Source for hardwood in SoCal?

[George Carion]

Newbie here. I'm really pleased I found this board. A wealth of info at your fingertips!

On to my first of many questions...

Where do you people buy your lumber in SoCal? Specifically, in and around my area, say... from the San Fernando Valley to <st1><st1:city w:st="on">Ventura</st1:city></st1>.

Basically I'm looking for a lumber yard that will sell small quantities (100 BF or so at a time) of rough-cut oak, maple, etc. for a reasonable price. This material is pretty expensive in Southern California<st1></st1>. I've been to a hardwood specialty place near me, but they seem pricey. All the wood is S4S already which I’m sure bumps up the price a bit. Anyone know of alternatives?

I've been doing light woodworking as a hobby for a while (read as I'm an awful woodworker), but I'm starting to take on larger and more expensive projects and I just don't have a clue as to what I should be paying for hardwood boards. Right now I'm paying about $4.50+/bf for 4/4 red oak. $6.70/bf for 8/4 hard maple. The quality is good and is finished S4S. How are those prices? I'd really like to hear from the SolCal residents as I'm sure this stuff is next to free if you're from the Northeast.

Thanks for the info!
George

[Don Baer]

George,
First of all welcome to the Creek.
I buy most of my wood from Reel Lumber. They are a bit of a drive for you but they do offer good value. There web site is at www.reellumber.com and have yards in Anaheim and Riverside as well as a Mill in Anaheim. IU have been very happy with there quality and price.
I am sure other So. Cal Creekers will pipe in there suggestions.

[Rich Person]

I haven't compared prices, but I have purchased some S3S maple and purpleheart from Conejo Hardwoods in Westlake Village. I'm sure they are not that cheap, but they have a decent selection in the area.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Welcome to the Creek, George. The prices you noted are a bit lower than what I've seen for S4S lumber at Rockler or Arroyo Hardwoods in Pasadena. I've not bought any oak to speak of, but I'm accustomed to paying around $10 per bf for maple, and sometimes higher if it's got nice figure. At these prices though, I can pick and choose each board, and even buy just the part of the board I want. (Arroyo does require that you leave at least 5 linear feet of the board...i.e., you can by a 3' chunk from an 8' piece of lumber, but not a 4' piece.

I recently noticed Swaner Hardwood, which is on Magnolia right off the 5 freeway in Burbank, just a few minutes from my office. From what I've seen, it's a big hardwood mill and supplier. I still haven't called to see if they do small retail sales (I typically only buy a few bf at a time), but they've got a website at http://www.swanerhardwood.com/ and their contact info is listed there. Some day I want to make the trip down to Reel Lumber as Don mentioned, but I'd need to buy more than my usual amount of lumber to make it worth the traffic, and I'd need to create some more room in the shop for storing it.

Happy wood-hunting, and again, welcome to the Creek. We can always use more SoCal folks in the mix, just so all the easterners can see what it's like living in a hardwood wasteland. These guys who get 100 bf of hard maple for $2 or $3 per bf really tick me off.

- Vaughn

[Mark Carlson]

I've had good luck with Bohnhoff Lumber in LA. You can also try this site www.woodfinder.com to see most hardwood dealers within your area.

~mark

[Vaughn McMillan]

I've had good luck with Bohnhoff Lumber in LA. You can also try this site www.woodfinder.com to see most hardwood dealers within your area.

~mark

Mark, does Bohnhoff sell to the "few boards at a time" guys like me? I've heard good things about them, and I'd like to check them out, but it's difficult for me to get down there during their business hours.

- Vaughn

[Mike Swindell]

Bonhoff has no minimums that I'm aware of, I bought 30bd ft of african mahogany around christmas - no problems at all. They have any wood that you want all of it rough sawn, skip planing is reasonable.

CHeers

[Dan Oliphant]

George, check out kelly wright hardwoods. I have purchased from them for quite some time without any issues. They will deliver to your front door for a very reasonable cartage fee. http://www.kelly-wright.com/index.html

[John Harden]

I'll second that recommendation for Reel Lumber. I buy from the one in Riverside. Good selection and unlike the Anaheim store they also routinely have shorts in the 48-60" length for about 1/2 price. Usually its in Walnut or Maple, though I bought a ton of Q-Sawn White Oak shorts from them last year. $3 a board foot if memory serves.

Best prices and best selection though (in my opinion) goes to Cherokee Wood Products of Upland. Large, new warehouse and they carry tons of hardwoods, mouldings and plywood. I recently bought about 100 board feet of 8/4 honduran mahogany from them for about 2/3 the price of what Reel in Riverside wanted. In addition to the usual hardwoods, they also have lots of Lyptus in 4/4 and 8/4, plus a decent selection of teak, bubinga, jarrah, wenge, bloodwood, and other "exotics".

You might check them out.

Regards,

John

[Mark Carlson]

Vaughn,

I dont think Bohnhoff has any limit. I also have a tough time getting down there during business hours. Its a big warehouse and everything is stacked about 30 feet high. They usually need to bring a forklift over and pull your wood. I also try not to get there during there lunch break, 11:30 - 12:30. I wish they were open on saturdays. My last two orders I had them deliver for $40. I was very satisfied with there selection and the driver helped my carry the woold into my garage. Nice folks.

~mark

Mark, does Bohnhoff sell to the "few boards at a time" guys like me? I've heard good things about them, and I'd like to check them out, but it's difficult for me to get down there during their business hours.

- Vaughn

[Ellen Benkin]

Bonhoff (off Alameda in central LA) will do small orders. I take classes at Cerritos College and Bonhoff is one of the suppliers on their list of suggested suppliers. If you call ahead and tell them what you want, they MAY have a pile ready for you to pick through. If not, they will get one while you wait. Bring a friend to help move the lumber as you go through the pile. Please restack the pile when you finish so that we "small time" people don't annoy them.

Bonhoff sells only rough cut lumber. You may want to bring a plane to get down to the grain, but ask if it's OK before you cut. They will also chop long boards into manageable sizes. I have a station wagon, so I can't exactly take 12' long boards.

You can get fantastic product at good prices at Bonhoff. It's quite a drive from the SF Valley, but worth the trip. Be prepared to spend some time waiting for help and then picking out the lumber.

[George Carion]

Called around a bit. Most places are $4.50+ for 4/4 red oak. Bonhoff is $3.10. That's a pretty big difference assuming the qaulity is decent. I think I'll need to find some time to head over there.

Thanks again!