21 replies to this topic

[ddh]

Hi everyone - I'm a relative newbie to woodworking and am thinking about tackling the Roubo build. I'm a little behind the eight ball here, but happy to join to party!

There are two main lumber mills here in NH and the cost of 8/4 soft maple is around $4.20bf. Given the the prices that Bell Forest is offering for the build, it seems relatively comparable assuming that they provide decent lumber. Seeing that they work with Marc, I would assume that they offer decent product.

Has anyone out there used them as a source for lumber for this build or other projects? They also are offering the option of planed lumber as well as straight line ripped which is a little attractive to me. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[kyleheon]

I'm in the same position, newbie and located in Southern Maine and work on the coast in NH. Curious as to which lumber yards you are referring to. I checked w/Highland Hardwoods and they quoted me the same $4.20/bf for 8/4 with a 10% discount for orders over 100 bf.

[TripleH (hhh)]

==> 4.20 is in the right ball park. the only issue with BFP is cost of shipping 500-1000lbs of wood... not cheep...

[ddh]

Hi Kyle - I'm located just outside of Concord so just about an hour west of you. If you are interested, this could be a great "tag-team" effort - being newbies and for a project as large as this - two heads have got to be better than one!

Highland Hardwoods was where I was originally planning on getting the lumber from. Stopped by yesterday without even considering that they may not have any (only 2-3 boards) of 8/4 soft maple on hand! The other nearby to me is Goosebay Lumber (http://goosebaylumber.net/). Smaller operation, similar prices but without the discount and additional charges for boards over a width of 8''. Have you started getting your lumber together yet or at the same planning stage as myself?

Bell Forest quoted me a residential delivery fee of $240 - no tax in NH if you're interested in picking up your lumber at my house!

[thewoodwhisperer]

Bell Forest's stock is top notch. And if something isnt right with your order, they will take care of you. But this is a significant amount of wood. So when you factor in the shipping fee, you'd have to have a fairly high local price for it to be worth it. but for those without a local source or transportation, its a really good option.

[kaiser]

I am in NY and paid 2.65 per bd ft. for soft maple 8/4 and 3.05 for 12/4. That seems to be a bit much. Hard maple might be a better choice for all New Englanders, being that a lot of the hard maple in this country comes from up there. Oh and BTW BIG BLUE...........GO GIANTS. Just got back from Vermont this past Tues. and Check some prices and mom and pop sawmills and the hard maple was pretty cheap. If I recall correctly the 8/4 was around 3.75 per bd. ft.
KAISER OUT.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Go Giants indeed! May they resist the powers of Brady....by some miracle, lol.

[kyleheon]

I'm not even sure I can do this build at this time so don't wait on me if you are indeed going to do this. I SO want to but the cost is prohibiting me at this time. I spent a ton of money recently on shop equipment (bandsaw, planer, drill press and cyclone dust collector) and now have none left for wood, well none for a project this big.

I might ping Highland Hardwood again and inquire about hard maple to see if tht would be cheaper.

GO PATRIOTS!

[ddh]

Kyle - I know where you are coming from... The hard maple at Highland is even more expensive - just a bit over $5 a bf. They do offer a "commercial discount" for 250bf and over - if we put our orders in together, I would think we would get a larger than 10% discount. Maybe that will tip you over the edge one way or another?

I'm still in the contemplative phase but really itching to move on the build!

[ddh]

Kaiser - Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give a few other local mills a call and see what they've got. Maybe even look into the Vermont border too!

Kyle - I sent you a private message. Thought we could take local NH lumber discussion offline if you were interested in chatting more!

Living in New England, its tough being a... GIANTS fan!

[Darth Rust]

Maybe I'm too new to this, but, I find it very interesting that Bell Forrest is selling it as a 220BF pack. The V3 cutlist totals 127 BF, and with a 15% rule, that should be around 146BF. Call it 160 for additional swag (now up to 25%). What's the 60BF difference bound up in? Is there that much waste in the milling and cuts? That seems like an awful lot of scrap at the end.

And wow, looking at the prices of the hardware and wood, if I had any hope at all of getting the lumber milled, I'd probably be doing this in SYP because I could probably leave Lowes with 220bf of 2x10x16' for under $100 (al la the Schwarz route).

(Also, you're other comments are lost on me becase I don't watch baseball, so there ).

[Particle Board]

I havent looked but bf depends on the grade of lumber. 15% shop loss add 15% for fas or up to 40% for common select.

Don

[Jodavis]

I deal with a small lumber mill in NC he ships anywhere in the us soft maple was 1.80 a bf last month you should give him a call
he has most everything he is the cheapest ive found anywhere and ive got quite a bit of lumber from him
Murdocks portable saw mill 9196691859 jack@ncsawmill.com he is a little slow on return calls, he always sawing trees
but he can get any domestic lumber you need kiln and air dried.
ive also worked out a deal for the woodwhisperer guild so mention it when you call

[ddh]

Thanks for the recommendation Jodavis. 1.80 a bf is incredible!

[TripleH (hhh)]

==> 1.80 a bf is incredible
that is an amazing price. if you end up sourcing some of this, would be interested in feedback on quality. at that price, i can think of several projects planned for 2012 that would switch to maple.

[Jodavis]

I've gotten figured cherry, figured maple and a large cherry burl
and ash is in the kiln for my roubo all from him
So far so good on quality
Extremely good on price
He is just not very fast
It's a more work than time thing from what I can tell.

[Morton]

I live outside Boston and have used Highland Hardwood a few times - I really like them. I went another route and found a timber framer and got some Doug Fir for this build. I think I'd prefer a hardwood for my bench overall, but honestly don't think it'll matter (for me) - and the price was $2 / bd ft. Plus it's going to be easier to build out of Fir than Maple (all the tools will cut much faster / easier) - and of course re-surfacing the top over time.

[TripleH (hhh)]

==> that Bell Forrest is selling it as a 220BF pac
==> bf depends on the grade of lumber

all comes down to stick width. at 5"/10" -- little waste. At 6, 7, 12 lots of waste. at 8 max waste.

[Darth Rust]

all comes down to stick width. at 5"/10" -- little waste. At 6, 7, 12 lots of waste. at 8 max waste.

Ah! Yes indeed. The cursed 3rd dimension was eluding my thinking. Combine that with grade wasteage and it makes much more sense now. Thanks.

[Darth Rust]

Murdocks portable saw mill 9196691859 jack@ncsawmill.com he is a little slow on return calls, he always sawing trees
but he can get any domestic lumber you need kiln and air dried.
ive also worked out a deal for the woodwhisperer guild so mention it when you call

Any idea where in NC he is? That might be a few hour drive to safe on shipping. Come summer, after I get a jointer/planer worked out, I may well giving him a try.