Paul Fitzgerald
01-31-2009, 6:04 PM
I received a flyer in the mail back when Craig Lumber's Hardwood Shop in Collierville, TN opened the retail side of their business. I was really excited that I had another hardwood dealer to choose from. Unfortunately, it took about six months before I found the need and the time to drop by -- some stock for new cabinet doors to be installed in our kitchen.
Danny Thompson did a pretty good write-up back in August that can be found here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=90269). I thought I'd add to it since a few things appear to have changed a bit since then.
First, based on second hand information, it appears as though they dropped their prices by about 20%. Not too shabby if you ask me. I paid $2.36/BF for 4/4 Poplar that was hit and miss planed and straight line ripped on one edge. Rough 4/4 Poplar was $1.54/BF.
All the stock I picked up was 100% free and clear of knots, splits, checks, etc. As far as I can tell, not one board was bad or even moderately warped, twisted, or cupped either.
Next... While there, I saw Afrormosia, Alder, Aniegre, Birch, Bloodwood, Bubinga, Cherry, a couple varieties of Ebony, Bubinga, Sycamore, Beech, Goncalo Alves, Granadillo, Ipe, Iroko, Jatoba, Koa, Leopardwood, Lacewood, Makore, Soft/Hard/Curly/Birdseye Maple, Oak (Red and White), Obeche, Padauk, Poplar, Purpleheart, Red Gum, Shedua, Wenge, Zebrawood (and Figured Zebrawood, which I had never seen)... and probably quite a few other species I can't remember.
They had various thicknesses of flat stock, most of which was between 4/4 and 8/4. I wasn't really looking, but it's possible they did have other thicknesses available. The flat stock was of various lengths, as Danny mentioned in his post, which I found refreshing.
One thing I particularly liked was the fact that just about everything I saw was hit and missed planed and straight line ripped on one edge. So 4/4 was about 15/16. I always hated buying from Colco because in most cases I had to buy 5/4 when I really needed 4/4 because Colco sells mostly S2S or S4S, where 4/4 was really only 13/16. That didn't leave me much to get to four-square, especially when trying to work around a cup or twist.
Also, Craig's didn't have enough Poplar in the rack to supply my order, which was width specific to keep waste to a minimum. So the salesman went in the back and used the forklift to bring over a huge pallet of rough 4/4 Poplar for me to go through. I love the fact that I was able to get it rough at about a 35% discount!!!
Obviously, they're more than happy to mill the lumber for you if you don't have the equipment in your shop... for a fee of course.
As Danny stated, they did have a bunch of highly figured exotics and some huge slabs of figured Bubinga.
They also had some turning stock, a small selection of pen blanks (at fantastic prices), some hardwood moulding, and some hardwood plywood in a few select species. Unfortunately, the did not have 5'x5' sheets of BB ply, otherwise, I would have picked up a few sheets while I was there.
There was only one fellow working and he was super nice, and very attentive. Since it was my first visit, I had many questions which he answered to my satisfaction. I felt he was honest and to the point. I can't always say the same for Colco.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the following email when I arrived home:
Dear Mr. Fitzgerald,
We thank you for your recent visit to our store and for your purchase. We hope you are pleased with the Poplar.
We now have you on our email list so you will be getting news, events and specials from the HardwoodShop from time to time.
Kind regards,
HardwoodShop
Bottom line... I'll probably be using Craig's almost exclusively for my hardwood purchases from now on. I'll still need to visit Colco for BB ply.
Craig's is the place to go if:
You prefer your stock hit and miss planed or rough
You need big/wide exotics
You need exotic shorts
Colco's the place to go if:
You prefer your stock S4S and sold by the LF rather than the BF
You prefer your stock S2S
You need something out of the ordinary that Craig's doesn't have
You need a large selection of hardwood plywood (including BB ply)
You need machinery or accessories (bits, blades, etc.)
If you're near Collierville, I'd certainly recommend dropping by Craig's.
Paul
Danny Thompson did a pretty good write-up back in August that can be found here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=90269). I thought I'd add to it since a few things appear to have changed a bit since then.
First, based on second hand information, it appears as though they dropped their prices by about 20%. Not too shabby if you ask me. I paid $2.36/BF for 4/4 Poplar that was hit and miss planed and straight line ripped on one edge. Rough 4/4 Poplar was $1.54/BF.
All the stock I picked up was 100% free and clear of knots, splits, checks, etc. As far as I can tell, not one board was bad or even moderately warped, twisted, or cupped either.
Next... While there, I saw Afrormosia, Alder, Aniegre, Birch, Bloodwood, Bubinga, Cherry, a couple varieties of Ebony, Bubinga, Sycamore, Beech, Goncalo Alves, Granadillo, Ipe, Iroko, Jatoba, Koa, Leopardwood, Lacewood, Makore, Soft/Hard/Curly/Birdseye Maple, Oak (Red and White), Obeche, Padauk, Poplar, Purpleheart, Red Gum, Shedua, Wenge, Zebrawood (and Figured Zebrawood, which I had never seen)... and probably quite a few other species I can't remember.
They had various thicknesses of flat stock, most of which was between 4/4 and 8/4. I wasn't really looking, but it's possible they did have other thicknesses available. The flat stock was of various lengths, as Danny mentioned in his post, which I found refreshing.
One thing I particularly liked was the fact that just about everything I saw was hit and missed planed and straight line ripped on one edge. So 4/4 was about 15/16. I always hated buying from Colco because in most cases I had to buy 5/4 when I really needed 4/4 because Colco sells mostly S2S or S4S, where 4/4 was really only 13/16. That didn't leave me much to get to four-square, especially when trying to work around a cup or twist.
Also, Craig's didn't have enough Poplar in the rack to supply my order, which was width specific to keep waste to a minimum. So the salesman went in the back and used the forklift to bring over a huge pallet of rough 4/4 Poplar for me to go through. I love the fact that I was able to get it rough at about a 35% discount!!!
Obviously, they're more than happy to mill the lumber for you if you don't have the equipment in your shop... for a fee of course.
As Danny stated, they did have a bunch of highly figured exotics and some huge slabs of figured Bubinga.
They also had some turning stock, a small selection of pen blanks (at fantastic prices), some hardwood moulding, and some hardwood plywood in a few select species. Unfortunately, the did not have 5'x5' sheets of BB ply, otherwise, I would have picked up a few sheets while I was there.
There was only one fellow working and he was super nice, and very attentive. Since it was my first visit, I had many questions which he answered to my satisfaction. I felt he was honest and to the point. I can't always say the same for Colco.
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the following email when I arrived home:
Dear Mr. Fitzgerald,
We thank you for your recent visit to our store and for your purchase. We hope you are pleased with the Poplar.
We now have you on our email list so you will be getting news, events and specials from the HardwoodShop from time to time.
Kind regards,
HardwoodShop
Bottom line... I'll probably be using Craig's almost exclusively for my hardwood purchases from now on. I'll still need to visit Colco for BB ply.
Craig's is the place to go if:
You prefer your stock hit and miss planed or rough
You need big/wide exotics
You need exotic shorts
Colco's the place to go if:
You prefer your stock S4S and sold by the LF rather than the BF
You prefer your stock S2S
You need something out of the ordinary that Craig's doesn't have
You need a large selection of hardwood plywood (including BB ply)
You need machinery or accessories (bits, blades, etc.)
If you're near Collierville, I'd certainly recommend dropping by Craig's.
Paul