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Eric:

That's one good price for cherry! My local dealer sells cherry for $5.55.bd/ft.

Interestingly, this outfit started out as a supplier of hardwood flooring and railings, etc. He then opened his shop to the public for selling rough lumber of the species he used in the shop. Recently he has expanded that service to other species and to more supplies like stains and finishes. That's great for me as there as he is fairly close by.

However, I still visit the local box stores (3) regularly and pick through their supply of knotty pine for mostly clear boards and buy any board that looks good. I find planing pine gums up the rollers and as mentioned the savings in this area are not really worth the extra effort.

John

I think we all have missed something here. Although lumber is classed as a commodity, we know there is a world of difference between two boards of the same species and size.

If you can buy rough or S2S lumber you're going to be $ ahead. I lucked out to find a source of S2S. This means one face is rough and one side is rough. Often one end of a board is several inches wider than the other. That's O.K. , because I want to make smaller boards out of the larger ones.

If you can get 4/4 thickness rather than 3/4" , you will have much more versatility with the wood you buy.

Lowe's sells their hardwood by the piece. HD sells theirs by the lineal foot. The wood from Lowe's is planned to size and is relatively square - you pay a premium for this quality.

It seems a standard price for domestic hardwoods is around $5.50/BdFt. More for quarter sawn. If you can buy for less -- and get what you want -- Good!

I am told that the Amish community here in MO sells lumber, I assume rough cut, for a good price. I have not yet visited one of their sawmills, but plan to. If you have Amish living in your neck of the woods you might inquire if they have lumber for sale. They won't be in the phone book, so ask other woodworkers or take a drive through Amish country.

I imagine there won't be a large selection of species available, however. Around here it's probably oak, walnut, and maple.

Forgot to mention a lumber buying fact in my above post.

Let's say you want several 1x4" oak boards. You will save money by buying 1X12" boards.

The 1x4s actually measure 1"x 3.5" but they sell as one bd.ft. per every 3 lineal ft.

The 1x12 actually measures 1"x11.5". You will pay for one bd. ft. for every lineal ft.

Out of the 1x12 you can cut three 1X4s and have an inch left over (less saw kerf). This one inch is enough to make edging, or other pieces like door stops or astragals.

In addition, the 1X12 gives you a better chance to match grain figures of smaller boards made from it.

That is usually the case at box stores and lumber yards. Where I get my hardwoods, if I get a 1x12 it is 4/4" thick and 12 1/2" wide. This guy doesn't fudge like others. I picked up some oak 1x6 that was 4/4 x 7. He figures bf all the time. If I want a 8' piece it will be a couple inches longer.

charlese wrote:Forgot to mention a lumber buying fact in my above post.

Let's say you want several 1x4" oak boards. You will save money by buying 1X12" boards.....

This may or may not be true. Most places now charge more per board foot or linear feet for wider boards.
I bought some maple and it was cheaper for me to buy two 4 inch wide board than it would have been to buy one 8 inch one and rip it down.

Happily I have a supplier that is a lot like the one Scottss described. I usually leave his yard with more wood than I actually paid for. An 8 foot board is cut at 8.5 or nine feet and a 4 inch wide board can be anything from 4.25 to 5 inches wide. But even he is now shifting to dimensioned lumber.

Thanks to Jim in Tucson -- I have located a source of lumber that may allow me to never return to a box store (for lumber).

McEwen Lumber, a Divison of Hood Industries, operates a good size yard here in Tucson and a number of others in the south east. They quoted me the following prices (you haul):

Birch Ply - Shop Grade $44.68
Finish Grade $60.20

Poplar - $2.26 brd ft
Maple - $4.28 brd ft
Oak - $3.04 brd ft

Dusty I'm glad you have found a good retailer. The quality of wood over box stores will probably be significant.

I would not call one of my strategies a 'bargain,' typically. But now and then at antique malls I will find a hunk of wood in something that's clearly not worth preserving as an antique. Such as an 'antique' which was obviously somebody's c. 1976 home-router-shop attempt at a walnut wall-shelf. For small-time projects, I've gotten some decent hardwood pieces with the satisfaction of a bit of recycling as well. I do have to be very careful on nail-removals. (Usually I do OK but I did dull one bandsaw blade on a mahogany slab which had some nails better hidden than I expected.)

- Chris

Hi Chris (nuhobby),

This is a link to another thread on this forum. It might be helpful. http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthread.htm?t=719