Replies

1. 
   arkriver | Dec 20, 2006 10:29pm | #1

   I ordered from Wall yrs ago and no problem. I've seen both outfits referenced in a positve manner on other message boards more recently

2. 
   frenchy | Dec 20, 2006 11:21pm | #2

   ChuckN

     Why would you consider internet wood?

    To me one of the real joys of wood working is to select wood for each place it goes.That plus the cost of wood on internet sites is shockingly high.. Perhaps I'm misjudgeing your needs and you only rarely need a board or two.. in that case does it matter?

    Perhaps you are house bound and simply cannot go and select wood yourself? 

    (I'm trying to figure out why internet wood has an appeal)..

1. 
   glasswd | Dec 21, 2006 04:18pm | #5

   I'm in a moderate size(pop.70,000) city in Jersey. At one time there were five good sized lumber yards in town. Now theres not a ONE! The closest is about a 40 minute drive. They're loaded with 2x's&ply.,but any decent hardwood needs to be ordered anyway. I would love nothing more than to be able to pick through stacks of good wood to find my choice pieces. For an affordable price they want you to order a s--t-load! So I don't have any choice but to order online. So far I've been lucking out as far as quality and price. When you sign up with them they keep you informed via e-mails as to specials and the like. Also often a lot of the sales offer free shipping. You're really lucky you've got a local place(s) to find your treasures,so KEEP patronizing them, because in to many areas of the country they're vanishing. Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

1. 
   ChuckN | Dec 21, 2006 06:48pm | #6

   Try it in a town of 2200.

   There's a mill just a few miles away where I can get some pretty good oak and walnut.  Once in a great while some maple then only if I happen to get there early.  Cherry would be out of the question.

   I don't do a great deal of work and, so far, the most exotic wood I've used is maple.  Oooo! :>)  But I'm looking forward to when my skill level gets to the point where I can justify that $200.00 cherry purchase.I spent a fortune on deodorant until I finally realized that people didn't like me anyway.

2. 
   frenchy | Dec 22, 2006 07:11pm | #9

   glasswd,

        Only briefly did I ever use a lumberyard.. by the time the wood arrives there all the really great stuff has been sorted out and price increased to the point where mere mortals cannot afford it..

     I wonder about the economics of internet buying.  Let's assume that one of those sites buys some wood, how much wood do they have to buy to get it at affordable prices?  At least as much as a lumberyard!.. Now there are also issues of wood quality.. Even if they sell only FAS wood and pay the attending premiumit is normal to have at least 5% culls in a stack of FAS wood.. wood that might be a lower grade but is not FAS level..   What do they do with those culls? 

      If they ship you a board that is below your expectations do you really go to the hassle and expense of shipping it back? Or do you try to make the best use of it you can? 

       Since you live in Jersey I simply am not familar with your situation and am reluctant to suggest a solution because I simply do not know if it's viable.

     

3. 
   markw12 | Dec 21, 2006 01:25am | #3

   I just received an order from internetlumber.   Up until now I have been using walnut, oak, and maple which are available locally.  I am planning a partners desk for our home office and wanted mahogany.  I have never tried an internet site for lumber and assumed that the cost of shipping would eat up any savings. 

   I was wrong.  I found I could get 100 bdf of african mahogany delivered for less than driving 120 miles to the closest reasonable provider of exotic hardwoods.  And I would have had to pay state and local tax on my order.

   The shipment was delivered in about 5 days and was in very good shape.  All pieces were 10 feet long with most pieces about 9 inches wide but a couple were 13 inches wide!

   I was very pleased with working with them.

   I hope this helps, I just went thru the same questions.

   Mark

    

    

    

    

4. 
   fussy | Dec 21, 2006 06:16am | #4

   I've bought from West Penn Hardwoods (http://www.westpennhardwoods.com) and been very satisfied.  You can usually get domestic hardwoods locally cheaper (depending on where locally is to you), but if not or if you need exotics, they're first class.  There's a lot of them.  http://www.woodfinder.com is a excellent resource.  Make sawdust, not war.

5. 
   user-244996 | Dec 22, 2006 01:52am | #7

   I have been using both Steve Wall and Internet with no complaints whatsoever. I just happen to live in an area that isn't  woodworker friendly so ordering online is about the best I can do. The following pics are projects using internet lumber.

   
   

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   Edited 12/21/2006 5:53 pm ET by larry w.

   
6. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Dec 22, 2006 06:24pm | #8

   I haven't used Steve's lumber as I have multiple choice's to choose from live here in Atlanta. But.. all feed-back I have seen is positive.

   I used to deal with Steve back when he was restoring a "muscle-car" he was building and I can say that he is a class act from a character stand-point. That has no relevance to the grade of wood he ships but might be meaningful as to if an inter-net site is run by "fly by nights"out to make a buck at your expense.

   Regards...

   SARGE.. jt