# Fantastic lumber mill in Western Massachusetts



## Bob817 (Nov 17, 2011)

Joe, I'm in S.E.NH by Merrimac, Ma. where abouts in W. Ma.?


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

This place is off of exit 3 on the Mass Pike (I90). It's quite a haul from Merrimac (2+ hours)


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## Kookaburra (Apr 23, 2012)

Lucky you! I have not found a good lumber shop in my new area, so I still haul things home from the Chicago retailer I have worked with for years. Having confidence in the staff and their advice makes all the difference to me.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

nice. too far off west for me. but glad to hear there are options for the west 'coast'


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## Everett1 (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm in Framingham, MA, so I will definitely be checking this place out.

Bob817, i'm familiar with where you are (was just doing some network work at Merrimack Valley Medical Center a couple weeks ago). I've been going to Downes and Reader, in Stoughton, MA for a while now, really good there too:
http://www.downesandreader.com/

I think Stoughton is a little bit of a hike for you too though, as it's south of Boston.

Anyone know of any other good places in MA for lumber?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

A bit closer for the north shore/N.H border:

http://www.yankeepine.com/
in Rowley, MA

nice selections


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Everett1, I actually work in Framingham so I am in that area daily. I don't know any good (or any) lumber mills out there.


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## Everett1 (Jun 18, 2011)

Yeah, closest thing I found is Ashland Lumber, in Ashland. He can get stuff, but you have to have him order it first.
But, I will definitely be checking out this place now, with just a quick road trip. Was the Cherry selection there good? Not sure if you had a need to look at it though.

Also, on the site, it doesn't mention Quarter sawn white oak =-(


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Hi Joe , an address or website link would help people find them : )


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Duh! Thanks. I thought I put one in, In any case here you go

Oleksak lumber

Also if anyone is looking for Ambrosia maple, they have a ton of it. He used to make pallets out of it! 3.25/bf. Little known fact (by me anyway) WHND is an actual lumber classification. (Worm Holes No Defects)


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## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

Since 1922???? I grew up mere miles form there and used to golf in Westfield all the time. Of course back then I did not know what a saw was HAHA!


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## guitar1999 (Jan 24, 2012)

Wow, I just got a new list of places to shop for lumber! I'm on Cape Cod but I often visit my finace's family in southern NH. When I'm there, I make a point to swing by Highland Hardwoods on Rt 125 in Brentwood, NH. Their selection is spectacular, even in their shorts bin. I highly recommend checking them out if you're in the area. http://www.highlandhardwoods.com/

I'll definitely check out Downs and Reader, as I often drive through that area.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Everett - i found a guy in Pittsfield that runs a bandsaw mill. Might be too far west for you though. Definately too far north for me comin out of CT. I did just come back from CT wood group in Enfield CT, and they have a very nice selection and will plane your lumber for free. Piles of QSWO 4/4 6/4 8/4.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Endfield is literally down the street from me, I live in Agawam. Where is that? I need QSWO for some mission tables and I want to start this weekend.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

The address is 18 Mullen St in Enfield right off route 5. Take 91 South to exit 45, left off the exit (i think, i came the other way) onto Rt 140, left on rt 5, about a mile up is mullen road. Theyre closed for the holiday weekend this weekend so hurry on up and get over there! The QSWO is in the upper deck dead smack in the middle. Their site is cwghardwoodoutlet.com


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Actually I found the website. Those prices are a little high. 6.45/BF for hard maple? Oleksak gets 3.50. I cannot find QSWO anywhere else so I'm not sure if that is expensive or not.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

They have a ton of different grades of lumber. Some S4S some still rough. I got commmon walnut for $4.10 and ambrosia maple for $3.50 It was my first trip there and the people were very nice and plenty of space to browse around.


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## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

Who's the guy in Pittsfield? That's only about an hour for me.


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## rastus (Nov 25, 2009)

I actually get all my QSWO from the supplier that Chrisstef mentioned. Huge selection and very nice people to work with. Never feel rushed take your time. SWMBO even likes coming and helping select the choice pieces.

Paul


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I have the day off from work tomorrow, I'll take a ride and check it out. I actually live less than 5 minutes from rt 5 (near 6 flags). I do need about 100bf of QSWO, hopefully they have some 8/4. I'll get my maple from Oleksak since it is about half the price, but the oak seems to be in line, and I can't get QSWO anywhere else. 
Chrisstef, you should post a separate review. It's good info for newbies like me that have a tough time finding places to get hardwoods.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Joe , 
first , thanks for the link to Oleksak. I live in Westfield and have never seen their location / operation.
Second, *Forest Products in Greenfield * 75 Oak Hill Road Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 772-6833 has a nice selection of all species , although I never had the need for QSWO yet , so I don't know if Sue stocks it. She has very good prices as well.

Also , I have dealt with* Ponders Hollow* right here in Westfield , with good results.16 Ponders Hollow Road Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-8730

*Copper Beech Millwork* in Northampton 30 Industrial Drive Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-3003 has a great variety as well.

*WoodCraft* in West Springfield has some goodies , but limited selection and a tad pricey at times. 
I've also been to *CWG* , and the only thing I didn't like was that all of their stock was at least 12' long and I had to buy the whole board , even though I only needed 4' at the time.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

It's somewhat hidden in a very industrial area. I've been to Cooper Beech and they do have a good variety. I often walk to WoodCraft on my lunch break (I live on the same street, right over the bridge) to browse around. I agree there selection is limited and very pricey. I have found some nice stuff in the clearance bin right by the door when you first walk in. Looks like CWG is out of the running today then. 12' does not fit in the Ford Fusion, and I don't have access to a truck today.

I'll have to check out Forest Products. I've heard very good things about the place and the owner.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

sikrap … here's the info for the guy in Pittsfield, i found him through Craigslist but never got the chance to get out there. I had intentions of buying some walnut from him but priorities changed unfortunately.

Contact Tom at 413-442-9982 or [email protected]

Joe - Ill post a review on the place fairly soon but i think one more trip up there may be in line before i can give a full on review. Everything i picked up there yesterday was in 8' lengths. They are open today but they're closed sat, sun, and mon. They definately had 8/4 qswo.

I didnt realize there were so many guys on the CT / Mass line. Every now and then i come across good dels on big lots of lumber but its always too expensive. Maybe we could all bundle up and go in on a nice stash together.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

*I live in Agawam. *

Is the pie still good and the coffee hot at the Agawam diner?

If some of you chaps north of Boston are looking for really, really nice clear pine, you might consider Rand Lumber in Rye, NH…. which is less than a 20 min. drive from the border.

Family owned and operated for several generations…. they mill and 4 side plane on site, as well as kiln dry. Their Select Pine sells for less than HD, and HD's pine looks like #3 in comparison.

If you tidy up after yourself, they don't mind if you pick the piles… which are up in the loft of a really old barn


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## willd (Mar 9, 2011)

Here is one Dusty56 recommended to me. Forest Product in Greenfield Mass. exit 27 on I-91. http://www.forestproductsassociates.com/index.html Great selection and nice people.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Guitar - Im heading up to the cape the 1st week of June on vaca with the wife … any interesting woodworking spots in P-Town that you know of?


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## guitar1999 (Jan 24, 2012)

chrisstef, 
I don't get up that way too often (I'm on the Upper Cape), but I recall an art gallery in P-Town that had some really interesting "found wood" sculptures. I can't remember the name or if it's still there, but if you stumble across it, it's worth a few minutes to check it out. Have a nice trip!


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

thanks guitar if i find the joint ill let ya know.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

chrisstef, excellent idea on "going in" on a large lot of lumber. I've often thought to myself "man, if I had 2 or 3 people to split that with, it would be a sweet deal". I did make it to CWG yesterday, but ended up getting the red oak I needed to finish up some tables at Oleksak because it was about 1.50/bf cheaper. For anything other than oak or maple, that looks like the place to go. Very nice and clean operation, and unlike saw mills, they are friendly and helpful to us small quantity buyers. Their inventory and quantity is impressive. Also impressive is they will plane and clean 1 edge for free. I have a planer, but for free they can do it and save me an hour and 2 bags of dust/chips. In addition they will laminate to accommodate larger widths if needed. I prefer to do that myself, but it's a good resource for those who do not like to do so. When I am done with the 2 projects I am working on now, I'll be getting my QSWO there.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Im glad you're in on that idea Joe. Its hard to pony up $1000 for a ton of lumber but split it with 3 others and $250 dont hurt so much. Glad to hear you made it out there. For the native stuff id have to imagine that a sawmill will have the best prices but for the non-native it seems like they have decent prices and great service, which i find to be very important. I could have spent all day there poking around. Did you happen to get a look at the curly ambrosia maple they had just inside the overhead door, that stuff was awesome lookin.


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I did! But Oleksak has at least 1000bf of nicer looking curly ambrosia. Most if it has birdseye in it as well. He has no idea what that is worth. I bought ~43$ in red oak and paid with 50$. Rather than go get me change, he told me to go upstairs and grab 2 or 3 10 footers of that "ambrosia crap" I like. So I did


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Whoa .. really. All of a sudden ive fallen in love with the ambrosia maple. Sound like i might need to make a road trip and take some of that "crap" off his hands.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Hi Joe , is it still their(CWG) policy to make you buy the full length boards ?
Did I read that right ? You got 30 linear feet of Ambrosia for $7.00 ?


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

Yes, you buy the full board. I usually make large projects and when I get wood, it's generally in the 20 to 50bf range. And yes, I got Three 1" x 8" x 8 foot (closer to 9 feet total length, but 8 foot to natural defects) that's close to 15 board feet, of Ambrosia maple for SEVEN dollars

I sent one piece through my planer just to get the shag off. He also cuts thick. On average an unplaned board is 1 1/8" to 1 1/4". I takes me a while to get it to 3/4. The beauty and the figure of the ambrosia will come out after a few more tips through the planer. there is still a little shag on it, but you can start to see the figure.










Also I can't wait to see what this looks like. It's red oak but was marked "curly"


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Smokin' Ambrosia , Joe !! Thanks for the pictures.


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## Everett1 (Jun 18, 2011)

chrisstef, I think your idea of a few of us getting together and buying a lot to save a bunch of cash is an awesome idea!

I would seriously be interested if that were to occur


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I bought some stuff at CWG today, and I must say I am impressed with the operation, but less impressed with the wood. I got some red oak and had it planed. Their 4/4 stock is sliced pretty thin for 4/4. After planing, I still had a lot of shag on one side of 2 boards (about 18" on one and about 5" on the other - edge to edge). I can't take this down any further as I am already at 23/32" That is not what I would expect for FAS pricing.

The planer they have is awesome though. Punch in your desired thickness and send it through, cuts both sides at once.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

I just planed some 5/4 ambrosia maple and im having a tough time getting to 7/8 so id agree that the rough milling could use a little work but i should have been more vigilant than that in my inspection. I wish i saw the planer run it was down when i went it looked very bad @ss. Ill get back in gear on the cherry tomorrow.


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