[McLeanVA]

Wasn't sure where on LJ to pose the question.

Has anyone out there in LJ land purchased lumber online? Any great experiences? Any bad experiences?

I don't have a jointer/planer and I'm looking to purchase dimensional maple/cherry in 3/4" thickness. I know it is more expensive than planing your own, but for the number of projects I can afford to do, I can't drop the cash and mill my own at this point.

For reference, I purchased (for my nightstand project) 4 boards of cherry from my local shop. All boards were 8ft in length and 3/4 thick. 2 of the boards were 5.5" wide and 2 were 3.5" wide. I ended up with very little scrap, so I'm using this as my baseline for the project. I paid $265 and change for the 4 boards and assume there is a cheaper route.

I have bookmarked Baird Brothers and "hardwoodboardsource.com" and see that they are both MUCH cheaper than my local source. Obviously I can't pick my own boards, which could be an issue, but apples to apples has anyone out there purchased lumber sight unseen and been pleased with the results.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[CharlieM1958]

I've ordered from here and was very pleased. I've seen recommendations for them from other jocks as well.

http://www.walllumber.com/lum.asp

By the way, you paid close to $20 per board foot for that cherry. The people who sold it to you should be arrested for armed robbery.

 

[degoose]

I have actually bought a lot of timber on line through Ebay but only dealt with dealers in Australia.. don't think there would be much difference to dealers in the states.
My 2 cents worth, hope this helps.

 

[a1Jim]

Hey Mclean
One off our LJers family that sells wood on e bay It's Poroskywood. I've bought a far amount of wood from them, It's all great stuff. They have good photos. Plus Scott is a great guy.

http://lumberjocks.com/poroskywood

 

[McLeanVA]

Great advice guys. Thanks for the feedback.

Jim, I have sent a few messages back and forth with poroskywood regarding my latest project. He really seems like a great guy. I've enjoyed the advice and tip trading. I have also seen his eBay store. I love his figured maple stock. Tempted to buy some from him one day.

degoose, I'll check EBay, but always fear purchasing stuff from individuals who sometimes aren't in it for the customer service aspect. Thanks for the info.

Charlie, thanks for the lead. I'll totally check them out. And I agree that $20 per board foot was ridiculous, but they had me by the wood knots at the point of purchase when they totaled it up. Extremely unhelpful and customer service was horrible as they blamed me for pulling dimensional lumber instead of 4/4 stock. I was just looking for some helpful advice and got nothing but grief. The original price they quoted me was for 4/4 and then pointed me over to the dimensional stock to choose my pieces. The old "switcheroo." Ultimately I came out with a really nice set of boards to complete my project, but they lost a customer for life.

Anyways, thanks guys. As usual this LJ community is amazingly helpful.

 

[Russel]

Fortunately, I've found a local fella who cuts his own and he has been really good to me. I've also ordered from Bell Forest and been very satisfied. They can even surface the lumber if you need, but what I've got from them didn't require a lot of surface prep. My guess is that even a good price on lumber may be nullified by shipping costs, so finding a local sawyer with a surfacing equipment is your best bet.

 

[TATANKA]

Take a look at this one, I buy most of my wood from them.
EZ to shop and EZ to order and some items ship free.
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/

 

[joew]

Try looking on
http://www.woodfinder.com/ You might find some one local.

 

[SCOTSMAN]

I have bought all my lumber to date at auctions sales etc these can be had by the truck load cheap as chips.I must keep my eyes open soon for some more but I would never pay that kind of money for timber.I bought retail £2400.00 worth of sapele for less than £100 so it is worth while.I nearly cried yesterday I was watching a steam engine show on t v and saw a guy getting off cuts from the factory next door who throw away over thirteen tons every day they normally pay to get rid of it looked like quite big pieces toK not as good as milled lumber but another source of cheap or free wood.Alistair

 

[Porosky]

My ears were ringing then I found this post. Thanks for the accolades Jim. I'll be honest and up front. I did not come on to LJ's to find new customers. I signed in as a hobby woodworker. That being said, ebay is a business for me, it helps to supplement my income. I take great pride in working with and helping my customers with their needs. Sometimes I am very happy and sometimes (like with any business) I'm like "Oh Please, get real, WTF" I agree Shipping is the biggest killer in a good deal on ebay. It is the biggest problem I face. I charge exact UPS Ground Shipping no fees, and still people feel like they got ripped off. It's gotten to the point where I'm actually paying some of the shipping myself and offering a flat rate. I do a lot of business out side of ebay. Folks stopping by my storage shed, or contacting me via email with a cut list at [email protected] I cut the items, email photos, and invoice through Pay Pal.
So, I have Thousands of feet of Curly Maple and Curly Cherry, Ambrosia Maple, Curly Hard Maple and a bunch of stuff with cool defects. You are all welcome to it, for any of your needs. This post will be the only time I ever promote my ebay store on Lumber Jocks I feel dirty some how. http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Porosky-Wood-Products Mention You are a Lumber Jock during check out and I'll be sure to give you the insider discounted rate.
The best place to find wood is locally at a saw mill, as a sawmill owner I will be glad to give anyone advice on this also. Thanks

 

[CharlieM1958]

Poroskywood, I appreciate that you don't promote your business here on Lumberjocks. I did not even know you had an eBay store until I saw the recommendation from Jim above.

I buy wood on eBay from time to time, so I checked out your store. Your prices and quality look good, plus you have a 100% positive rating. I will most certainly do some business with you in the future.

 

[jmarr]

After reading a1Jim's recomendation i went to Poroskywood's Ebay store and ordered some curly maple. The prices looked fair and the shipping charges also looked fair. Good looking pictures too.

John

 

[daveintexas]

I second Charles recommendation on Steve Wall Lumber co., very good people to deal with and prices are good.
There is a fellow up in north New York, joshuatrees, sells some nice cherry. Prices are very good, even with shipping to Texas the price was only about $4.00 per bd ft. And I think he is a member here.
You can email him at [email protected]

 

[DrDirt]

Holy Cow - even sight unseen you will be better off avoiding your local supplier.
He sold you 6 BF of Cherry for 265! thats 44.00/BF in the state of Virginia (where cherry is very common) is really ridiculous.

I agree with Charlie - Wall Lumber is good - but you often still need a planer to dress it up.
Isn't there a 'Woodcraft' nearby? I see one for Springfield and one in Leesburg - and you can sort through it and hand pick your stock.
Try the Concord Shopping Center in Springfield VA - - - their cherry is likely around 6.00/bf so your 265 order would be 36dollars there.

 

[dennis]

Find a local guy. Off the net.

 

[HenryH]

Dude,

If you are in VA you should have no trouble finding a local sawmill. google 'sawmill VA' you'll get plenty of choices. Two that have been recommended to me are below. If not, you can always take a roadtrip up to PA. Go there , visit, pick through the piles. You'll also learn alot.

http://www.herbinehardwood.com/ Lucketts, Virginia (mini mill)
Northland Forest Products Troy Virginia (Big operation)

 

[McLeanVA]

Thanks for all of the responses. I can't do much with 4/4 lumber at this point due to my lack of milling tools (planer, jointer, bandsaw, router table, etc). I've been to WoodCraft in Springfield. Nice pieces, but I can only remember seeing 4/4 pieces or larger.

I've been in contact with poroskywood and will buy some of his boards for my next project. I'll also try and plan out some road trips to "local" sawmills if I'm ever out in the sticks. I'm sure my wife and kids would allow me at least one pit stop.

 

[sIKE]

They have a good deal right now on Cherry….http://www.woodworkerssource.com/Cherry.html

I also have bought lumber from Barlow very good quality Birdseye Maple if you are ever in the market for some.

 

[barlow]

As sIKE says I am also in the lumber business, i specialize in birdseye maple but i also handle a large variety of species ranging from basswood to walnut. I have a millwork operation with S4S capabilities, custom planing, ripping, and widebelt sanding. I handle orders from 1 board to a full semi load so feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

[Kjuly]

Check out Johnson's Lumber. They have been in business for a 100 years.
Good people to do business with and you can see their prices online
http://www.theworkbench.com