Thread: Great source for box making wood

Originally Posted by mkemila

Hey All,

Just thought I would pass along a tale of my good fortune. I am fairly new to box making but quickly realized that stock was fairly expensive to be cut into small pieces. I now regularly go to two different hardwood flooring companies and buy their offcuts - maple, oak, cherry, and birch mainly. For $10-$20 I can buy enough 1" stock to build 4 to 5 large jewelry boxes. Might be worth a check at your local flooring companies


Cheers

Mark

I will give that a try ... yesterday I purchased 4 pieces at a specialty timber yard mainly 1"x 4" about 3ft long and it cost me $A72.00 ... they were mainly Australian timbers, Silky Oak, Blackwood and Rock Maple ... don't know what that is in Canadian money ?$C50 or so?

Cheers,
Zoot

Originally Posted by Zoot

yesterday I purchased 4 pieces at a specialty timber yard mainly 1"x 4" about 3ft long and it cost me $A72.00 ... they were mainly Australian timbers, Silky Oak, Blackwood and Rock Maple
Cheers,
Zoot

:eek: Geez Zoot i hope you are being slightly loose with your calculations, otherwise they seen you comming:eek:
you got around 3.7mt of mixed 25 x 100 for $72:eek: thats around $19.50 per mt. not sure about 25 x 100 blackwood but last lot of 25 x 125 i got a few weeks back was only $7.80. Silky oak wouldnt be more than $10 and Rock maple at max $15. If what you said is true id go back and confront them and if they wont play ball, never go their again

Originally Posted by Zoot

I will give that a try ... yesterday I purchased 4 pieces at a specialty timber yard mainly 1"x 4" about 3ft long and it cost me $A72.00 ... they were mainly Australian timbers, Silky Oak, Blackwood and Rock Maple ... don't know what that is in Canadian money ?$C50 or so?

Cheers,
Zoot

You paid $8000.00 a cubic metre for that lot, I don't pay that much for imported Walnut.

Originally Posted by Termite

You paid $8000.00 a cubic metre for that lot, I don't pay that much for imported Walnut.

:eek: :eek: :eek: sounds worse when you put it like that:eek: :eek: :eek:

I also thought of the flooring option a while back. I actually tried to find the place that I couldbuy the wood before they put the tongue and groves in. But there is one timber company in NSW, Booral who almost have a monopoly on flooring. There was absolutely no way they were going to sell me stuff that was kiln dried but not before it was shoved through the T&G machine. I guess I was just a small fish in the hugh ocean of the timber flooring business. Off cuts may be an option but I just don't want to deal with them again.

If you want box timber i would suggest you go through the yellow pages and contact as many cabinet makers by e-mail or post (dont phone as some get grumpy) and tell them you are a hobby box maker wanting to have a go, and ask if you can have all their under "300mm" off-cuts. Most shops throw under that size and will gladly let you have them. you will be surprised at the volume you will aquire. dont pay big bucks for something you will get free or at minumum offer a slab of VB for a few boot loads

When I lived in Canberra I went to a timber mill in Hume and left with a ute load of offcuts for nothing. Also did the same at a mill somewhere near Bowral.

Just try any timber mill and see if they will let you sort through their "rubbish" pile. Marvellous what you can end up with after a little cutting with a bandsaw and then through the thicknesser.

Don