Where do I find wood for furniture?
I find the big box stores and lumber yards stock constuction materials but furniture grade wood they do not.
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Replies
Depends on your location. If you have a Woodcraft store in town, you can buy hardwood lumber there; if not they sell it by mail order.
In the Yellow pages under Lumber, you want a lumberyard that sells hardwoods. Most larger cities and towns (<250,000) have at least one.
If you strike out there, try the woodweb for a list of places to purchase over the net.
Kell
I have purchased a large part of my wood stash at farm auctions. If you are in a rural area, keep an eye on the local papers for auctions. Most farmers have salted away some lumber over the years. Often the prices are good ($1/bd ft). However it is time consuming and not for everyone.
I've also cut some of my own wood. Sometimes you can come across friends trying to get rid of logs. You can cut them and dry them if you have the space.
Doug
If you don't know where the wood mills are in your state you can also contact your state extention service. They should be able to supply the names of most/all registered saw mills in your state.
The woodshop teachers at your public high school vocational center may also have some tips for you.
Good luck,
Stuart
I am in Toronto, Canada BTW.
Anybody know of a good supplier up here?
Years ago when I lived in Toronto I bought from a firmcall Robert Bury, they were on Simcoe st. I believe.
Good luck - Steve
I found this web site to be very helpful in locating hardwood sources near me. It is: http://www.woodfinder.net/
Hope this helps.
thanks for the link I found a couple of mills less than 70 miles that I didnt know of.
I am a Toronto native now living in London. There are a couple of mills out this way, but closer to you, you might want to try this link out in Burlington (not that far a drive). Never been there, but I always say I'm going to pass by sometime.
http://www.exotic-woods.com/
KJ
in my ignorance I have not read any other posts so forgive me if this is a repeat. I buy from a place called winsor plywood. they have a website that lists their locations
Just checked them out at windsorplywood.com and they only have a store in thunderbay
Derek
best place in toronto, bar none is oliver lumber on vickers road in etobicoke. that's at dundas st. w. and the east mall. great place huge selection happy hunting. TTFN.
Tom Fidgen teaches woodworking in Toronto. Try him for sources.
Anyone have a source for a good variety of rough sawn hardwood lumber in Central California?
McBeath
look them up on the web, they have several locations
Believe it or not, but I get my poplar, oak and birch from either of two local Home Depots. The stuff is good quality, well milled, and reasonably priced. When I happen to be there just after they've restocked, I'll sometimes stockpile if I know I have a project coming up.
The biggest hassle is having to rearrange the stuff if it's been picked through. Folks don't seem to get the idea that they should at least put the culls back in the racks. lol
Most of the hardwood I see at my local HD is either bowed or warped. I don't know how anyone builds anything with it. Not to mention the $$$
It used to be that way here, too. I don't know what changed them, but I'm sure glad. - lol
Look up hardwoods in the phone directories covering towns within 60 miles of where you live. I find for some wood selections, I need to drive up to 90 minutes. The local yellow pages has one good source, but I've found others through web searches and my local woodworker association.
Another option is to go to a local woodworking shop and ask them where they go (but be sure they sell retail).
Paul
I am fortunate to live in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. We have a couple of sawmills, but the one I use exclusively is listed below, and they ship. Billy Groff and I have been friends for years, he imports and exports find quality wood of all types. it is worth a trip from anywhere in the world, just to walk around his warehouse. You can pick and choose, help with the planing, whatever. And I wish everyone a very happy Holiday Season.
Groff & Groff Lumber
[email protected]
858 Scotland Rd.
Quarryville, PA 17566
(800) 342-0001
Fasteddie
I am not far from Groff&Groff and amen to all you've said about them.
BTW: Years ago their wood was featured in a back cover pictorial in Fine Homebuilding. 36" Walnut planks in a home library floor.
Hello FastEddie-----I agree with you on Groff and Groff. I live in North Carolina-- needed 8/4 butternut for windsor chair seats and 5/4 for a table top. I called and explained what I needed and how I intended to use it. I also stressed how I needed to control waste(I worked for a millwork company for about 5 years). I was a little uncomfortable buying sight unseen from a company I had no knowledge of. When the material arrived I was pleasantly surprised---They did an excellent job picking the lumber for me. The downside(if any) is the shipping cost from Pa. to NC. However if you weigh out the cost of driving from lumber yard to lumber yard in search of good quality material and the time you have involved, the shipping cosy may actually be minimal.
I intend to buy from them in the future when the need arises. You definitely have a valuable friend there. Please tell them hello for me the next time you cross paths ---and pass on the compliments for me please.
Regards, walnutjerry(Jerry Hartsell)
I used to buy from Groff & Hearn. I think they pre-dated Groff & Groff?
At any rate, I have found that most of the boutique wood suppliers that you used to find in the old printed FWW mags have been quite reputable.
In addition to using Woodfinder, you could call a couple of cabinet shops in your area and ask them about sources. Another idea: Find a gallery or two and call some of the woodworkers whose work is featured, see if they'll give some recommendations.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Steve Wall, in North Carolina.
http://www.walllumber.com/default.asp
I've bought from Oliver Lumber. They're in Etobicoke and have about 2,000,000 bf of lumber in their warehouse. All the common domestics and exotics. Their website is http://www.oliverlumber.com and they have a listing of current stock and thicknesses (most species to 16/4). They have just about anything you need. I live about three hours west of T.O. and they deliver my way each week. Delivery charge depends on order size. You can also pick up. They don't have prices on their website, but, you can contact them with a request and they will get back to you with price fairly quickly. The times I have dealt with them have been good experiences.
Doug
Morpeth, Ontario
What are the prices like? Better than HD?They say wholesale. Is that correct?
The last time I bought from them was summer 2003. I paid about $3.60/bd ft for select and better maple all sap. Prices are comparable to what is listed in woodweb for the going rates on hardwood (converted to Can$). I think that is quite a bit cheaper than HD. No middle man. Ask them for a quote on what you need. I'm pretty sure they will be as competitive as anyone else. You also can't beat the one stop shopping for wood. I needed about 1000 bd ft of the maple and they delivered the following week. One other thing - I discovered Oliver when I saw their truck delivering to the local sawmill/wood store. That told me something.
Doug
I have found the best way to find hardwood is seek out small town woodworkers. Pick up a card at a craft show or antique mall of someone doing reproduction work, woodworking craft things, etc. I have several sources in western Virginia that mill and dry their own, plus make extra money selling to others. The lumber is usually rough which is my preference, but it's also cheap . . . $2.50/bf for walnut, maple, cherry . . . and 6 - 9% moisture when received. I like to support the local guys whenever possible. You've got to find them, take the truck and drag it home, but it's worth it, plus you usually make a new friend in the process!
Hello Jim,
Where are you in western Va? I'm just south of Harrisonburg.
Regards,
Ray
I'm in the Wytheville area. One of the wood suppliers I mentioned is in Floyd, VA, which is about a half hour west of Roanoke in the mountains. Let me know if interested and I'll dig up a phone number for you.
Jim,
Sure, let me know, if not too much trouble.
Have you met/do you know Jake Cress, in Fincastle? Or Porter Caldwell? Jake's a woodworker, Porter has a portable gristmill that he takes to shows. Both are certifiable "characters".
Cheers,
Ray
any one up around Orlando or Mt Dora know of a saw mill that only cuts native Florida woods--suppose to have anything and everythingmaking sawdust
Edited 12/19/2004 10:34 pm ET by vern
Vern -- call Bob Hughes at 407-349-9911, or 407-417-6010 (cell). They are in Geneva. They have an extensive list of local and other species, most of which they have sawn and dried. Nice people.
thanks Jim I will pass this on and will also give him a call happy holidaysmaking sawdust
Ya know . . . either I or one of my sisters went to school with a Jake Cress in Norton, Virginia in the 60's. . . I've seen his name and his infamous ball and claw chair with the claw releasing the ball, and have wondered if it was one and the same! In Fincastle . . . very interesting! I'll dig up that number and post it later.
Jim
Thanks, Jim,
If you run across Jake, tell him I said hello.
Cheers,
Ray
Ray . . . here's that number for the wood source in Floyd. It's Phoenix Hardwoods (540) 745-6403, [email protected]. Good luck!
Jim
Thanks, Jim. I appreciate that. Have a merry Christmas.
Ray
I live west of Chicago. By far the best retailer of furniture grade lumber near me is Owl Hardwood (in Des Plaines and Lombard). They have an excellent selection of all different species, plywood, and millwork.
I also have a Rockler and Woodcraft near me, but for Lumber I find their selections not very good (Rockler does get truckloads of cheap lumber from time-to-time). Rockler and Woodcraft are also about .50 - 1.00 bft more than OWL Hardwood.
I have not tried it out yet, but I've heard the Kirkland Sawmill in Kirkland, IL is cheap and has a pretty good selection.
Buckeye Hardwood, Arlee, Montana! (Where the heck is Arlee, MT, you're thinking. No, wait, you're thinking, where the heck is Montana!?)
Alan & Lynette Mikkelsen, Mountain View Farm, est. 1934, Gardens & Fine Woodworking, St. Ignatius, MT
Is most of the wood you all buy rough, needing to be worked before using it?I don't have the tools (planner/joiner) for that. Will most suppliers have wood finished or can you get them to do it for you?
A lot of places will surface for you. There is usually a charge to do that. If you haven't already contacted Oliver for a quote, include that in your request for a quote.
Doug in Morpeth
I buy wood rough because, for most of the surfaced wood I've seen, it ends up warping between the time it gets surfaced, and I see it in the store. So I'd have to make it thinner than it already is before I could use it. Surfaced wood is also alot more expensive.
If you're going to build furniture, you need to start with straight and square stock. You'll need to get either the power tools or the hand tools to do it. I have one friend who signed up to a community college cource primarily so he could get access to their tools for a project he wants to do.
As I have posted before in this thread, I purchase all my wood from Groff and Groff in Lancaster County, Pa. For 30 cents/bdf, they will surface 3 sides for me. I can pay that for quite a while before I justify a planer and joiner, two more tools I don't have room for and will need some constant upkeep and maintenence.
Everyone, have a wonderful Holiday.
LIVE WELL, LAUGH OFTEN, LOVE MUCH
Fast Eddie
“[Deleted]”
I don't know where you are, but there is a great place in Charlotte Mich, L.L.Johnson Co.
Tom
You could try A & M wood supply in Cambridge Ontario, not the cheapest place but they have a great selection, and they will for a charge surface the wood for you. Also for better yet selection there is a mill in Courtland Ontario EAst of Tillsonburg that has real good prices and selection but only rough. They are a large mill but have a barn that caters to home woodworkers, and they mill and dry their own wood. The name escapes me just now, but if you are inteterested let me know and I will give you directions.
Also near Courtland is a smaller operation with excellent prices and sometimes some odd stuff, like 15 inch wide clear pine, and he will surface for you and he cuts and mills and drys it himself.
In London I buy from Philmore enterprises, local guy but knows his stuff and he will do whatever you want with the wood, for a fee of course.
Seaumas,
I think you are referring to Townsend Lumber just south of Tillsonburg. They also have a semi-annual public auction of wood.
Thanks Doug that is who I am referring to, the guy there Randy Sage I believe his name is, is used to helping woodworkers with projects and is very helpful.
You might try A&M Wood Specialty @ http://www.forloversofwood.com. The addrress is
358 Eagle Street North, P.O. Box 32040, Cambridge, Ontario, Phone 519-653-9322.
Good luck with your search.
Ernie
we have a Marketplace for the wood, where you can find used item and new item also at affordable cost.
Not to sound ghoulish but how about the obituaries? I've been doing this for 50 + years and we're dropping off like flies! I've been acquiring a lot of former friends and colleagues personal stashes. A friend of mine just died, I owed him some money by the way. He died from sequoiaosis, think about that! Been sick with it for years. 0He had one particular pile of lumber that I had been trying to get off of him for 20 years. There is some relative that now has the problem of what to do with all that stuff. He had lumber stored in every room in his house !I just ask...I'll take it all sight unseen and we negotiate a price. I'm pretty much tooled out but it's a great way to get tools as well. I look around my shop and what a goldmine someone will find when my time comes!
Got to be a record, looking for wood for 17 years!
I look for wood at least 3X per week.
Not sayin' I find it but it is the quest that keeps me goin'!
At one time one of the magazines kept a list by state. Thought it was woodmagazine.com, but couldn't find the link.
It was over a year ago and at that time my price with the US/Can dollar exchange the price was very competitive. Our dollar has gone from about $0.65 US to about $0.82 US so that should make a difference.
Doug
Happy Holidays
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