Sitka Spruce

[Cheese]

I stopped by Woodcraft yesterday and was looking at all of the wood just to see what they had available. What jumped out at me was the price of Sitka spruce.
8/4 Sitka $32 bd ft
8/4 Qtr sawn oak $11.50 bd ft
8/4 walnut $14 bd ft
8/4 mahogany $16 bd ft
8/4 cherry $9 bd ft

Does anyone know why Sitka is so expensive? It sure is pretty, rather the straight grain reminds me of Doug fir.

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[AlexThePalex]

I know Sitka Spruce is in very high demand as solid guitar tops.

 

[RKA]

Your query got me curious.  It seems like clear cutting and over harvesting may have reduced the available supply (I would have assumed it was in plentiful supply).  I found the article below which provided some good background on the topic and more specifically how it affects instrument makers.

https://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/the-troublesome-truth-about-sitka-spruce

And if you thought $32/bf was pricey, google "ancient sitka".  Sit down for that one.

 

[travisj]

That was an interesting article and I read another online (I was curios about CITES listing due to price).  I assumed it being a "spruce", it was a fast growing tree like pine or fir.  Apparently not the case.

Also, those other prices made me wince.

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - do you purchase a lot of lumber from Woodcraft?  I have been using Youngblood (about 10 miles north of there).  8/4 cherry is $5.01/bf and walnut is $9.88/bf (less 10% if you have a MNWW Guild membership).  I haven't checked 1/4 sawn white oak or mahogany before.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - do you purchase a lot of lumber from Woodcraft?  I have been using Youngblood (about 10 miles north of there).  8/4 cherry is $5.01/bf and walnut is $9.88/bf (less 10% if you have a MNWW Guild membership).  I haven't checked 1/4 sawn white oak or mahogany before.

Hey [member=53578]travisj[/member] if I need just a couple of small boards I'll go to Woodcraft, but if I need a quantity I go to Forest Products Supply in St. Paul. They have a huge selection and they will let you use their Time Saver for a $20 charge. Great people...Mike's the owner.  [smile]

I've purchased maple ply from Youngblood and you can go through the sheets and pick your favorite, they don't care.  [big grin] [big grin]
They're good to deal with, maybe I'll have to visit them and check out their solid woods. The good news is that they are on the way to Discount Steel so they're an easy stopping off point.  [cool] [cool] 

 

[cblanton42]

Cheese,  I'd guess more than likely it's the transportation cost, in Seattle (way closer to Alaska than you are) I can buy kiln dried, CVG 8/4 for $14.92 bd ft. 

 

[Cheese]

Cheese,  I'd guess more than likely it's the transportation cost, in Seattle (way closer to Alaska than you are) I can buy kiln dried, CVG 8/4 for $14.92 bd ft.

Thanks, you're probably right about that...I never thought of the shipping from Alaska.  [eek]

 

[JBag09]

I can find out about the cost of Sitka, we use it at work HEAVILY. We get it all through Pacific Rim Tonewoods (PRT). I’ve heard nothing about this going on CITES.
The only new thing I’ve heard probably going to CITES is Spanish Cedar.

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