Walnut Source Near Jonesboro Ar or Memphis TN?

[Irvin Cooper]

Does anyone know of a source of rough-sawn walnut around the Jonesboro Arkansas/Memphis TN areas (not including anything blown over this week )?

I have been searching for weeks for a source but can find none. I need 200-300 board feet.

Thanks.

Irv

[Nancy Laird]

Irvin, there's a sawmill in Troy, Tennessee, called Hanafee Bros. When we were there in August, they had lots of walnut. I'd suspect that they still have a bunch. They aren't open Saturdays, so you'll have to go during the week, but Don is one of the few mill owners I know who will break a pallet and sell just what you need.

When we were there in August, Don let me pick through the pile of kiln cut-offs and I got some really pretty pieces of walnut and cherry, birch and sassafras. These are two-foot pieces that are cut off from what's in the kiln that they take out and check for moisture content. He just piles them up and gives them away or burns them.

I don't know about his prices for walnut, but we paid $1.00 bd/ft for red oak and $2.05 bd/ft for hard maple, FAS, with some of the boards as much as 10-13" wide.

You can see our August haul here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=64565, post #11.

Hanafee's phone number is (731) 536-4682, and here's their website: http://www.hanafeebros.com/home.html. If you go, tell Don that the Lairds sent you, and he'll treat you right.

Nancy

[Irvin Cooper]

Thank you Nancy! I will give him a call on Monday.

Irv

[Billy Elliott]

Contact Rick Cantrell in Bald Knob. They deal mostly with tracks of oak timber for comerical use, but do have other lumber from time to time.
Sorry I don't have a number.

[Clem Wixted]

Irv,

I just came across your post. Have you checked with Tinsley's sawmill. I looked it up in the phone book but there is no listing for a sawmill by that name. I have bought oak from him a while back. I think his son is now running the mill. I think his dad's name is Herman.

Clem

Does anyone know of a source of rough-sawn walnut around the Jonesboro Arkansas/Memphis TN areas (not including anything blown over this week )?

I have been searching for weeks for a source but can find none. I need 200-300 board feet.

Thanks.

Irv

[Paul Fitzgerald]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I didn't come away with a warm fuzzy feeling after talking to Don over at Hanafee Bros. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but I really felt like he didn't want my business.

Paul

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

I have purchased cherry for the cedar chests that I built last summer
and just purchased 150 BF more about 3 weeks ago from a mill aoutside of Ava Missouri. The name of the mill is Twin Oaks Mill and their website is www.twinoaksmill.com

I live in Forrest City Arknasas and it is about a 250 mile drive but I can make the round trip for less than paying freight.

The man and his wife that own the place are very nice and each time they have given me more than I paid for. This last time I got 50 BF of Oak and 50 BF of Walnut along with 50 BF of Cedar and the 150 BF of 5/4 cherry that I ordered.

I have been very pleased with the service I have gotten from them.

You can call and will usually have to leave a message but they will get back to you with no problems. The phone number is 1-888-898-5421

They also have Ash, Pecan, Red Oak and Maple.

Prices have been pretty good in fact I got the cherry including my expenses of driving up there and back for less than a place in Memphis would sell just the cherry for.

Hope this helps.

Gene

[Irvin Cooper]

Thank you Gene, Paul, and Clem.

I have talked to the elder Tinsely before. He was pretty much just carrying oak last time I was there. I live about 5 miles from his place.

Paul, I did contact Hanafee bros sawmill. It may be that they are just used to dealing with large customers who buy thousands of bf at a time, but it was very apparent to me that they were not interested in doing business with private individuals. I got the small-fish big-pond feeling when I was asking for availability of Walnut.

Gene, I will definitely check with Twin Oaks. I had no idea they were up there. Do you know if they sell to individuals?

Thank you again!

Irv

[Gene E Miller]

Thank you Gene, Paul, and Clem.

I have talked to the elder Tinsely before. He was pretty much just carrying oak last time I was there. I live about 5 miles from his place.

Paul, I did contact Hanafee bros sawmill. It may be that they are just used to dealing with large customers who buy thousands of bf at a time, but it was very apparent to me that they were not interested in doing business with private individuals. I got the small-fish big-pond feeling when I was asking for availability of Walnut.

Gene, I will definitely check with Twin Oaks. I had no idea they were up there. Do you know if they sell to individuals?

Thank you again!

Irv

Absolutely they sell to individuals since I am one. LOL They are very receptive to about any order that you may have. They are a husband and wife owned mill and she works an outside job as well so I think you will be able to deal with them. I have been very pleased with my 2 buying experiences and will continue to do business as much as possible with them when ever I need what they handle.

Gene

[Nancy Laird]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I didn't come away with a warm fuzzy feeling after talking to Don over at Hanafee Bros. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but I really felt like he didn't want my business.

Paul

Paul, I did contact Hanafee bros sawmill. It may be that they are just used to dealing with large customers who buy thousands of bf at a time, but it was very apparent to me that they were not interested in doing business with private individuals. I got the small-fish big-pond feeling when I was asking for availability of Walnut.

Irv

I have to say that I am VERY surprised at reading what I've read about Hanafee and the way that you perceive you were treated. We have been buying from Hanafee for over two years and every time we have been there, we have been treated almost like royalty. Don has been very accommodating about breaking pallets to let us pick what we want, as I mentioned before he led me to his kiln cut-offs and let me take whatever I wanted. I'm very disappointed if that is the way that he has treated you and I'll have a word with him. I just assumed that anyone that I referred to his business would get the same treatment that we have always gotten.

Nancy

[Clem Wixted]

Nancy,

You may be a little better looking than those other guys :-)

Clem

I have to say that I am VERY surprised at reading what I've read about Hanafee and the way that you perceive you were treated. We have been buying from Hanafee for over two years and every time we have been there, we have been treated almost like royalty. Don has been very accommodating about breaking pallets to let us pick what we want, as I mentioned before he led me to his kiln cut-offs and let me take whatever I wanted. I'm very disappointed if that is the way that he has treated you and I'll have a word with him. I just assumed that anyone that I referred to his business would get the same treatment that we have always gotten.

Nancy

[Irvin Cooper]

Nancy,

No offense intended toward Hanfee. It was just clear that they seemed oriented toward large-scale customers and not around those who needed 100 bd feet here and there. I have no issues on a personal level with them, as they were not disrespectful in any way. They just seemed geared toward/interested in large-scale customers.

Sorry if it came out any other way.

Irv

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Nancy,

No offense intended toward Hanfee. It was just clear that they seemed oriented toward large-scale customers and not around those who needed 100 bd feet here and there. I have no issues on a personal level with them, as they were not disrespectful in any way. They just seemed geared toward/interested in large-scale customers.

Sorry if it came out any other way.

Irv

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Paul

[william Ku]

Hello all,
I am also looking for a sawmill in West TN.

It would be a plus if they treated me kindly.

It would be great if they let me pick out the boards myself.

Is it too much to ask that they have decent prices as well?

Nancy, based on one of your earlier posts, I contacted Hanafee Bros. sawmill in early January, and they told me that they do not sell to the general public.

They gave me the impression that they were mad that I called to ask.

I then called Storey sawmill, located nearby, and they said that they would sell to me. While the receptionist was polite on the phone, the people that I actually interacted with to buy wood from were not the nicest people I've met. They did their best to rush me out of there as fast as they could and let me know that they didn't normally sell less than a freight-car load and were unhappy to deal with a puny 100-bf.
They told me that it would be $5 extra a board if I picked through a stack to get quality lumber, so I had to grab what was on top or not buy at all. Oh, and they were not going to sell lumber at all come February. They would soon only sell logs to the overseas markets.

It was a negative experience all around.

I actually felt the need to apologize for buying from them.

I think it's great that you are taking the time to let everyone know where you get a great deal and are treated well. I don't blame you for my experience at all, in fact, I commend you for being so eager to help out. If it weren't for you I wouldn't have been able to find any wood at all (other than H.D.).