What do you but for hardwoods and where do you buy it?

[SoonerFan]

Rift Sawn, Plain Sawn, S4S, rough sawn, one straight line, 4/4, 6/4, 8,4, FAS, F1F, common, etc…. When buying hardwood there are lots of options.  Curious what you buy (understanding it is very project specific) and where you source your hardwoods.

As for me, these days I buy a lot of maple for stiles/rails and face frames.  Lately the stiles and rails I am making are a little over 25mm/1 inch at final dimension.  I like to buy 6/4 maple and usually buy FAS but occasionally go to a lower grade if the boards look good.  For face frames the final thickness has been around 20mm / .8 inches.  I like 4/4 or 5/4 and prefer FAS.

I recently purchased a bunch of red oak for a banquette and table.  I went with 8/4 FAS. This worked great for the table top.  For the trim on the banquette I re-sawed the 8/4 on a bandsaw before milling to final dimensions and adding the needed profiles on my router table.

I have recently purchased some walnut as well.  This has been used almost entirely for inlays.  I buy 4/4 and make sure it has at least one good side.  If it is a lower grade and saves me some money all the better.

Where do I get my hardwoods?  There is a large sawmill about an hour from me.  Most of the customers are large companies that purchase by the truckload.  But they accept retail / walk in business.  Everything I have purchased there has rough sawn, plain sawn and without a straight edge.  This allows me to save money on materials and I have time to mill it all myself.  I get a straight edge to start with my TS 75 and then mill to the needed dimensions.

What are working on?  What do you buy and where do you buy it?

 

[jeffinsgf]

Those of us living in Northeast Ohio are very spoiled. Keim Lumber in Charm, Ohio carries a broad range of domestic hardwoods. Everything is skip planed to 1/16" under nominal (15/16" for 4/4). Further planing and straight-edge ripping are available for modest additional charges. Most of what they sell is milled within 40 or 50 miles of the yard. The mills in this area are experienced and nicely equipped. Some of the larger mills sell directly, but Keim is very convenient and excellent to deal with. Even when I want small quantities, I'm allowed to select my material from the warehouse.

 

[rst]

Here in central PA, it’s hardwood heaven. Loads of Amish, Mennonite and independent saw mills. I buy mostly from Lewis Lumber’s Hardware Store  just outside Williamsport in Picture Rocks.  I buy quarter sawn red oak for all the trim in my house.  They mill me 1/2” x 5” x 10’ pieces. My house is a  24’x36’ 1920s era bungalow that my wife’s grandparents built.  I made all trim thin to keep scale of interior.

 

[rmwarren]

I used to hit Lewis on the way to/from Grizzly back in the day, what a great place. Then to the old country store to see what was waiting on the smoker for lunch. Miss those days.

Here in SNJ we have a couple sawyers, nice stuff with a lot of blow down trees but inventory varies depending on what the weather has served up. Slabs...

RMW

 

[Crazyraceguy]

It depends on the project's requirements.
We often get our supplies from Keim Lumber (same as Jeff, just a little further away) They deliver to commercial customers.
Most of the time we get S4S in the usual stock sizes, though they will mill to exact sizes, it just takes longer. Stock sizes ship the next day.
This is for the basic domestics, Maple, Oak, Walnut, Ash, Cherry. They also supply reclaimed wood, straight off the barn, skip-planed on one side (to preserve the patina/weathering)
I occasionally mess with some exotics, for personal stuff. I get that from a much more local supplier/tool store. That way, I can see it in person.
I also have a friend (former co-worker) who owns a bandsaw mill. He does some urban logging as a side thing and is always will to supply or cut something for me, if I harvest it myself.
Since I am in a big city, I have a WoodCraft and Rockler, but these are not exactly price friendly in comparison to the others.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Crazyraceguy said, “Since I am in a big city, I have a WoodCraft and Rockler”

I have to laugh. I must live in the largest small town in the country. We don’t have either of those stores on Staten Island yet we have more people (~493,000) than any city in Ohio except Columbus.

Pretty sure none of the other boroughs of NYC have those stores either.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Well [member=297]Michael Kellough[/member] you found me out  [big grin] the Columbus metro is nearly 1 million and growing rapidly. (Intel, Amazon distribution center, etc)
Years ago, we lagged behind Cleveland and Cincinnati.
The WoodCraft has been around for decades and the Rockler used to be a free-standing store of its own.
Now it a department inside a woodworking store called WoodWerks. They are more professional oriented than "craft" retail and commercial accounts too.

 

[rmwarren]

Crazyraceguy said, “Since I am in a big city, I have a WoodCraft and Rockler”

I have to laugh. I must live in the largest small town in the country. We don’t have either of those stores on Staten Island yet we have more people (~493,000) than any city in Ohio except Columbus.

Pretty sure none of the other boroughs of NYC have those stores either.

Think it's due in part to the more urban nature of the housing, fewer opportunities for home shops? Or am I stereotyping?

RMW

 

[rst]

Much like Crazy, I have access to a Rockler + Festool dealer that is part of an industrial woodworking supplier…Hermance Machine is 45 minutes from me.  They sell anything industrial woodworking and have been in business in Williamsport,PA since the 1800s. Harrisburg, PA has. Woodcraft that’s about an hour away. That and the easy access to excellent hardwood suppliers makes central PA great for wood butchers.

 

[thudchkr]

Up here in the middle of nowhere, (central North Dakota), there isn't much of a local selection.  The local big box stores, (green and orange), might have a few boards but you're paying a seriously premium price for them.  I get the majority of my hardwoods from a local cabinet shop if I purchase anything locally. 

I also buy from Renneberg Hardwoods located in central Minnesota. They have a varied selection of hardwoods and sheet goods, but have minimum order requirements. They will deliver right to my home, but require a $1K minimum order and a modest fuel surcharge.  I've gotten a few orders from them over the years and have always received nice wood.