Wood sourcing frustrations

[Marjorie Hill]

Hi all - I've been lurking for a little while and enjoying all the education and information on this forum. Now that we're up and running with the laser, I'm trying to find a cost-effective source for thin (1/8") woods to replace the fiberboard that seemed so wonderful, but will, in fact, kill us if we keep using it (formaldehyde). I've looked at some web sources, but the cost of shipping is painful. Any suggestions? Thanks for helping another newbie! :)

[Steve Clarkson]

Welcome Marjorie!

The easiest place to find 1/8" baltic birch plywood is at any craft store (Michaels, AC Moore, etc.)....it's about $4-$5 for a 12"x24" sheet and even cheaper with their 40% coupons.

There are also two or three people on here that sell wood planks.....they typically offer other and better varieties.

But "thin woods" is kind of generic term.....can you be more specific.

Also, we would love to see pictures of the things you make and to hear more about where you're from and what you do with your laser!

[James Jaragosky]

What will you be doing with the wood? vector cutting? rastering images?

I have found Aspen at Manards to be a good source of cheap wood to raster images in.
For the higher end stuff I use snow maple or clear maple.
some people use lauan plywood as a cheap local source of wood thin substitute.

[Keith Outten]

Marjorie,

Check out this link for one of the guys here that sells thin wood for laser cutting.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=121850

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Marjorie;
I have thin (5/32") maple, walnut, cherry, and jatoba available in two sizes but can't give you details here due to site restrictions. You could search "thin wood" in the archives and details would be there but I can't seem to get the search mode working.
I will send you a PM with more info but can't send pics by this method. Send me your email address and can send info directly.
Best regards;
George
LaserArts
gperzel@rochester.rr.com

[Mike Null]

I have purchased George's wood several times and have been pleased with it.

[Colleen Williams]

Morning everyone. I have the same question, however, I am wondering if there is a good supplier in Canada for wood thins. No offense George, however, sometimes the border here is really sticky about bringing wood through. I can get the stuff that LaserBits sells locally however it costs a small fortune and really drives up the cost of using it for ornaments and the like.

[Martin Boekers]

Marjorie,

I've been real happy we these guys.

http://www.ocoochhardwoods.com/

Another place to look is wood for scroll saw.
You may check locally with a scroll saw group to find a good shop close to you, (Don't ;et them know you laser though!:D)


Marty

[Marc Myer]

George's woods are great! Bought a cool assortment last year; it's a great way to evaluate woods and see what you like. Even with shipping, it was a pretty good deal.

[Marjorie Hill]

Re: scrollsawers...we'll try to stay below the radar (or laser beam...)

[Bill Cunningham]

Morning everyone. I have the same question, however, I am wondering if there is a good supplier in Canada for wood thins. No offense George, however, sometimes the border here is really sticky about bringing wood through. I can get the stuff that LaserBits sells locally however it costs a small fortune and really drives up the cost of using it for ornaments and the like.

Michael's is probably your best bet.. It sell for $6.95 in Ontario, and you get a 1 item 40% off coupon for the next time your in, so buying two sheets one sheet at a time a day or so apart drops the cost to 5.56 per sheet.. I usually give it a single coat of rattlecan lacquer on each side just to keep it clean.