Where to Buy?

[AndrewRaastad]

I'm looking to take on some projects I've seen here on TWW, as well as maybe try some of those you can buy the plans for. But I am not familiar with where to buy decent quantities of wood (other than Home Depot and Lowe's of course).

I was over at WoodCraft (http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=563) the other day and they have a little bit of a selection of various types, but what they had seemed to be thin boards or long/short blocks for turning.

Looking on Google, I found Wood Workers Source (http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=563) who seems to have a good selection (on line at least). Also, I found Rockler (http://www.rockler.com/) who again seem to have a decent source displayed on their website.

These three (WoodCraft, Wood Workers Source, and Rockler) seem to be the only ones that come up again and again. Are there any other locations in the Phoenix, AZ area?

When I was up visiting my Dad in Billings, MT, there was this store named A&H Turf & Specialties (http://www.ahturf.com/) that was a really great woodworking and wood related place, and they also had a *huge* on-site wood supply that included all the 'regular' types as well as the more exotic. It wasn't as big as the supply you see at Home Depot, but very close (for those who may be in the Billings area and don't know of this place, check it out: http://goo.gl/maps/BQuH). Is there anything like that down here?

I guess this is just a long winded question for, where do you go to buy the type, quality, and quantity of wood you need for your projects?

-- Andrew

[Rgraham888]

Woodworld.com ships, and Woodvendors.com lets people sell in bulk, keep an eye on the "for woodworkers" section. Personally, I buy from Brazos Forest Products in Texas because I can drive to their place and pick up wood at great prices.

[Ben H]

Hey Andrew, perhaps Marc will chime in, but here is the results of a Craigslist search in your area. I searched for "lumber"

LUMBER

I've had great luck finding decent wood on CL, if you are just starting out, and don't want to spend big money on wood, it should be a fine outlet for you.

[adamking]

Hey Andrew,

You really want to find a dealer that's close to you. This can be a saw mill/lumber yard(preferably), or an outfit that only sells the lumber. If you can find one in your area that's within driving distance, you're better off. This will give you the chance to see the wood first hand and select it according to size, grain pattern, and allow to avoid defects.

A Google search with your location and "lumber dealer" or "hardwood dealer" should turn up some results. If there aren't any that are within a few hours of you, then look for one that's maybe half a day away or so that will deliver or ship. It's going to be cheaper than one that's across the country.

Hope this helps.

[PaulMarcel]

In Phoenix, the problem is getting rough stock. I used to get it from a guy in Chandler, but he's since stopped selling lumber and is trying to make custom furniture. boo hoo for me.

Otherwise, you'll find a decent selection and price at Timber in Mesa (between Mesa Dr and Stapley on Southern Ave). Even have some very long boards.

I avoid the Woodcrafts and Rocklers since it bugs the b-jezuz out of me that they pre-plane it "for your convenience" to 3/4". Any movement after that thankful planing, you'll have a difficult time getting out without ending up with Melba toast. Besides, their prices are generally too high. Now Rockler in Phoenix does sometimes do a pallet sale where they bring in a lot of a single species (at 3/4" grrrr) and sell it off at a pretty decent price. I bought some cherry and curly maple at those sales with the intention of using them for small boxes where I'd likely plane it down to 1/2" anyway.

Woodworker's Source has a huge variety of everything. Their wood is also easily the prettiest; they seem to hand-pick the stock. You pay for it, for sure, but if you go during their sales, the price is reasonable. Go to their web site and sign up for their newsletter to know when they have sales. October was 25% off all exotics, IIRC. Every month has a featured wood or two and it's never something commonplace. They also have every Powermatic made in the store and a full shop in the back so if you don't have facilities to plane, edge, drum sand boards, they can do it for a fee.

If you find something else or know of something else, pass it along. I'm so missing my old dealer... I used to get 4/4 rough stock and could easily plane it clean to 1.1" thick it was that nice.

[jHop]

one other source you might cultivate are local tree care services in the area. (Yes, I realize Arizona will not have many of these. But others reading this board can also benefit.) They will not cut the trees into lumber for you, but you might be able to get them to leave you a few timbers/branches/limbs/etc for you to create your own lumber out of.

Make no mistake, this does not replace a lumber yard or wood seller. It's another option, once you develop the confidence in your milling skills.

Alternatively, you can make deals with the homeowners themselves. This might require the purchase of portable milling machines, or temporary storage agreements with the owners while you truck the storm damaged tree fall off their property to a milling area.

Last suggestion I'm going to make (it's too late to think straight) would be online lumber companies. Like Bell Forest, as an example. Yes, you're paying shipping, but it's another alternative.

**EDIT** one thought just popped into mind. to expand on Adam's thought, you can also check for 'building suppliers.' Yes, this will not be a full range of wood, but it should be slightly bigger than the BORG

[harmsdph]

Andrew, have you checked woodfinder.com? it helped me find a local hardwood dealer.

also might try maps.google.com and use your zip plus "hardwood" you'll get a lot of hardwood floor dealers but you can dig through them and might find something local.

[AndrewRaastad]

Woodworld.com ships, and Woodvendors.com lets people sell in bulk, keep an eye on the "for woodworkers" section. Personally, I buy from Brazos Forest Products in Texas because I can drive to their place and pick up wood at great prices.

Thanks for these two sites, I've added them to my list. Checked out their stuff and looks like a pretty good selection. Never hurts to have plenty of options once the project is about to start!

-- Andrew

[AndrewRaastad]

Hey Andrew, perhaps Marc will chime in, but here is the results of a Craigslist search in your area. I searched for "lumber"

LUMBER

I've had great luck finding decent wood on CL, if you are just starting out, and don't want to spend big money on wood, it should be a fine outlet for you.

Never thought about Craig's List... will check it out. Thanks!

-- Andrew

[AndrewRaastad]

Hey Andrew,

You really want to find a dealer that's close to you. This can be a saw mill/lumber yard(preferably), or an outfit that only sells the lumber. If you can find one in your area that's within driving distance, you're better off. This will give you the chance to see the wood first hand and select it according to size, grain pattern, and allow to avoid defects.

A Google search with your location and "lumber dealer" or "hardwood dealer" should turn up some results. If there aren't any that are within a few hours of you, then look for one that's maybe half a day away or so that will deliver or ship. It's going to be cheaper than one that's across the country.

Hope this helps.

Good call Adam, I know what you mean. Up where my Dad is in Montana, he has a lumber mill just a few miles down the road so he can easily get any wood he needs. And for the exotics there is the place in Billings I mentioned. Looking at some of the local places to me, Woodworker's Source (http://www.WoodworkersSource.com) seems to measure up, but I haven't had a chance to drop by yet to see with my own eyes. We'll see....

-- Andrew

[AndrewRaastad]

In Phoenix, the problem is getting rough stock. I used to get it from a guy in Chandler, but he's since stopped selling lumber and is trying to make custom furniture. boo hoo for me.

Otherwise, you'll find a decent selection and price at Timber in Mesa (between Mesa Dr and Stapley on Southern Ave). Even have some very long boards.

I avoid the Woodcrafts and Rocklers since it bugs the b-jezuz out of me that they pre-plane it "for your convenience" to 3/4". Any movement after that thankful planing, you'll have a difficult time getting out without ending up with Melba toast. Besides, their prices are generally too high. Now Rockler in Phoenix does sometimes do a pallet sale where they bring in a lot of a single species (at 3/4" grrrr) and sell it off at a pretty decent price. I bought some cherry and curly maple at those sales with the intention of using them for small boxes where I'd likely plane it down to 1/2" anyway.

Woodworker's Source has a huge variety of everything. Their wood is also easily the prettiest; they seem to hand-pick the stock. You pay for it, for sure, but if you go during their sales, the price is reasonable. Go to their web site and sign up for their newsletter to know when they have sales. October was 25% off all exotics, IIRC. Every month has a featured wood or two and it's never something commonplace. They also have every Powermatic made in the store and a full shop in the back so if you don't have facilities to plane, edge, drum sand boards, they can do it for a fee.

If you find something else or know of something else, pass it along. I'm so missing my old dealer... I used to get 4/4 rough stock and could easily plane it clean to 1.1" thick it was that nice.

Thanks Paul, I can't agree more. I haven't been to Rockler's yet (they're in North Phoenix and I live south of the valley) but when I looked through the stock at WoodCraft it was just as you described. I would not have been able to make the cutting board I did had I tried to purchase wood there.... just not wide or think enough. Good wood, but very limiting in applications based on the sizes they have. You'd have to do a lot of gluing pieces together to get to the sizes you need, and I would rather start from a solid piece if possible.

I will check out Timber Woodworking Machinery over in Mesa soon as I get the chance, but for now will browse their website. Thanks!

-- Andrew

[AndrewRaastad]

one other source you might cultivate are local tree care services in the area. (Yes, I realize Arizona will not have many of these. But others reading this board can also benefit.) They will not cut the trees into lumber for you, but you might be able to get them to leave you a few timbers/branches/limbs/etc for you to create your own lumber out of.

Make no mistake, this does not replace a lumber yard or wood seller. It's another option, once you develop the confidence in your milling skills.

Alternatively, you can make deals with the homeowners themselves. This might require the purchase of portable milling machines, or temporary storage agreements with the owners while you truck the storm damaged tree fall off their property to a milling area.

Last suggestion I'm going to make (it's too late to think straight) would be online lumber companies. Like Bell Forest, as an example. Yes, you're paying shipping, but it's another alternative.

**EDIT** one thought just popped into mind. to expand on Adam's thought, you can also check for 'building suppliers.' Yes, this will not be a full range of wood, but it should be slightly bigger than the BORG

Thanks AJ, had not thought of these either.... never know, might be able to get some good deals at decent prices with these. Will give 'em a try and see what happens.

-- Andrew

[AndrewRaastad]

Andrew, have you checked woodfinder.com? it helped me find a local hardwood dealer.

also might try maps.google.com and use your zip plus "hardwood" you'll get a lot of hardwood floor dealers but you can dig through them and might find something local.

Actually, that was one of the first sites I tried, and it gave me only the three sites I mentioned, as being nearby to me. I'll try your other suggestion using Google Maps and see what I can find.

Thanks!

-- Andrew

[Bombarde16]

www.woodfinder.com has a search engine for hardwood lumber dealers based on zip code.