Thread: Another new guy/Where to buy wood.

Welcome! Not really familiar with where you are but the choice of timber/wood is vast.

I guess to kick off: What items would you like to make?

Welcome to the forum Rusty.

Hi Rusty D
Welcome to the forum.

It would be helpful, as said above, to know what type of projects you plan to do ... and the tools you have to mill timber.

I purchase my specialty timber (walnut, maple, rosewood, etc) from Brittons in Dandenong. This come rough sawn in 2M length generally 250mm+ wide and 50mm deep ... needs to be milled in the workshop.

For Tas Oak, pine, and ply I generally use my local Home hardware which has both structural and furniture grades.

DAR (dressed all round) timber is great if you dont have milling machines ... but is a fair bit dearer than rough sawn.

I have also sourced timber from the Op Shop (and kerbside)... old furniture made with solid wood can have great timbers for recycling ... need to be choosy as you can soon fill the workshop with lots of odd bits. I heard of a chap who made his benches from recycled old beds he found in collection piles ... the rails are quite good for making table frames.

Regards

Rob

Obviously being in the US, I can't tell you where but I may be able to help you broaden the horizon.

There are two general types of lumber suppliers.
The first do business in the hobby market. These suppliers rarely expect to sell more than 50 board feet per order. These suppliers are typically who we deal with.
The second do business with cabinet makers, furniture makers and other professional shops. These suppliers try to avoid doing business in less than 500 board foot increments. Even at their most expensive pricing you can usually get twice as much timber for the same cost as the hobby supplier.

The trick is to go to the second type and say that you're small and not going to buy a lot. Ask what their rules are for purchase. If they require you to open an account, insist that the account be C.O.D. only. Find out how they want to be paid. (Don't even think about using a credit card.) Usually they will prefer a check over cash. Then order 200 board feet as a minimum for your first order.

A word of note. These suppliers usually will not allow you to pick and choose which timber you want. However if you are descriptive in the intended use, the yard guys will pick about the best suited for your project.

My apologies, I don't know the metric equivalent for the 'board foot' term. Here a board foot is 144 cubic inches.

Wow, thanks everyone for the quick replies. I guess i'd say i'm mostly looking to make furniture, the first two things i want to make it small end table and a mirror frame.

One other on the books would be a long hardwood case.

I'm working primarily with hand tools so I guess DAR would be the easiest route to go, at lease until i move up to more machinery.

My current tools are: a small-ish plane, a handsaw, a tenon saw, coping saw and a set of chisels. and a table saw.

I will be looking to expand my collection as i go depending on what i need.

By small end table do you mean a box style item or table with leg/s?

Case furniture requires a different approach than others.

You're gonna have fun )))

BTW if you're painting furniture, the base material is obviously less important. The reason I raise it is because you might have a cabinetmaker near you who might be willing to let you rifle through their discard pile. Except for the Jarrah bench top in one pic, I made these entirely from raw materials acquired through dumpster diving













You may not elect to use "manufactured" materials but I suggest this simply as a possibility.

BTW the Jarrah benchtop came from Tile Importers, Natalia Avenue Oakleigh South. I urge you to go down there and check them out as they have quite a bit of wider material (150-240 X 19 Meranti) that you might find useful.

Cheers

For the table i was thinking something with legs. The missus would like a shelf I've been told.
Painting was not something i had considered, but those do look pretty good. I might have to look in to that idea more.

I'll have make a trip down to oakleigh i think, that Jarrah looks like it would make a fantastic coffee table

Dont think my last post went through, but i'm planning one with legs. The missus wants a shelf apparently.

I hadn't considered painting as option, but it does open up a range of ideas. Those pieces look awesome.
I think i will make a trip to Oakleigh when i have a little more skill, that Jarrah looks like it would make a fantastic coffee table top.

The tile importers are good for a bit of Jarrah , A bit of KD Hard wood. sheet materials as well like some chip board and mdf and Ply . Dry radiata Pine and a little Baltic sometimes and a full range of building grade pine = Wet, treated , Douglas fir , Cypress posts .

For a full range of the good cabinet timbers, and its also close to you in Knoxfield go to Mathews Timber .

Timber Melbourne | Exotic Timber Supplier | Timber supplier Melbourne

Dry ready to use quality cabinet timbers . And a huge range .

Regards Rob

Practically walking distance, that's worth a visit. Thanks Rob. So many woods to choose from, so little time haha.

Another timber yard is demak timbers it's more for construction or deck building. It's not furniture grade but timbers in there are nicely sorted and service is excellent.

Originally Posted by RustyD

Practically walking distance, that's worth a visit. Thanks Rob. So many woods to choose from, so little time haha.

I used to take my trailer to Mathew Timbers at the start of a project. They didn't mind how long I spent dragging planks in and out of the racks until I found the exact ones I wanted. Then the guy came out and priced them up. I hope they are still as friendly.

Sounds like that might be my new local haunt, nice and close. I do have another thing i would appreciate some advice on, constructing my first small table, i'm thing of using mortise and tenon joints all round top and bottom, then gluing a bottom shelf in. As for attaching the top itself would glue be strong enough on it own or would i require something with a bit more strength? possibly even nailing it down?

The goal here to create this table using just basic hand tools as a starting point, and i would be using mostly pine for the main frame of the table. i do have a panel of wood at home for the top but i can not for the life of me remember what it is.

Originally Posted by Glennet

I used to take my trailer to Mathew Timbers at the start of a project. They didn't mind how long I spent dragging planks in and out of the racks until I found the exact ones I wanted. Then the guy came out and priced them up. I hope they are still as friendly.

Mathews in Sydney are the same. They don't have a bad range of timbers, but you'll need to pick through them to find the best. They don't mind. You will probably need to find somewhere where you can get it dressed, at least until you start on the slippery slope of buying machinery & tools. Try the Victorian woodworkers association.