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Hardwood Sources for The Newbie

2K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  WDHLT15 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm just starting out and would like to know where you all find your sources of hardwoods.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
#5 ·
One thing to note about buying from a local sawyer, or mill. You absolutely must have the right tools or techniques to square and plane it before you can use it. There are ways to get away without having a jointer (router table, table saw with sled for one side), and even sometimes a planer (use a router to flatten the boards). But you really will need these things or at least plan on them eventually. A bandsaw for resawing is almost always needed.

The other thing is to see what hardwood stores are close by you. We have two and they have loads of different woods available (usually at prices that make you weep), and the wood they sell doesn't need to be worked quite so much. Usually it's squared up (at least on one side) and rough planed. Do a quick check in your area for something like maple, cherry, or oak hardwood via a search engine and see what you come up with.

If you're desperate, Home Depot does carry some limited quantities of oak. Again the prices are pretty steep for what you get.

Good luck!
 
#8 ·
wbrisett (and everyone else): a question for you.

I'm interested in making small items like keepsake boxes and decorative frames. I have very little space so I'm trying to think of every way I can to make the most of it. I know I want to do resawing so I have to have a bandsaw. I've been wondering if I could skip the jointer and planer (for now at least) by buying S4S boards off the internet. (There are no lumberyards offering complete milling services near me.) Or is this doomed to failure because of wood movement - i.e. I order what I think are the perfect thickness S4S boards but after a week or two in my shop they'll cup/bow and need to be milled again…which I can't do, except by using hand planes, since the reason I bought the S4S boards in the first place is because I didn't want to buy a jointer and planer!

I am willing to spend a lot to get a really good bandsaw.

And I do have a set of handplanes, so another option I guess might be to always add "X" in thickness to the board when I order them, with the plan that removing "X" in thickness with a handplane should be enough to compensate for the board's movement after it is delivered.

Is there any way to use a bandsaw to thickness a board that doesn't have a flat face?

I'm interested mostly in the traditional domestic hardwoods: maple, oak, cherry, walnut, pine, etc.
 
#10 ·
Harvey - you may want to start a separate topic - you'll get more info that way.

Steve - Kijiji (Craigslist) has kept me in supply. I watch particularly in the Spring for people settling estates, cleaning out barns etc. Also by asking around. I've got hard maple at 1.50 b/f and yellow birch at the same price. The local specialty wood store here sells 'shorts' at a decent price.

Good luck
 
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