in your shop environment.
Doug
Kevin.
You mentioned that you live around Houston in your second post and Doug stated that he gets material from Paxton Lunber. I have purchased wood from Paxton stores in Dallas area and Austin and I would bet that they have a store in Houston. I live in South Texas, down near McAllen and it's tougher to get wood here. However, I finally found a source with South Texas Molding Co. I've purchased different milled hardwoods and recently they let me sort through a pallet of rough 5/4 walnut. I dropped off 3 dozen cinnamon rolls a few mornings later. I know that South Texas Molding has other locations in Texas and maybe there's one near you.
Jon
Kevin,
Lots of good sources already mentioned. If you're not picky, you can get some decent small pieces of common stuff from construction sites. They're usually okay with someone lightening their trash load. Chunks of 2 X ? can be band/scroll sawn into lots of cute stuff. It will keep you goin' till the good stuff is available.
Make some pull toys!
enjoy the wood and your baby!
Regards,
Mack
4bd ft ---
You are not using enough for price to matter.
I agree that Paxton will often deliver for you.
I have driven 1300 miles to pick up 100bdft of lumber. I even paid the mill a premium.
Depends on how much wood you need for a project at any one time a lot of lumber yards sel shorts or caulls for less money per bd ft. So look into that
Darkworks: Its all 'bout da squilla
You guys are the best.
I'm going to try a few things. I'm going to check Paxton and see if they're in Houston. Then I'll check with them and a couple others up there to see if they deliver to anyone here on the Island already, and if I can get the delivery fee split that way. I'm also going to try South Texas Molding too. Nice lead. Last, I'm going to do a little research into sawmills and see what turns up.
I have gone to HD lately and picked up some T&G SYP (southern yellow pine) just to mess around with, and it's comforting to know even if I really screw up it didn't cost me that much. I built a hall table a couple months ago out of it just so I could try my hand at finishing with schellac. I'm thinking of trying some other things with it, like a chair or bench, just to get practice in the joinery techniques.
I should probably clarify some about needing 4 bd ft of walnut too. I picked up about $400 of walnut (sheet goods & solid mixed) about 6 months ago, but wouldn't you know it that all I need to finish a small clock is a couple pieces and I'm all out. I guess I planned my needs for the walnut bookcase pretty well.
Any recommendations on getting wood delivered? I'm at a regular 9-5 and can't really get home to meet a delivery guy during the day, but will my stuff be okay from the heat and sun if it sits in the driveway for a few hours? I would think I'd be inviting disaster with that...I would need to work on the logistics of a delivery, but it's a small detail.
Again, thanks for the help,
Kevin
Kevin,
With regard to the delivery logistics of your wood issue, see if you can specify the carrier and pick up at their warehouse? Many of us have picked up our Grizzly TS at the carrier's warehouse because it was more convienent...
Kevin,
Keep an eye on either your newspaper or "penny-saver" as it's called out here. Answering those ad's has payed off nicely for me.
-Ken
The guys at West Penn are great to deal with-- look at the web site http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/ and call them. They pack with care, the guy took the phone out to the barn and picked some cherry for me piece by piece describing it to me so I could say yes/no. The site has a shipping chart-- looks like $30 for 70 lbs ($12 for 5lbs or less) to you. They ship Fedex.
I've been very happy with wood I've bought on Ebay from -- http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=burkes100&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=25
Also-
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=mollyb22&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=25
Check others on Ebay while there--
http://listings.ebay.com/pool2/plistings/list/all/category28138/index.html?from=R11
T
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