Quartersawn Bonanza

[Dell Littlefield]

Recently while visiting family in Raleigh NC, I had a chance to meet fellow Creeker Scott Smith. What a resource for quartersawn lumber! I was looking for some nicely figured sycamore and I found that and much more. He specializes in quarter sawn oak but has other species as well and is one of the nicest people I have met. He went way out of his way to help me get the lumber I wanted and gave me some valuable advice on how to best utilize it. He also gave a brief tour of his plant and his woodpile. WOW! One oak log was over 6 ft in diameter. I would sure like to watch him process that one. Additionally, he asked me if I was a member of this forum and gave me the Sawmill Creek discount. I found him on the internet and you can too:

http://www.quartersawnoak.com

Disclaimer: I never met Scott until this visit and have nothing to gain by this post. I just gained a great resource for specialty lumber and want to share it.

[Mark Engel]

I will echo your sentiments. I am lucky enough to live only a short distance from Scott's farm. He is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. His knowledge of the products he sells, and wood products in general, is unsurpassed and freely shared with anyone with a desire to learn. Scott is definitely one of the good guys.

[David Keller NC]

I also live close to Scott, and have had the pleasure of working at his mill one day to slab up some giant post-oak for some workbench tops. But what I might mention to those that have an interest in craftsman-style furniture (or just like the look of quartersawn red and white oak) is that Scott has a unique product, unobtainable anywhere else that I know of, and it is shippable - quarter-sawn oak veneer that's actually sawn, not sliced. And the widths he offers in this material runs up to 16", which is also pretty much unfindable.

Not only is this sawn veneer quite a bit thicker than commercial sliced veneer (which is a big advantage if you process large panels by power sanding), it has none of the checks introduced by the slicing process.

QS Oak in furniture isn't my thing, but I can bear witness to the fact that sawn veneer is far, far superior material to work with than sliced veneer in any of the species that I've tried. So much so that I'm considering shelling out a lot of money for a bandsaw with a lot of horsepower and a 24" resaw capacity to cut my own.

[Dan Bowman]

Scott has great qs oak at really good prices. Wide book-matched boards are available in almost any length, and Scott is a wonderful guy to hang out with and learn from. If you're ever in the Raleigh area, try to stop by his shop.

[Richard Wolf]

What a great looking source for quarter sawn oak. I will be saving this contact for future needs.

[Scott T Smith]

Dell, I just found your post (not sure how I missed it before); thank you very much for your kind words! I really enjoyed meeting you too and wish you the best of success on your projects - please be sure to send me some photo's when you're done. That reminds me - I need to mill up some more QS sycamore next week...

Mark / David / Dan: Thanks also for the kind words.

Richard, what part of Long Island are you on? My wife grew up in Port Jefferson and Nissequogue.

David, how is the workbench project coming along? I've been meaning to e-mail you and let you know that I recently acquired a Beall wood threader for 1-1/2", in case you want to make your own bench vise. Let me know.

Scott

[Richard Wolf]

Richard, what part of Long Island are you on? My wife grew up in Port Jefferson and Nissequogue.
Scott

Scott, I live one town from Port Jefferson, Mt. Sinai. I think she is happy to be off Long Island, It is getting to be a very uncomfortable place to live. I thought I would be retired and living in NC myself by now, but the kids keep my wife here.

[Scott T Smith]

Scott, I live one town from Port Jefferson, Mt. Sinai. I think she is happy to be off Long Island, It is getting to be a very uncomfortable place to live. I thought I would be retired and living in NC myself by now, but the kids keep my wife here.

Richard, you are indeed correct about my wife being happy "off the island"! We visited LI back in 2001, and rode our motorcycles all over the island, including through Mt. Sinai. It's definitely getting crowded. When we were riding around, I think that I liked the farmland on the east end of the island best, and I recall that there is a great seafood restaraunt right on the water in Montauk.

C'mon down to NC; it's a great place to live!

[Richard Wolf]

Well the East end, both North and South Forks, are the only safe haven from complete congestion, but the cost of living is absolutely ridiculous. The restaurant you are thinking of is most likely Gosman's Dock. http://www.gosmans.com/?AID=GOSDR I hope someday to leave this hell hole.