Chair leg stock ?

[Eric Hartunian]

Hey all,
Just wondering if any of you glue up stock for chair/table legs? I am going to make a chair out of mahogany, and need some 3" square stock for the legs, (cabriole), and can't find any locally. 8/4 is the thickest I can get. I am not sure about glueing up, just because I don't know if the glue line will be a distraction on the finished piece.
What do you think?

Eric

[Steve Wargo]

You can buy 12/4 leg stock from West Penn Hardwoods. Delivery is quite cheap, especially on smaller sizes. Much better idea than gluing up stock to make 3" legs. Also, I imagine that West Penn will be less with shipping than you pay locally. Good luck and hope this helps.

[Gary Herrmann]

Post your location, Eric. Folks here may be able to point you to a local source. Here in St. Louis, it would be Hibdon Hardwoods - they carry 16/4 Mahogany.

[Jeff Clement]

I just did a maple table and glued up the legs and I'm not overly pleased with the results. The glue line is fairly visible. I'd try for one piece if you can.

[Jim Becker]

I typically try not to glue up stock for legs and prefer to work with thick stock; particularly rift-sawn with the grain "corner to corner" for uniform grain show on all four faces as much as possible.

[Eric Hartunian]

I am convinced I don't want to glue, now I just need to find a source. I'm in Monterey, Ca. My only local source has 8/4 and thinner. I am going to check the San Jose area, maybe better luck there. The problem with mail ordering, is that most places have a BF minimum, which is way more than I want/ need.

Thanks,
Eric

[Jamie Buxton]

Matthew Burak sells solid leg stock, in leg-sized pieces. http://www.tablelegs.com/ The cost per board foot is higher than if you buy a big plank, but you only need to buy what you need, not the whole big plank.

[Glenn Madsen]

Plywood and Lumber Sales, 4 sites, including San Jose, CA www.pals4wood.com Happy customer, lots of choices

Aura Hardwoods, San Jose, never used them, but folks from my woodworking club have.

Southern Lumber, San Jose. Reputed good but pricey. Only know that they supposedly have primo stock, and I don't see cabriole legs made with pallet wood very often.

MacBeath Hardwoods, in Berkeley, and SF and others. Good stock, parking is tough, excellent service and people. Not for the bottom feeder.

Baker Hardwoods is in Gilroy, but he's primarily known for what he saws from local stock. Mahogany is likely out, but he reputedly has excellent walnut, and bay laurel and western oaks. And occasional yard exotics.

That's just to the north within a two hour drive. And I'm certain there are others I don't know. Fill up the truck, and make a day of it!

[Eric Hartunian]

It looks like I found something in San Jose. I'll pick ut up in Wed, and report back how things went.
Again, thanks for all the suggestions.
Eric

[Tim Sproul]

Jackel in Watsonville didn't have 16/4 mahogany? Be sure to ask for genuine honduran mahog or african or whatever mahogany you're using for the chair.

[Alan Turner]

Leg stock should be rift sawn. You can order it from places such as Groff & Groff, and just tell them what you need to yield in terms of length, and that you need rift sawn for leg stock. They understand these things.

It will be UPS'd out that day or the next. It is a 3 hour round trip drive for me, and if all I need is leg stock, then I just pick up the phone since UPS is cheaper than gas, not even counting the time to drive and select.