Phillip Mitchell
11-06-2016, 8:59 PM
I just returned from the Asheville, NC area from my honeymoon and got the chance to visit a couple of woodworking / lumber spots in the area. I've been to Asheville many times previously but never really had the extra time to cruise around looking at wood related stuff as I had this weekend. I'm fortunate that my wife know me well enough to be understanding of my, shall we say, "affliction " or is "addiction" and allowed some time for such adventures...
Anyway, I checked out Asheville Hardware as I had seen some of their ads on CL in the past for used tools, slabs, etc. I was a bit disappointed in their prices, honestly. It must be the (just on the edge of) downtown location and subsequent rent they have to pay that dictates their prices, but most things I was looking at including the lumber and slabs were quite high. Most of the dimensional lumber (domestic) was S4S, but even the rough slabs (and there were many) were quite high once you figured a rough bd/ft price and assessed condition, cracks, cup and twist, etc. They had some unique pieces to be sure, but not the place for me to buy lumber personally. They also had a used tool section that I was initially excited to check out, but quickly saw that the prices followed along with their wood prices. Mostly well used power tools, but a small selection of (unrestored) hand tools that were mostly obscenely over-priced. There was a Bedrock 607c that was completely unrestored and not really in user friendly condition for sale for $275...
They did have a solid selection of Festool stuff, a small selection of Veritas, though nothing that I was truly interested in (planes, squares, etc.) Perhaps visiting Highland Woodworking in ATL a couple of weeks back ruined me from enjoying a less impressive brick and mortar woodworking store, but I just left thinking how much cheaper I could get the things I actually wanted (that they didn't stock) from the internet. Not trying to complain, just passing along my own personal observations and experience. After asking for some species that they didn't carry, one of the employees recommended I check out a place in Weaverville called Cormark International, but I didn't get the chance to explore that further. Anybody have experience with them?
I also got the chance to sneak into a place called Scrounger's Paradise, near Biltmore Village, that was essentially an old warehouse space filled with exotic lumber for somewhat reasonable prices. They also have a healthy selection of knick knacks, old doors, windows, vanities, etc in that vein. I have noticed some of their ads on the Asheville Craigslist for different exotic lumber shipments arriving, pallets of different types of cabinet grade plywood for cheap prices, and massive quantities and sizes of Ipe (marketing to deck builders, clients.) Unfortunately I arrived about 20 minutes before they were closing on Saturday afternoon so I didn't get to fully assess and peruse the offerings, but I saw a good deal of what they had. There were thousands of bd/ft of Honduran Mahogany (4/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4 +) starting around $10 bd/ft, some of which was really beautiful and looked to be very nice quality. Purple heart, Jatoba, Cumaru, Ipe, Spanish Cedar, Sapele, African Mahogany, and they had some domestics like Ash, Maple, and some Cherry, though the prices for them was high in my eyes. I would love to get the chance to go back and talk with the owner(s) and pick through some of the lumber with a couple hrs to kill. I built a deck last year at my own house (I'm a carpenter/timber framer at work) and used WRC decking/railing material, which was nice but it's a bit soft for heavy use and my kids shenanigans. I am planning a remodel another older, smaller deck area and will likely cover it with a roof and have considered using Ipe or Massandaruba (which I saw at Scrounger's cheaper than Ipe.) I also saw some of the widest and longest live edge exotic material I've ever seen hanging around this warehouse. I wish I'd had more time to dig in there...next time!
Enough of my ramblings...I just thought I'd pass along some of my experiences and open it up to any folks in the area and/or who have experience with these places. I live a couple hrs north west in the Boone area, where there are no real hardwood lumber suppliers to speak of aside from local building suppliers (who don't cater at all to woodworkers) and a handful of sawmills of varying size that have limited selection of mostly green domestics, so it's always exciting to see different lumber so readily available. For comparison, I am using a good bit of hard Maple for different custom woodworking and trim details in a current personal kitchen remodel. I placed an order back in the spring from Steve Wall lumber (couple hrs east of me) and received beautiful 8/4 and 10" + wide 4/4 for around $4 bd/ft and minimal FedEx shipping and have a hard time seeing how I wouldn't do that again should I need any specific domestics for future projects. Very consistent and high quality material that yielded better than advertised.
Cheers!
Anyway, I checked out Asheville Hardware as I had seen some of their ads on CL in the past for used tools, slabs, etc. I was a bit disappointed in their prices, honestly. It must be the (just on the edge of) downtown location and subsequent rent they have to pay that dictates their prices, but most things I was looking at including the lumber and slabs were quite high. Most of the dimensional lumber (domestic) was S4S, but even the rough slabs (and there were many) were quite high once you figured a rough bd/ft price and assessed condition, cracks, cup and twist, etc. They had some unique pieces to be sure, but not the place for me to buy lumber personally. They also had a used tool section that I was initially excited to check out, but quickly saw that the prices followed along with their wood prices. Mostly well used power tools, but a small selection of (unrestored) hand tools that were mostly obscenely over-priced. There was a Bedrock 607c that was completely unrestored and not really in user friendly condition for sale for $275...
They did have a solid selection of Festool stuff, a small selection of Veritas, though nothing that I was truly interested in (planes, squares, etc.) Perhaps visiting Highland Woodworking in ATL a couple of weeks back ruined me from enjoying a less impressive brick and mortar woodworking store, but I just left thinking how much cheaper I could get the things I actually wanted (that they didn't stock) from the internet. Not trying to complain, just passing along my own personal observations and experience. After asking for some species that they didn't carry, one of the employees recommended I check out a place in Weaverville called Cormark International, but I didn't get the chance to explore that further. Anybody have experience with them?
I also got the chance to sneak into a place called Scrounger's Paradise, near Biltmore Village, that was essentially an old warehouse space filled with exotic lumber for somewhat reasonable prices. They also have a healthy selection of knick knacks, old doors, windows, vanities, etc in that vein. I have noticed some of their ads on the Asheville Craigslist for different exotic lumber shipments arriving, pallets of different types of cabinet grade plywood for cheap prices, and massive quantities and sizes of Ipe (marketing to deck builders, clients.) Unfortunately I arrived about 20 minutes before they were closing on Saturday afternoon so I didn't get to fully assess and peruse the offerings, but I saw a good deal of what they had. There were thousands of bd/ft of Honduran Mahogany (4/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4 +) starting around $10 bd/ft, some of which was really beautiful and looked to be very nice quality. Purple heart, Jatoba, Cumaru, Ipe, Spanish Cedar, Sapele, African Mahogany, and they had some domestics like Ash, Maple, and some Cherry, though the prices for them was high in my eyes. I would love to get the chance to go back and talk with the owner(s) and pick through some of the lumber with a couple hrs to kill. I built a deck last year at my own house (I'm a carpenter/timber framer at work) and used WRC decking/railing material, which was nice but it's a bit soft for heavy use and my kids shenanigans. I am planning a remodel another older, smaller deck area and will likely cover it with a roof and have considered using Ipe or Massandaruba (which I saw at Scrounger's cheaper than Ipe.) I also saw some of the widest and longest live edge exotic material I've ever seen hanging around this warehouse. I wish I'd had more time to dig in there...next time!
Enough of my ramblings...I just thought I'd pass along some of my experiences and open it up to any folks in the area and/or who have experience with these places. I live a couple hrs north west in the Boone area, where there are no real hardwood lumber suppliers to speak of aside from local building suppliers (who don't cater at all to woodworkers) and a handful of sawmills of varying size that have limited selection of mostly green domestics, so it's always exciting to see different lumber so readily available. For comparison, I am using a good bit of hard Maple for different custom woodworking and trim details in a current personal kitchen remodel. I placed an order back in the spring from Steve Wall lumber (couple hrs east of me) and received beautiful 8/4 and 10" + wide 4/4 for around $4 bd/ft and minimal FedEx shipping and have a hard time seeing how I wouldn't do that again should I need any specific domestics for future projects. Very consistent and high quality material that yielded better than advertised.
Cheers!