Sometimes you do a little searching and get a great surprise!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I recently started purchasing few tools for my entertainment center build.

My wife loves red oak. I can tell you in the next couple years, I will be required to build new kitchen cabinets from red oak also. We have already discussed it.

Last week using my captioning telephone, I called all my wood suppliers in the local area except HD. I was shocked to find that one place carried A2 3/4" red oak plywood and A1 1/4" red oak plywood. The prices were nearly double to that of HD but the difference in quality as I saw it was obvious.

Of the 2 "real" lumber yards in the area, one carried 3/4" A2 red oak plywood and the other carried 3/4" C2 red oak plywood. The price difference was about $20 a sheet.

Red oak hardwood is a different matter. Neither of the lumber yards carried as good a quality of wood as HD but...there is a place 30 miles north of me that carries better hardwood, a better selection of thicknesses and it's much cheaper. So tomorrow I'll make a mad dash to Moscow, ID for red oak for the base, face frame and paneled doors.

I was surprised to find A2 red oak plywood locally!

[Bruce Page]

That's quite a drive isn't it?

[Peter Quinn]

I love the possibility of telling people when you are showing off your new unit " yup, I had to go all the way to Moscow to get just the right lumber!" now if there were a hardware distributer in Paris, Texas......

[Larry Edgerton]

I love the possibility of telling people when you are showing off your new unit " yup, I had to go all the way to Moscow to get just the right lumber!" now if there were a hardware distributer in Paris, Texas......

I get some wood from a sawyer in Hell Mich. Thats why I am so expensive, I use wood from Hell.

[Bruce Wrenn]

HD carries C-3 (shop Grade) Red Oak plywood, usually rotary cut. The other stuff you saw was most likely slip matched.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That's quite a drive isn't it?

Just 30 miles......

I'll tell you a quick story about "Moscow", ID. My oldest son was stationed in Germany when Desert Shield and Desert Storm happened. They deployed to Saudi Arabia and on Christmas Day deployed into the desert. 2 weeks later he called home from a "telephone tent" in the desert. Of course the conversations were monitored as Desert Shield was the current event. He made the statement that when they arrived there on Christmas Day there was nothing and now it was a sea of tents. I asked if he could tell me where he was at. He said "No." I asked "How far are you from Iraq?" He paused and then said "About as far as you are from Moscow.".... Now the first lesson everyone learns when they move to this area is "Moscow is in Russia".....MOSCOE (spelled Moscow) is in IDAHO. The natives are relentless to teach you the proper pronunciation. So he says ....about as far as you are from "MOSCOW" as in Russia, knowing I will pickup the pronunciation....with a straight edge, I draw a horizontal line 30 miles south of Iraq. I asked "How far are you from Kuwait?" He says "About twice that distance". I measure west 60 miles and draw a vertical line. "Is there a town with 3 words in it's name?" I asked? "It's 6 clicks north" says he. I knew where he was and nobody was wiser......

[Bruce Page]

Your own form of code talking. :)

[Don Jarvie]

Do a search on Clist and see what you can come up with. Sometimes people are cleaning out there barns etc and sell wood pretty cheap. Might be a long ride but worth the time if the price is right.