Any wood sources in the Vancouver/Longview, Wa Area?

[Fred Bryant]

I will be working in the area for the next spell. Looking for some wood for a couple of projects ( one will be a shop project, a workbench ). Any approperate lumber sources to check out in the area?

Thx's, Fred.

[Jim Koepke]

There is one I have done business with in Vancouver:

http://www.shurway.com/

Most of my purchases have been the #3 pine 1X12. They do have a decent selection of hardwoods.

The two lumber stores in the Longview/Kelso area do not have much of a selection.

If you can get into Portland there are a few.

Crosscut Lumber and Gilmer Wood Company. Currently Gilmer's site seems to be not working.

There is also Bob's big Boards in Longview. He is an independent with his own mill, kiln and show room. He seems to cut anything that comes his way. Send me a PM if you want his contact information.

There are a few other independent sawyers around who specialize in different woods. There are a couple near me. One likes to cut cedar and not sure, but last time I was over there the other was cutting alder.

jtk

[Steve Meliza]

No sales tax in Oregon might make it worthwhile for you to cross the river.

Crosscut Hardwoods is the best all around hardwood supplier and has fair prices, a little of it is rough cut. Woodcrafters (not to be confused with Woodcraft) has a lot of moldings and tools and a modest selection of hardwoods at slightly higher prices (none of it rough). Goby Walnut has a lot of figured woods, but also some more normal stuff stacked on pallets. Gilmer is almost exclusively exotic and highly figured woods at premium prices.

It's been a few weeks since I was at Gilmer and left some money with them, but I was at the other three today and part of my search was 8/4 poplar for a workbench like Bob Rozaieski built. Crosscut had a good selection of poplar, but for some reason was cleaned out of 8/4 and only had one board that was suitable for $2.65 bf. Woodcrafters actually had a decent selection of 8/4 poplar, but it was milled down to a fat 1-3/4" and their prices were about $1 bf higher so I didn't see the point in buying it. While at Goby I would have liked to have looked at their 8/4 poplar boards that were 12-24" wide, but they were at the top of a very tall stack and no one seemed to be available to clear a path to it and bring it down to me. Not to mention I was looking at their $5 per bf "select" that was weathered to a silver gray and the top few boards had a lovely banana shape to them.

If you only go to one place in Oregon go to Crosscut Hardwoods, they have enough stock to keep you wandering the isles for hours.

[Andrae Covington]

...If you only go to one place in Oregon go to Crosscut Hardwoods, they have enough stock to keep you wandering the isles for hours.

Yeah even if you don't buy anything, it's fun to look around. Goby and Gilmer are both a mile or two away from there if you want to make the rounds. From Longview you can get to them on US-30, thereby avoiding the parkinglot that is I-5.

Jim mentioned a local source in Longview, Bob's Big Boards. There's also one in Rainier, OR, which is just across the river from Longview, called Creation Woods; used to advertise on craigslist and also has a website. I've never been up there but seems to have a mix of local hardwoods and softwoods, sometimes including unusual woods like cascara buckthorn.

[Fred Bryant]

Jim I sent you a PM. I guess I have a few places to make the rounds.

Thx's, Fred.

[Lornie McCullough]

Another vote for Crosscut Hardwoods in Portland for quantities of hardwood. Shurway (in Vancouver, and Portland) is good for plywood, etc.

Lornie

[Jim Koepke]

Threads like this are great. Most likely would never have heard of Goby Walnut and they are just across the bridge from us.

Shurway is a building supply store that has a lot of "building material" and some hardwoods. Their price on 1X12 "white fir" is about half of what the borgs charge. It is a grade lower, but judicious picking through the stacks makes the trip worth it for me.

jtk

[Greg Portland]

Mr. Plywood is over on the eastside and has a decent selection of typical hardwood (maple, cherry, walnut, etc.). Gilmer has tons of rare wood... well worth the visit to gawk.

[Andrae Covington]

...Shurway is a building supply store that has a lot of "building material" and some hardwoods. Their price on 1X12 "white fir" is about half of what the borgs charge. It is a grade lower, but judicious picking through the stacks makes the trip worth it for me.

jtk

I built my toolchest from 1x12 yellow pine (ponderosa, I think) I bought at the Shurway in north Portland. They were very nice about letting me sift through the stacks, and it was about half the borg price for "whitewood".:cool:

[Brent VanFossen]

Crosscut is best for hardwoods of all types if you have the means to joint and plane. Many boards of most species to choose from. A place to get lost in.

Goby has the best selection of thick flitches of walnut and maple, with some other hardwoods. They also have some smaller pieces. They have huge slices of veneer.

Gilmer is an absolute dream for the most highly-figured exotics in mostly medium and smaller pieces, though I've seen large slices of burls and others for lots of money. Their pieces are organized by stock number rather than species. You'll probably need some of their friendly help to find what you want. Be careful. You'll probably find a lot more than you were looking for.

Woodcrafters, as someone said, has a more than Goby and less than Crosscut of hardwood lumber of 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, 12/4 cuts, but some of them are S4S and if you don't have milling machines, that's something to consider. Woodcrafters is more expensive than the others, but they are also fully stocked on machines and tools and cans of finish and clamps and everything else.

[Steve Beadle]

There is a hardwood supplier a little further south (near I-5) that I've often wanted to check out. It's called Northwest Timber (www.nwtimber.com (http://www.nwtimber.com), I think). They have cherry, myrtlewood, maple and walnut advertised. The location is in Jefferson, Oregon, which is between Salem and Albany, not far off I-5. They also do a mail-order business.