Mail Order Lumber

[Carl Eyman]

Does anyone know of a supplier that would cut mahogany to specific sizes and ship by ups? The total amounts to about 9 board feet, but in order to serve the purposes the pieces must be sized right. For instance, I need 3 feet of 3"x3" stock. If I go to my local hardwood yard the only 12/4 stock he may have may be 6 inches wide and 10 feet long. He won't cut it in length unless he ends up with at least an eight foot piece.So you can see it is expensive to buy so much extra.

Any help gratefully accepted.

[Don Farr]

Carl, You might try Woodworkers Source. www.woodworkerssource.net I have used them in the past.
Also do a search for wood suppliers on www.google.com
Hope this helps.

[Carl Eyman]

Just a few hours ago a local (new Orleans) yard called saying they had my order ready. It was like pulling teeth to get them to respond, but finally they did. So thanks again. Carl

[Carl Eyman]

Well, I picked up my lumber this afternoon. The yard had complained the amount I wanted was too small to bother with, They solved the problem. They sold me more than I wanted and charged me for more than they shipped. Simple! But the bright side is I can complete my project.

I am going to post a question here soon about what is an allowable over measurement in calculating board feet. In other words, if a board measures 8" on one end and 9" on the other is it a 9" or an 8" board? More on that later.

[Mike Mastin]

Carl,

As a mail order lumber seller, I can only speak for our company.

We charge for the actual board footage that we ship. If a board measures 102" in length, we only charge for 96"(8'). If a board measures 95" in length, we charge for the 95". We allow for some extra length and do not charge for extra length upto 6" overage.
In the case where a board measures 8" on one end and 9" on the other, we measure up to where the board starts to decrease in width and treat this as two separate boards if you will and charge accordingly.
If this were a bigger order, say 100 bf or more, we would be less critical of small differences in lumber, but we always select the very best lumber possible for any customers.
For me long term business is far more important than having a customer feel that they were shorted! We are human and do make errors, but we always try to follow up with customers to make sure that they were happy with the lumber quality and content of their shipments, whether it be one board or 500 bf.
The lumber industry as a whole has earned a bad reputation for quality and customer service. We have a terribly difficult time when we purchase in getting the quality of lumber that we demand. I have sent back two shipments of quarter sawn White Oak in the past month due to less than stellar quality lumber.
We are very demanding of quality from our vendors. I refuse to sell lumber to anyone that I would not purchase myself. In two years of business I am slowly developing a network of millers/mills that will adhere to my stringent quality policies. We are willing to pay for better materials, but many vendors are more interested in selling volume rather than quality. I make no apologies for the pricing of our lumber vs. Joe Lumber dealer down the road or across the country. I prefer to sell quality rather than compete solely on price.

Just my views on the subject.

[jim mckee]

I don't have any mahogany but:


I''m retired US Army and have been milling/drying since 92, furniture making since 82.
I sell wood for working projects.
I sawmill, kiln dry, build furniture, and lumber products.
I have a selection of the normal woods yes, Oaks, maple, Cherry, poplar, but I also have allot of the listed woods as spalted woods, wormy woods (very rustic) figgured woods, and whole log lumber sets.

Some woods I have in stock:
Oak- red, white, live, water, black.
Pine- white, yellow, antique.
Wormy pecan
Poplar
Black Cherry
Turnning stock also (squares and blocks)

I also sell lumber cut to your cut list.
You send me a cut list, and I rough out the pieces oversize to fit the plan. This saves shipping cost and lumber wasted that was purchased. An example price right now is Red oak or White oak $3.00bf (the bf is tallied from your cut list).
You can up grade components by adding figgured wood like qtr sawn for the top, then the top would be $4.00bf for red/white oak (this realy saves you $ since you only pay for figgured lumber for the quantity you need).

I also sharpen portable bandsaw blades, and sharpen planer and jointer blades.

If you are picking up the lumber, I have a list of nice places to stay (Like- a 2 story 1800 farm house fully furnished on 10ac with a barn (for people with horses) $85 per night...eggs are cheaper in the country) near by is Rugby a historic British colony with authentic restraunt and a 2 story gift shop that has works from local crafters, Dale Hollow lake is 40min away.

Contact me if you are interested
Thanks
Jim Mckee
Solidwoods
Allardt TN next to Jamestown Tn. (N. Central Tn)
zip 38556
931-879-6490

[Steve Ash]

Carl,
Luckily for me these guys are in my hometown....but they will deliver. There is a chart on shipping charges in the link. www.theworkbench.com Don't know if that helps, but it is another resource.