Finding Affordable Wood

[Jason Ketcham]

Where do you all find your wood to build things with?  When I tried the usuals, Home Depot and Lowes, I found I would be spending 250 bucks just to make a bookshelf!!!

Any ideas where to find cheaper lumber?

thanks!

[duane ribron]

Well provided you live anywhere near a local mill work manufacturer. In my cass the closest one nearly 100 miles from me. Lowes is 7 miles away, Homedepot 1 1/2 miles and Menards is about the same in the other direction. HD may not carry the best wood, but I can get it within minutes from my house, and pretty cheap if I am working in pine. Other wood options like popular, red oak, and ash are avalible but more expensive.

[Kevin Skarbek]

I use cheap hardwood and veneered plywood for my structure and nice hardwood for my face frames, tops and draw fronts. There is really no place to get "cheap" wood. Wood prices are still market and supply driven so they will be in the same ballpark everywhere you go. Beside using cheaper hardwood and plywood in pieces that would be hidden, you just have to make sure that you plan your cuts to have the least amount of waist possible and if you have a table saw you can buy larger stock and rip it down to smaller working pieces which gives you more bang for your buck money wise.

[bruce rapp]

for hard woods call around to any lumber yard and ask for straight line--it is 3/4" thick or better and has one perfect edge--various widths 4 to 10 or 11 or so--
just bought some oak and alder for under $2 per food--comes in a couple of grades- you need to have a nice table saw and a thickness planer if you want exact thickness--but the stuff is what the cabinet shops buy and use. also ask for whatever other types of bulk they sell--and what kinds of woods they can get--generally you can get whatever you want -- and some yards stock more than others--alot of them don't mess with straight line as they have to buy large lots,

[Jerrell Sandling]

I go to the local Habitat for Humanity store. Contractors often donate wood left over from projects (mostly molding) and sometimes you can find some good usable wood for a project. Cost is generally very affordable plus you help local charities. Hope it helps

[Antoine boyd]

Many places to find wood. Barns and old houses that will be torn down. Sawmills, not all but some will sell green ripped wood for you to dry yourself or they may sell kiln dried wood. I am fortunate that there is just a place 14 miles from where I live where I can buy all kinds of kiln wood and of course the prices vary to the type of wood.. Rough cut wood is always cheaper than planed. I always plane my own so that I will always have shavings to smoke meats with. My next project will be done with hickory or cherry. Another source is to find trees that have been cut down and you haul them away yourself to a portable mill.

[Azor HomeatShop]

Jerrell,

Didn't know about this. So googled HFH locally and found they have a store here in PDX, OR. Will be visiting them next week. Thanks for the tip.

Dick


Jerrell Sandling said:

I go to the local Habitat for Humanity store. Contractors often donate wood left over from projects (mostly molding) and sometimes you can find some good usable wood for a project. Cost is generally very affordable plus you help local charities. Hope it helps

[Joe Ackerman]

I live in Minnesota and the Department of Natural Resources lists local saw mills on there web site. I also have bought some nice hardwood from Pallet manufacturers.

Good Luck.
Joe

[John Engle]

You may also want to look for a saw mill in your area. I am able to get shorts and skinnys from a local guy for $10.00 bucks a pickup load. I have also bought wood from local farmers that have cleaned out their fence rows. Most of this is green and has to be dried. Another thing is watch for local auctions. I have found wood at estate auctions very cheap many times they will list the woodworking tools but not the lumber that is there. Last suggestion is old barns and out buildings. Many of these were built from very good lumber and recycleing it can be very economical. Put the word out to friends and relative that you are looking for old wood.

[Bill Williams]

I have found free quality wood from several sources: a high-end shop that builds expensive windows, doors and frames which is happy to hand off excellent pieces, though the sizes depend on what the product is they're building at the time. They are happy to give it away because otherwise it is run through a chipper to reduce it for landfill: also find cheap or free hardwood on the internet from unwanted furniture. Last year obtained lovely maple sitting by the roadside on garbage day that I turned into a dining table. I have not found much wood of any use at Habitat for Humanity though I often buy other things, such as brass hinges etc. from them.

[Joseph Wiercinski]

I find old hardwood from construction sites, contractors (who glady give me the scraps saves them on getting rid of it) and on pcs. I find on broken furniture people throw out. After I find what I need I take everything that has a finish on them to a place here called Poor Richards which strips them for me to bare wood . I have made soom beautiful pieces and did some great repair work with them. Just Think outside the box and look around you may be surprised at whats out there. With my time and som labor I save roughly 60% to 70 % on what it cost to buy at the store.

[Azor HomeatShop]

My trip to the Habitat Restore did not produce any significant hardwood. However, there is lots of trim molding available for reasonable prices. As mentioned elsewhere, there is a lot of small hardware pieces that might prove useful. If you are a landlord, this place would be a good source of material for repair or replacement projects.

Azor HomeatShop said:

Jerrell,

Didn't know about this. So googled HFH locally and found they have a store here in PDX, OR. Will be visiting them next week. Thanks for the tip.

Dick


Jerrell Sandling said:

I go to the local Habitat for Humanity store. Contractors often donate wood left over from projects (mostly molding) and sometimes you can find some good usable wood for a project. Cost is generally very affordable plus you help local charities. Hope it helps

[Dale Burke]

Hey Jason,
It looks like everyone has run the gammut of sources and such for your question. When it comes to resourcing wood (especially pallet wood) I find it handy to run a metal detactor over it to check foir hidden fasteners. A friend of mine is an avid rock hound and I tried his high end detector with great results. That got me thinking. I wondered if a low-end unit would be as effective. Turns out, if you are careful where you set up to do the test (no underlying metal or hidden metalic stuff) even a cheap bottom of the barrel metal detector will find anything that will do significant damage to your saws, knives, etc.Check your local pawn shops if you poke around you can find a detector for less than $50. Hope this helps.