Road Trip: Hearne Hardwoods

[Tom Sontag]

Does Hearne segregate their cherry quartersawn vs. plain sawn? Do they do the same for walnut? Do they charge more? In the case of the cherry, does all of it exhibit the hard to catch cherry rays, or is it more a thing of a board having straight annual rings? You've got the nail that saw line just so to get ray flecks in cherry....


I currently segregate oaks and sycamore quartersawn, rift sawn, and plain sawn. What other domestics should I segregate the QS stuff?

I love wood threads!

[Jim Becker]

By the way my wife and and two of my daughters were in Pittsburg over the weekend were they anywhere near you or Hearne on their way there Via the turnpike from Ohio. If they were they could have dropped me off

It would have been a long walk for you, Jeff...Pittsburgh is in western PA...about, oh...250 miles from Hearne.

If I'd of known I would have stopped in to help you spend some of your money

Nah...I was already on a roll...I would have sicked you on Robert. He needed a little encouragement since with his most recent broken leg, he was not convinced he wanted to have to load lumber in to his second floor shop. Wimp...

[Matt Day]

Thanks for the tip about this place. I'll probably stop by there on my next trip from VA to NJ.

[Art Mulder]

Wow, Jim, you resisted the Bubinga. Don't you have the urge to make a one-slab dining table? (looks big enough for that in the photo)

...art

[Jim Becker]

Art, I'd need to build an addition for a slab that large...and bubinga is the one species I'm really sensitive to, so it's "off the table", as it were, for projects for the most part.

[Jim Becker]

Does Hearne segregate their cherry quartersawn vs. plain sawn? Do they do the same for walnut? Do they charge more? In the case of the cherry, does all of it exhibit the hard to catch cherry rays, or is it more a thing of a board having straight annual rings?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, and know...as you say, depending on the cut line. I personally don't care about the rays...I want the straight grain for the project I'm currently working on.

I currently segregate oaks and sycamore quartersawn, rift sawn, and plain sawn. What other domestics should I segregate the QS stuff?

I'm not sure, but any species can be quarter/rift sawn.

My objective with the straight grain stock as mentioned above is to keep the focus on the "special" wood in the door panels. I don't like "busy" rails and stiles in that respect. I may consider experimenting with other species in the future for this look...if I want to work with the QS/Rift straight grain, there may be better choices and I can use dye to have the color that I want. So many choices...

[Dave Avery]

Jim,

Crotch cherry veneer is relatively easy to find - might be a good excuse for adding an inexpensive vacuum press set-up to the tool arsenal....... Best. dave.

[Jim Becker]

Crotch cherry veneer is relatively easy to find - might be a good excuse for adding an inexpensive vacuum press set-up to the tool arsenal.......

One would think, but I haven't been able to find any veneer with the feather pattern wide enough for the doors. (~12" or more)

[Greg Cole]

Wish I could make it a day trip.. or in Jim's case a few hours!
I live way out in Kansas City and don't have any problem picking up the phone and dropping an order with them. The selection makes the freight bill easier to swallow.... and when you get your lumber delivered the freight is worth it.
I would need no prompting to load up while there!
The 3/4 ton Dodge Big Horn with turbo diesel & 16' gooseneck out in the parking lot might be a little overkill though. Maybe.....

[Larry Fox]

The 3/4 ton Dodge Big Horn with turbo diesel & 16' gooseneck out in the parking lot might be a little overkill though. Maybe.....

Last time I was there there was a mid-size flat-bed in the parking lot loaded to capacity (maybe a bit more) with what looked to be walnut slabs. I think your rig would be right at home there.

My brother lives (essentially) around the corner from them and I can't seem to avoid stopping by whenever I go down to see him. I especially like the "shorts" pile in the back - there are some tasty bits in there and I always end up buying something. Two weeks ago I ventured to the upper racks where they have the bubinga and other tasty goodies. Very nice place staffed by very nice people.

[Jim Becker]

Larry, you're right...the "shorts" room is incredible. That's where that English Brown Oak slab was calling my name from. Hearne supplies many of the makers around SE PA including some of Nakashima Studio's needs. So I'm not surprised at a trailer hanging out, particularly on a week-day when they do a lot of trade business. On Saturday, my trailer was the only one in evidence...but the place really was hopping!