School Me On Lumber Selection: Shouldn't Flatness Factor Into the Price Of A Board?

[Dave Stuve]

Lumber is a volume business, so the pricing formulas are simple. That's why people sort through piles of lumber, or reject some boards that are really lousy. More detailed pricing would be a pretty big burden on the seller and buyer.

[Andrew Hughes]

Padauk is only pretty for a short time then it turns this ugly brown color for the rest of its life.
That why I don't like it plus it make me itch.
Ive bought wood from Rockler in the past that was heavily discounted because it sat for so long.Now I think they move their inventory to different stores.Darn it!

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Padauk is only pretty for a short time then it turns this ugly brown color for the rest of its life.
That why I don't like it plus it make me itch.
Ive bought wood from Rockler in the past that was heavily discounted because it sat for so long.Now I think they move their inventory to different stores.Darn it!

Yep, I figured that out after a bit of reading. The trend is unfortunately common with a lot of the exotic woods that catch my eye. It looks like the aged color isn't too bad but not nearly as bright and bold as the current color. I have some Mulberry that I got from a local farmer that looks great right now but I know its destined for drab brownness eventually. Same with the bright orange Osage I like. This piece of Padauk is gonna be used mostly for tools and tool parts so I'm not quite as concerned about the color.

[Brett Luna]

Yep, I figured that out after a bit of reading. The trend is unfortunately common with a lot of the exotic woods that catch my eye. It looks like the aged color isn't too bad but not nearly as bright and bold as the current color.

The color difference can be pretty shocking, for sure. I've been working with it on a box project and a fair bit of sanding made my fingers look like I'd been eating Cheetos...maybe a little darker, like the spicy ones. I think it's most handsome with an oil-based finish and even still very nice looking with some age on it.

[Nick Decker]

Matthew, if you're in Kansas and near Kansas City you might want to check out Metro Hardwoods. I bought wood from the Woodcraft in Lenexa a couple of times, and you're definitely buying at the top of the price range there. Metro has a lot of those exotics, just not gift wrapped and marked up like Woodcraft. Not cheap, but more reasonable, it seems. They're at I-70 and Noland Rd.

[glenn bradley]

You get better at visualizing the parts and where they may come out of a certain board. I gladly take boards now that I would have never taken years ago. The fact that a whole board has some bow to it doesn't bother me if it has sections that are large enough to yield what I am after. I often find the most interesting figure near voids and defects. If you want the figure you have to pay for the defect too ;-)