Looking for an online lumber source that is good at selecting boards to specifications

[Dolmetscher007]

Hey Guys,

I have some projects that require some very specific hardwood specifications. The species I need are not that hard to find. However, the board selection must be spot on. Specifically, I need

• 8/4 Sapele
• 8/4 Hard Maple
• 8/4 Quartersawn White Oak

No big deal. But I need all of these boards to be as close to dead on quartersawn, straight grained with no (as little as possible) grain run out, they must be as absolutely straight as possible with no cup or twist, and they must have been properly kilned to a low <5-7%  MC and stable as possible. I do not live near a lumber yard that has the above hardwoods, and I haven't been able to find one within an 8 hour driving distance. So, I'm going to have to rely on someone there, and pay the damn shipping (barf!). Anyone have a suggestion on an online source that fits this bill? www.woodworkerssource.com has not responded to a single email that I've sent them in over 2 years. I've sent them 6 emails to ask different questions, and they have all gone unanswered. I work in internet technology, so I figured out that they have some "Mailbox is full" issue that is causing my emails to not be received. So, this bad IT, plus the fact that they shipping rates are the highest I've seen on the internet, cause me to give them a thumbs down. Any other ideas? 

[Kurt Triebe]

I had some specific wood requests (not quite as specific as you, but also not just “I need 60bf”) and C.R. Muterspaw was great. Great prices, insanely fast shipping, and the wood was great- just what I asked for. They’re in Ohio, and I got my wood in Illinois like 2 days after ordering. 

[curlyoak]

2 hours ago, Dolmetscher007 said:

to be as close to dead on quartersawn, straight grained with no (as little as possible) grain run out, they must be as absolutely straight as possible with no cup or twist, and they must have been properly kilned to a low <5-7%  MC and stable as possible.

5-7% is a reasonable demand. But I think the rest of your demands are excessive. The high grade of FAS would not qualify for your demands. Rough sawn fas lumber will have some cups and twists but they will mill out to true, straight and flat. If you needed longer lengths true and flat, add more cash. You did not indicate if you need it milled or how wide the boards need to be. Wider the wood the more the money.

What is your project?

[Dolmetscher007]

1 minute ago, curlyoak said:

Rough sawn fas lumber will have some cups and twists but they will mill out to true, straight and flat.

Definitely. I don't expect rough sawn lumber to just show up slick and dead flat all around. I should have stipulated that I'd need them to S4S, or at least S2S the lumber prior to sending it to me. I do not have a joiner or any other reasonable way to S4S lumber myself. 

The reason I need it to be so stable and straight grained, is because I want to use it to build neck-through electric guitars. This means that the neck is not separate from the body and glued in; instead the neck continues all the way through the center of the guitar body, The board would start out at 1.75" thick (the thickness of the guitar body), and 5" wide. Since a guitar body is between 14-16 inches at it's widest section, I glue two "ears" on each side of the body block. These "ears" can be pretty much any hardwood (alder, ash, basswood).

So yeah... I just need it to be straight once S4S'ed, and I need it to be straight-grained and quartersawn so that it is more likely to stay straight. 

[wdwerker]

S3S is more typically available. They surface 2 sides and straight line rip one edge. Board footage is calculated before planing & ripping. Some boards have more taken off to establish that straight side. So be aware of the possible difference between milled & rough dimensions. Your tablesaw can create the 4th straight side. A router and a good straightedge can clean up a side to create a glue line quality joint.  You might need to buy extra wood to ensure you can cut enough pristine sections to build the project.

[Martin-IT]

Where are you located ? may be someone knows a place to source 'locally'  aka 8 hours drive (which is 1/6 of driving east to west) ?

[..Kev]

Bell Forest is really good..  I've used them a few times.

[curlyoak]

If you are going to make one or a few guitars your best chance may be a local cabinet shop. A busy shop that uses the material you are after gets cheap freight. Also if you gave the minimum dimensions for the pieces the shop could get you to the point where you take over. It is easier to find shorter clear and straight than longer pieces.

[Chestnut]

https://nwtimber.com/terms.asp

Not so sure the criteria you put on this will even result in your end goal 5-7% is really low and almost everywhere in the US except for maybe the desert is going to have a higher EMC than that and will result in the wood moving. Besides a guitar is going to move from environment to environment and will change in MC. You need stable boards and as wood is a natural material i don't think there is ever a guarentee like that someone would be willing to make.

You will find someone to help you but it's gonna cost ya.

Heck if you pony up the cash i can get you those 3 species in what you describe. You probably won't like my rates and you'll still have to pay shipping. But i think there might be someone on here lurking that would be better than me.

[pkinneb]

I have bought a lot from Bell Forest but when I was looking for specific wood for a recent project they were a big fail. Although what I received wasn't bad wood it didn't match my specs and when I called them on it I felt they blew me off. In fairness to them I wanted something very specific like you. I ended up finding what I needed from a local supplier where I could pic exactly what I wanted lesson learned