Thread: Which timber is best for economical furniture? And where to buy from?

Hi Luke,

Welcome. Probably the best timber to fit the bill would be Vic Ash and Tasmanian Oak, both readily available, good to work, some nice figure can be found, takes a stain, finishes well etc. If you're in the Nth. East, you could try Mathews Timber in Rook's Road Vermont, or any sizeable hardware group. A good store to shop at is Danaher's Timber and Hardware on Lower Heidelberg Rd, Heidelberg.(Just round the corner from Banksia Street when you are heading to Rosanna.)

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Rob

When I lived in Aspendale about 7 years ago I bought most of my timber from a place called Redgum Supplies in Mordialloc. At the time they mainly did red gum and cypress, both very reasonably priced and they were happy to let me root through their stock looking for choice planks (it got them free stock rotation!).

I looked for them online and they are now called Outlast Timber.

Although cypress is a pine, it is much harder than radiata. It's a timber where I deliberately look for knots and twisted grain as I think it looks really pretty. It's also really stable and doesn't seem to split or crack. I have a bookcase I made back in 2005; I purchased 6 X 1" rough sawn planks that were still quite "green" in the middle, built it over a couple of weekends and gave it a hand wiped stain and varnish. It has travelled from Vic to Darwin to WA and now to Bundy, not a single crack or split in the timber. It's a pity I can't find a good source up here!

+1 for what LGS has written. Although Danaher's in Heidelberg is good, they're a touch on the expensive side. Better range and price at Mathews. Good luck

Melbourne wood show in October, you should be able to get all varieties there at good prices, especially on the last day.
Greg

Thank you all for your suggestions!
I will check out the addresses and will concentrate on the suggested timbers.
Your help is much appreciated.
Luke