Wood buying strategy?

[Asgeir]

What is your wood buying strategy?

Do you buy wood only a per project basis?
Or are there certain species and dimensions that you always try to keep on hand?
Do you try to buy a quantity that corresponds to a particular project or do you buy whole logs to get a better price and a consistent quality?
How often do you buy wood / plywood?

[Hugh MacD]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

Wood prices are pretty volatile around here. I just buy based on whatever project I'm working on. I'm also one in the common situation where I have space to either store wood or work on a project, but not both

[wizbang 13]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

we all got a birthday comin up
that's my stratego
i keep about 3000 bf of AYC around here for kicks. some people like to collect yellow metal, i likes the wood one.
a drive to Edensaw...waste of time for a single sheet of $150 plywood, mights' well load up a collection
In Tacoma we have Mill Outlet...it's my Toys R Us.

[heimlaga]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

For my own projects timber generally comes from the woods directly. This year we sawed 50 logs which isn't very much. The year before 90 logs which was just about as much as I could handle. The year before we had a terrible storm and I overworked myself salvaging and processing 120 logs which was just too much.
For customer jobs I usually order what is needed for the project except some speciality timer which may come out of my own stacks.

This year's stack contain two pairs of gunwales and a bit of planking stock.

[Bruce Brown]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

It all depends on storage space. Taking advantage of a really good deal in wood rarely backfires, unless you die.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

What is your wood buying strategy?

Do you buy wood only a per project basis?
Or are there certain species and dimensions that you always try to keep on hand?
Do you try to buy a quantity that corresponds to a particular project or do you buy whole logs to get a better price and a consistent quality?
How often do you buy wood / plywood?

I find the logs I want (for example osage orange, atlantic white cedar, sassafras) take it to a saw mill to be cut into boards.
Then I sticker the wood at my place and dry it 1 year per inch of thickness.

I keep about 10,000 board feet in stock at any given time and sell enough to cover sawmill costs (about 25 cents a boardfoot around here.)

when I go on vacation I bring logs home too.

it depends on the year but I usually keep the following in stock:
Local to Pa/NJ/De: osage orange,sassafrass, aramatic red cedar, atlantic white cedar, diadora cedar, northern white cedar, black locust, black walnut, black cherry, ash, boxwood, lilac, dogwood, apple, pear, Holly, pitch pine.

from florida: sea grape, cuban mahogany, east indian rosewood, buttonwood, coconut palm, live oak, lignum vitae

from Texas: Black Mesquite

as a start.

[swoody126]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

with the big box stores pushing real lumber yards out of our area i find my favorite sources of marine plywood 300 miles away in Houston

if i'm going to be in or going thru Houston i plan to bring some home with me as my $$$ allows

and likewise if i am in one of the big box stores and see some nice straight grain lumber(the longer the better)

this way projects can be undertaken at will

sw

[Asgeir]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

@Thad Van Gilder So many questions ! That sounds really awesome!
Do you travel round with a massive pickup and trailer? Or do you organise to have the logs shipped to you?
Do you buy standing trees or do you buy from log yards? How do you source the logs?

[Asgeir]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

@wizbang 13 That is a fair bit of AYC! How do you split that up in terms of thicknesses?
Do you just buy flat sawn logs as wide and as long as possible or do you buy 1 x 10 / 1 x 12 ?

[Thad Van Gilder]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

@Thad Van Gilder So many questions ! That sounds really awesome!
Do you travel round with a massive pickup and trailer? Or do you organise to have the logs shipped to you?
Do you buy standing trees or do you buy from log yards? How do you source the logs?

I have an F-250 and yes I travel with it.

I bring a chainsaw in case I have to drop a tree, and I almost never buy logs. I just ask around and they show up.

I have bought giant osage orange logs, lignum vitae logs, and boxwood logs...

[heimlaga]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

In my case I transport my logs using a 1971 model Massey-Ferguson 165 equipped with winch and log trailer. I can handle logs up to 8 metres long or 9 metres when I really must.
IMG_4534liten.jpg
Some logs come from our own 4 hectares of prime woodland and some comes from land owned by others. Locals know that I have an appetite for windfallen trees and trees they want to have removed. Sometimes I also buy a few logs from people who have felled some trees for one reason or another.

[rregge]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

As a good consultant my answer would be....IT depends.

There are times I only buy what I need, but even then I typically buy based on weight, heavier boards have tighter grains and are by definition denser.

I like to wander around when I am shopping for wood, I am always looking for some spectacular (or at least interesting). Years ago I found an amazing piece of SA mahogany, it almost seemed like a burl. Grain was going in every direction and it was so heavy. I saved it for years until I was making a piece where that wood would stand out and I used it, and it really popped. In my recent divorce I insisted that I got that piece (in fact I got every piece of furniture (and the semi finished boat)) I made during the marriage.

Do you know why divorce is expensive??? IT IS WORTH IT!!!!!

[heimlaga]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

Harvesting and roughing out a grown crook the day before yesterday. I left a high stump and uprooted it now when the ground has thawed. It will likely become a breasthook in a 16 foot planing skiff.

I still find it ridiculous that some forumite called this activity a romantic dream. It is hard work and very frustrating as the chainsaw chain has to be sharpened often.
IMG_5414.jpg

[peb]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

with the big box stores pushing real lumber yards out of our area i find my favorite sources of marine plywood 300 miles away in Houston

if i'm going to be in or going thru Houston i plan to bring some home with me as my $$$ allows

and likewise if i am in one of the big box stores and see some nice straight grain lumber(the longer the better)

this way projects can be undertaken at will

sw

Steve,

Brazos Forest Products in Grand Prairie is a great lumber yard for hardwood of many species. Sometimes you can get some really good deals for their rough cut lumber.
Also, Architectural Carpentry Materials is good, close to Love Field. They carry clear Doug fir of very good quality for a reasonable price, and will deliver also.

[swoody126]

Re: Wood buying strategy?

Steve,

Brazos Forest Products in Grand Prairie is a great lumber yard for hardwood of many species. Sometimes you can get some really good deals for their rough cut lumber.
Also, Architectural Carpentry Materials is good, close to Love Field. They carry clear Doug fir of very good quality for a reasonable price, and will deliver also.

MANY THANKS !

i'll be in that neighborhood within the next coupla weeks and wil try to rememberize to check them out

sw