More on wood for a bench...

[Mike Holbrook]

I finally found a hardwood supplier fairly near to me. I got a quote of $2.54/bf 4/4 for Ash. I was told they would drop to $1.87 for over 200 feet. They want a little more for 8/4. They also have soft maple, more expensive. The guy said their European beech is popular for making benches, but it is more expensive too. I think this is pretty good pricing?

Planing to drive over there later today to check out the wood. I was thinking about buying a selection of hard woods to have to use, if they offer a substantial discount for total board feet. Or I may just get a few smaller pieces of the woods I like and see how I like working with them. I plan to build, work bench, saw bench(s) (may use hard vs construction lumber if I can get it with the bench wood for a good price), I want a little wood to make saw handles from, then I plan to make cabinets and a desk...

Suggestions on good woods to work with for these projects would be appreciated.

[Terry Beadle]

That's a very competitive price for Ash. Especially if you can buy the 200 ft pricing. You might want to make the bench top out of European beech if you can afford it. It would be good if you can afford 8/4 or even 10/4 for the top. Anything over 2 1/2 inches thick will do the trick IMO. I used 8/4 rock maple that I bought on a special package deal. He's out of Cummings GA. I don't know if he has more and it's been several years since I bought it. After milling and flatening it ended up about 2 inches thick. I wish it was more but it's been in service for over 10 yrs now and still doing a great job.

If they group the total footage bought, you should consider SYP and poplar for dunnage or other projects that don't require quality hardwoods. Poplar in the South ( as you probably know ) from a wholesaler is usually well below $2 /bf. I seen some fairly nice #1 SYP for less than $1.50/bf too.

It's only money ! Hoot!

Enjoy the process!

PS. There's also a guy with a yard just below Macon that has really good prices too. I've not bought from him but he's on the definite check out list for the next big wood buy.

[Mike Holbrook]

Terry,

I just noticed we are practically neighbors. I live over in the new city of Milton, near Crabapple/Alpharetta. I am on the same road as Atlanta National golf course. Use to be in the computer business too.

Thanks for the response I thought that was a good price. The supplier is in Kennesaw, Peach State Lumber products, probably not far for you either. There use to be saw mills around this area but I think they all shut down, as Atlanta grew over them ;-(.

So I am doing a shopping day. This keyboards space bar is not working and driving me nuts, first stop Fry's I guess, then dog food, then the lumber yard if I hurry ....

[Dave Anderson NH]

Whichever species you you decide to go with, ask them about material graded as #1 Common. This is usually just as good quality as F&S Select, but doesn't meet the higher grade due to shorter lengths. An old lumberman taught me this trick and it has often saved me a buch of money, particularly when I can pick through the pile. For smaller projects my lumberyard also has an area for "shorts". I picked up some 8/4 red oak in 10" widths of 38" length to build my saw bench a souple of years ago. Total cost was $20 and the bench is heavier and nicer looking than one made out of Spruce, Hemlock, or Fir framing lumber. I have purchased shorts in 24" to 48" length and in various widths over the years in red and white oak, Black Walnut, Poplar, red and yellow birch, real mahogany, and a host of other woods.

[John A. Callaway]

Terry is talking about the wood yard . com .... the owner is a guy named rick... In Griffin Ga..... I buy almost all of my wood from him. He may not have 8/4 beech or ash sometimes... but he can get it.. and He is a great guy to deal with.

[Mike Holbrook]

Dave, I will try asking about #1 common, good tip. I have a big 10' red oak log but no way to get it sawed up.

Yes, The Wood Yard, I have been trying to get there for at least 6 months. It would take me a full day and I never can seem to make it.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I have used Ash quiet a bit for tool handles and my current bench is mostly Ash. It is a great species and very strong, there is a reason baseball bats were made of it. I'd say get the cheapest thickness you can find. Gluing up the top is a one time deal, once it's done you will not have to worry about it again. In my opinion thicker lumber only saves build time and does not add strength for something like a bench, of course I am a galoot so I will save money where ever I can. Like Dave said #1 common is plenty for a work bench. You should get 4x4s for the top but get something wider, and thinner, for laminating to make legs (something like 1x6). You should aim for 5"x5" for legs, You also need the wider boards for stretchers.

[Kurt Cady]

Try Suwanee Lumber. Last I heard it was under $2/bf for soft maple. Curly too. 4/4 already surfaced. And the mark the boards 13/16, 7/8, or 15/16 with different color crayon

[Kurt Cady]

Terry is talking about the wood yard . com .... the owner is a guy named rick... In Griffin Ga..... I buy almost all of my wood from him. He may not have 8/4 beech or ash sometimes... but he can get it.. and He is a great guy to deal with.

He could also be talking about Dave McAlister. I may be way off on the name, but there is another guy here that's in Griffin that has a saw mill.

[Brandon Craig]

If you are interested in European Steamed Beech, Peach State does sell it for less than the price of red oak. The wood, imported from Germany, makes a great bench. When I built my Roubo style bench a couple of months ago I think I paid around $4 bdft for 8/4 beech. Of course, Ash would make a wonderful bench as well.

Good to see some others on here from the Atlanta area. I'm in Tucker.

227190

[Mike Holbrook]

I forgot about Suwanee I will give them a call too. I helped a buddy move a UHaul load of lumber he bought through GP, he worked there, from there long time ago.

Great to see others from the Metro Atlanta area. Beautiful bench Brandon, so that is what the European Beech looks like, nice.

I had to get dog food yesterday and did not get to go look at lumber. I hope to borrow MY truck from the wife, who has become attached to driving it around full of dogs, tomorrow and get to a lumber yard. I need a few pieces of construction lumber to finish a framing job too, that's a viable excuse for another trip out tomorrow right? The decking can wait another day to get screwed down!

[Brandon Craig]

Suwanee Lumber generally has great prices on domestic hardwoods, especially in the common grades. It's a bit closer for me than Peach State, and so I'll often go there, but Peach State has such a wider selection. Great staff at both places though.

The bench is mostly beech, the shelf and the bottom stretcher is actually oak that I have lying around.

[Kurt Cady]

Since there are 4-5 ATL people here - I have a question, and a hijack (sorry!). Any of you ATL people know of any decent flea markets or antique shops in and around ATL. Not looking for immediate satisfaction, but wouldn't mind poking around once in a while for some planes/saws/etc.

I've searched online - and haven't found a single flea market

[Brandon Craig]

Mike, any report on the lumber search?

Kurt, I've heard good things about Pendergrass (http://www.pendflea.com/), but haven't been there yet. If you go, let me know. There's a Antique store in Decatur that just started carrying vintage woodworking tools. They had about 10 metal body planes (Bailey, Bedrock, Keen Kutter), over a dozen wooden planes, Disston back saws, hand saws, levels, squares and other stuff, but they were selling for a little more than I see things go on ebay for. The place is called Kudzu (http://www.kudzuantiques.com/). Also, there's a monthly flea market down by the airport (http://www.scottantiquemarket.com/), and I haven't been there, but my neighbor told me they had some of those "plane thingies" that I like. :-) I'd love to hear about a great place for finding antique tools in the area.

[Kurt Cady]

He could also be talking about Dave McAlister. I may be way off on the name, but there is another guy here that's in Griffin that has a saw mill.

Danny Hamsley. I was WAY off!!

[Mike Holbrook]

Brandon, oooh no I'm committed...

I got the European, German, Beech. I bought 6 -8/4,9-10", 8' boards. I believe I can get started making the top with this wood. The "compact" bench I have, Hofmann & Hammer, is German Beech and I have found it to be an excellent work surface. I got some Ash to make a saw bench and some Hickory for tool handles I need. I did not want to carry much more than that, still had some questions regarding how I am going to do the base, split top...and there were thunderstorms blowing up. I know I will have to go back but I knew I was going to anyway. I want to build some cabinets soon or the wife is going to go buy some for the new room we just built for our business...

I hope the beech will be easier to work than the Ash. The grain certainly looks less intimidating and since I am still new at this I hope it will be a little easier to work with, although I understand it is very hard.

[Mike Holbrook]

I asked the guy at Peach State about #1 common, he says they do have something they call rough lumber cuts from time to time. Since this lumber is only available in small quantities of smaller boards it was not an option for my bench top, but I plan to go back when I think they have some. I should be able to make my bench base from a smaller quantity of smaller boards. I was also thinking about using a smaller quantity of darker wood somewhere. They have a species of a mahogany substitute from Africa, Iroko, that I was told is very abuse tolerant, but it is $8 bd'.

How about Hickory for the base? Roy Underhill has a big plug for it on his Blog... I can't throw a stick without hitting a Hickory tree here. I know Hickory is tough I split it regularly for the smoker and know first hand how tough it gets when dry.