Pricing Info on Hard Maple?

[Jason Nolan]

All,
I am fairly new to woodworking and to WoodNet. I have learned a lot on this site and I'm hoping you may be able lend a little guidance.

Someone is selling 170bf of 1inch and 3/4 hard maple and 16 sheets of prefinished birch plywood. I dont' know how big the sheets of plywood are, nor the width of the boards yet. I was hoping to use this for my new kitchen cabinets.

Is this a good by for $1000? I have no idea. Are there any good lumber sites that I could check pricing and compare? Or is this an amazing deal.
Thanks in advance and I hope everyone had safe and happy holiday!

[Steve Rowe]

Jason - hardwood prices can vary greatly depending on the area you are in. I purchased hard maple FAS in the rough for about $4.50/bf last year. No one in my area carries prefinished ply so I can't help you there.
Steve

[Jason Nolan]

Thanks Steve, I live near Boston. Does anyone know of any good lumber yards that they have had good experiences with north of boston or in Southern NH?

[Jay Brewer]

Hi Jason, I buy alot of Select Hard Maple for $3 brd ft. I havent bought prefinished birch, but I pay $70 for 3/4" 4'x8' prefinished Maple. If you use that price the ply is worth more that $1K. Sound like a good deal w/o seeing it.

P.S. Make sure the ply is flat, some cheaper prefinish has a tendancy to cup , makes it a bear to machine , Good luck.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Welcome Jason

I live in Chester NH so I'm somewhat familiar with the local lumberyards. The following are all good one with a decent stock selection and are in no particular order.

Highland Hardwoods Brentwood, NH

Northland Forest Products Kingston, NH

Goosebay Lumber and Sawmill Chichester, NH

Feurer Lumber Atkinson, NH

[John Hulett]

Jason - just a note from my own limited experience:

I bought a sheet of 1/2 inch pre-finished ply once. I had this briliant idea I'd use it for some drawers for a built-in closet organizer I was making for my son's room. Using my Incra joinery jig, I tried to cut half-blind dovetails in that pre-finished ply, but what I ended up with was the wood equivilant to hamburger. I even went down and bought a Whiteside dovetail bit, thinking the bit I was using wasn't sharp enough, but that didn't help. It was quite heartbreaking too, because as someone said above, the single sheet was in the neighborhood of about $70.

Using pocket holes worked much better!

- John

[David Rose]

Jason,

I give $1.50 to $3.50 per bf on hard maple in S2S. Seller calls it "5/4", but you have to search to find 1" stuff. The $1.50 is for "shorts", 4' or less which often meets my needs. The wood is locally sawn and from a small mill. If it had to be shipped, I'm sure it would run more.

David

[Nick Clayton]

Jason,

Along with Dave Andersons recommendations I'll throw in

Downs & Reader in Stoughton, MA (large operation)
The Woodery in Lunenburg, MA
New England Hardwoods in Littleton, MA
Anderson & McQuaid in Cambridge, MA (another large outfit; better suited to the professional)

[Jason Nolan]

All thanks for the info..

Highland Hardwoods has mentioned a couple times. I will need to find some time this crazy weekend to get up there.

Stupid question... what does FAS refer to re: hardwood.

thnx...

[Alex Berkovsky]

All,
I am fairly new to woodworking and to WoodNet.

Jason,
Welcome to SMC, not WoodNet

[Ethan Sincox]

Jason,

FAS refers to "First and Seconds", which is lumber milled to at least 8' in length (I believe that is the standard) and clear of knots and defects.

#1 and #2 Common is generally the same quality of wood, only in shorter lengths.

Do you really need your board in 8' lengths? Probably not. If you can find #1 Common, that is probably a better value.