Buy first, build second?

[Ron Citerone]

I was reading the thread about the % of extra wood to buy for a project. I don't sell my work or do commissions so for me I think differently I suppose. Sometimes I buy wood from small mills without any preconceived ideas about what I will build. I shop and look for some nice lumber for a nice price. Then I eventually decide what is the nicest piece or pieces I can build utilizing the wood to my advantage. Presently, I am using up the last of a bunch of walnut that has followed me around for too many years to mention. When I got to the last of it, I saw nice colored wood with a lot of defects to work around so I decided on a jelly cabinet with frame and panel sides to take advantage of the shorter pieces.

As a discussion point, do many others use this approach or do you start with the project and then buy the lumber?

Ron

[Cary Falk]

I start with a project and buy the lumber. I don't have room to store wood.

[Ron Citerone]

I start with a project and buy the lumber. I don't have room to store wood.

I hear that! I retired from teaching where I used to store my wood in the store room, and my father in law's house is in the process of getting ready to sell so I lost access to his big garage. My one car garage has a decent pile of cherry using up 1/3 of the floor space. Will need to work though that next before I shop.

[Bill Adamsen]

I generally buy per project. Storing leftover wood is a nightmare. I regularly have friends that swing by - with boxes - to pickup hardwood scraps for their fireplaces.

[Mike Ontko]

I buy strictly on a per-project/as needed basis. The only argument against this that I can think of would be if you're making a bulk purchase in order to get a good price. I don't happen to have a lot of spare storage space, so I can't really accommodate much more than I can use for a current project.

[Steve Demuth]

I do a mixture of both. I buy wood I like when I see it, and often build projects to suit from that "available" wood, but I also sometimes design an entire project from scratch and go purchase wood specifically for it. Sometimes a bit of both in the same project - I recently built a blanket chest for my daughter using some serendipitously acquired Eastern Red Cedar for the interior, and then went out and bought some very nice Black Walnut lumber and veneer for the case.

[Simon MacGowen]

Same as Steve, both. I keep rough sawn boards (various species), but also buy lumber if it is not something I already suitable for the project in question occasionally. It is indeed cheaper to buy rough in bulk quantity, at least 30% less I would say, though I have not done any calculations.

I mill 100 - 150 bdft at a time to save time in machine set-up and get them stickered. When the milled inventory goes low, I repeat the cycle. If I only need a small quantity in between millings and need to finish a project quickly, I may as well pay a little and buy dimensioned stock.

Simon

[Yonak Hawkins]

The mix of answers kind of surprises me. Except for my first project or two, and except for a construction project or a big job, I've always had the lumber on hand before I conceive of a project. Of course, from what I'm reading, I guess I'm lucky to have the space for a good varied supply of materials. Being able to buy the lumber when the deal comes up is a blessing.

[Jon Endres]

I have > 8,000 board feet of lumber stored in my shed and garage with no projects in the pipeline. It's the hazard of having owned a portable sawmill.

I tend to design projects around the stock that is available. A friend and I just completed a 9' long, 44" wide dining room table and benches, built with live edge pine slabs that were simply selected from my available stock. We bought nothing but a few sanding disks and a router bit.

[glenn bradley]

I have stock on hand but, still hit the yard for building a piece that falls outside my stock. As a rule I will buy anytime the price or quality is really good. I enjoy having stock on hand to set out and percolate on. I am never sure what is "in there" till I look at it for awhile.

[Bill Space]

Hi,

Not only do I buy or otherwise procure wood BEFORE deciding what to use it for, I also do that with tools!

”What are you going to use THAT for?”

” I Dunno, but I will have it when I need it.” :)

Works well for me.

Bill

[Mike Cutler]

If you have the space, buy first.
I have quite a bit of wood that I do not have a project in mind for. Some because it is unique, some was a great price, and my last purchase was a learning opportunity.
I probably should start selling it off, because it is taking up a lot of space, but it's kind of nice to have it also.

[Stan Calow]

I am a basement shop hobbyist. I've accumulated a relatively large variety of wood, as I come across it. I admit to sometimes picking a project based on a specific piece of wood. Also, guilty of adjusting the project to fit the wood I already have (e.g., a 20" box becomes a 19" box, to use up a certain short board).

[Ted Derryberry]

I have two product lines. One of them is smaller items all out of 3/4" baltic birch plywood. I buy a unit at a time. I guess I'm buying that in advance but I know what it will be used for eventually. I used to go through a unit (22 - 4x8 sheets) every two months. That's slowed down some, but I have the space dedicated for it and get a significant price break. It's better than money in the bank. My other product uses yellow pine of various sizes. I buy it when I get an order. It just takes up too much room otherwise. I do buy a few extra boards to have on hand in case of problems or a rush order, especially if I run into a particularly nice batch of lumber.

If I sell any other job outside of these two primary lines of course I buy that, and only enough, when I sell the job.

I also have a decent stock pile of odds and ends of hardwoods that I've bought and just set aside to play with if I ever get time. Once my supplier had a few 8/4 hard maple shorts at a great price and I bought all of it. That's come in handy. If I see a species I don't have on hand at the supplier when I'm picking up a load of pine I'll sometimes grab a board to set back. As often as not they don't even charge me for it if its not crazy expensive.

[David Utterback]

Also a lumber collector although projects sometimes demand additional materials. Currently have a stock of walnut that I milled from logs in addition to a sizable amount of cherry. I have kept small amounts of bubinga and wenge for building boxes in between the big stuff. The exotics came in handy when I recently built an urn on short notice.

I am currently building my first chair and accumulated a lot of 8/4 and 12/4 cherry as I saw it at good prices, i.e. $2 - $3 /bd ft. If all goes well, I should have enough for a set of 4. I just completed making 2 entry doors with the walnut that are destined for a new cabin at my friend's farm who has the saw mill. I find it best to design when the urge hits me and have lumber available to try things out.

[Ted Derryberry]

Oh yeah, I also buy tools with no clear use in mind. That often seems to work out better than buying something I "have to have" that doesn't work out as intended and ends up collecting dust. Router bits........I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of them. Not long ago there was something I wanted to do and I started looking online for the proper bit. I finally decided on the one I needed and before I bought it I checked my spreadsheet. Sure enough, I already owned one.

[Jim Becker]

There have been times when I made a buy because of a good offer on material that was "worthy" and caught my eye...I still have some wide cherry boards in my rack waiting for the right project that I purchased in the early 2000s. I also have "inventory" of poplar (and a little black walnut left) that was milled on my own property. Really nice lumber can be a good investment if you have the funds when the opportunity arises...prices on nice stuff are not going down. ;)

But I do tend to source material as needed for projects. And I do keep most of my shorts for utility use or small parts in future projects like you mention.

[Scott DelPorte]

I look to buy in advance and then pick what projects to do next based on the stock I have on hand.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I usually buy for the project, however I will add a bit extra in case I run into a major defect or screw up and need to remake a part.

[Joe Bradshaw]

I just bought a length of black limba,8/4 x 13 x96 for platter blanks. I will probably work through it in about a month.
Joe

[Brian Henderson]

I buy wood (and tools) for the project, never the other way around. Now certainly, if I have a project, I will try to use the wood I have on hand first, but I don't tend to keep wood just sitting around because I just might use it some day. That makes no sense to me at all.

[Bryan Cramer]

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone buy flitches? As in the whole tree sliced up.

I ususally just just buy a bit extra and that becomes my inventory. Eventually I’ll have enough for something. If a good deal comes up I won’t pass it though.

[Chris Farmer]

I do woodworking strictly as a hobby, and with that said, I do a mix of pre buying and buying per project. I've gotten lucky with a few local woodshops getting rid of excess wood at ridiculously low prices (last one was fill a 55 gallon trashcan for $50, and he was generous with what he meant by fill, he had walnut, cherry, mesquite, etc), so I've stocked up on those occasions and wait for a project to come up or inspiration to hit. Other projects of mine have required something that I don't have on hand, so I'll buy for the project. Just depends on the situation. I'm heading a bit out of town tomorrow to pick up a pallet of scrap mesquite pieces, since I've got some to-do's from the wife.

[jared herbert]

I buy lumber ahead whenever I can. I have bought several lots of rough native walnut on farm auctions. I bought a heaping pickup load of walnut for $150 about 15 years ago and I just came across some boards from that lot that I used while making a bench for my son. Also I have a lot of ash and oak lumber stockpiled. I have a 28 foot truck box pretty well filled up with hard wood lumber. It seems like it is easier for me to build something when I can just go out to my stash and sort through what I have. That way I never think about how much the cost will be. I have to go at least 80 miles to a yard that has a decent supply of hardwoods so I stock up ahead of time. By the way I can always tell when I get into some of the above mentioned pickup load of walnut. It was stored for years in a hog house and I can smell it when ever I run some through the planer. Jared

[Mike Cutler]

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone buy flitches? As in the whole tree sliced up.

I ususally just just buy a bit extra and that becomes my inventory. Eventually I’ll have enough for something. If a good deal comes up I won’t pass it though.

Bryan

This was my "learning opportunity". I bought some walnut logs a few years back that were cut into rough, flitched, 8/4 thick slabs. They should be ready this spring to use.
I have no idea what I intend to do with it all beyond building a bow front tack box. I can build a lot of boxes from what I have, but I only intend to build one.
I needed non kiln dried wood for steam bending.

We'll see if I got a really good deal on walnut, or I paid a really high price for firewood.:eek:

[Ron Citerone]

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone buy flitches? As in the whole tree sliced up.

I ususally just just buy a bit extra and that becomes my inventory. Eventually I’ll have enough for something. If a good deal comes up I won’t pass it though.


I have bought fresh cut lumber from the same tree several times and air dried it myself. I really found the grain and color match was way better than when I bought off a pile of boards cut from different trees. Presently, I don't have storage available, but sometimes these small band saw guys love to sell green because they love a cash deal.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Having a stockpile can have a downside. Often times, when I need a fairly small amount of wood for a project or a part of a project, even though I have boxes of cut-offs, expressly for this opportunity, since I have the luxury of lots of lumber on hand, I find myself taking down a fresh board because it's easier. I don't have to dig through boxes of different species of cut-offs. This laziness and wastefulness on my part is often a source of shame for me. ..Maybe if I organized my scraps better . . .

[eugene thomas]

I use to alwice have oak on hand and when needed other wood for project would buy but over last 5 years I have become wood hoarder . Filled up 3 buildings. Need to stop stumbling into deals that to good to pass up.

[Prashun Patel]

I hate having a stockpile of wood. It’s never large enough such that you can use the right wood for the project. I am forever trying to shoehorn what I have into the project.

I try now to buy what I need. The projects come out better. To each his own.

[andy bessette]

Because my work is customizing yachts I buy and keep on hand mostly surfaced teak and mahoganies in 4/4, plus a little 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4, plus 1/2" teak decking and sometimes some clear fir. Occasionally I will need to buy other species to match specific jobs, like oak, cherry and afrormosia. Plywood I usually keep on hand include teak, mahogany, okoume, meranti, Baltic birch and MDO, in various thicknesses. Always have 1/8" Luann door skins, which I cut into ~2" strips for making patterns using hot glue. Additionally I often have teak and holly plywood for cabin soles.

[lowell holmes]

I have had rack like this on a wall for years. I would not be without it.


http://www.rockler.com/portamate-lumber-rack-system?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(ROI)%20Shopping%20-%20Top%20Sellers&msclkid=d804e85da4ea128347f3b225de68728b&utm_term=1100005088522&utm_content=Top%20Sellers

[John C Cox]

Both.... ;) ;) ;)

I end up buying ahead of time - often because I know pretty well what the wood will be used for, and because the high quality and specific cuts of wood I need are very very difficult to order when needed except at crazy high prices.... And how lucky are you on that one day when you go out to the lumber yard? They never have what I need when I need it...

I mostly build acoustic guitars... So perfectly quartersawn 3" or 4" wide mahogany and cherry is perfect neck material... I can get this neck wood for about $15 at the lumber yard vs $50+ from the luthier supply... And it's a hobby for me - so ordering expensive stuff cuts into my lunch and fishing money. ;)

[Stew Hagerty]

I typically have around 400bf on hand at all times. I have room for long term indoor storage for 600+bf. It is mostly cool pieces that I have run across in stores, at the woodworkers club, or online. However, I do also keep some standards such as mahogany, cherry, QS white oak, birdseye and tiger maple that I tend to use all the time for smaller projects. Occasionally I also run across good deals that I just cant pass up. For instance, I recently picked up about 100bf of ash for $1.50/bf. I don't do a lot of large projects, so this system works very well for me.

I
378359

[Chris Farmer]

I typically have around 400bf on hand at all times. I have room for long term indoor storage for 600+bf. It is mostly cool pieces that I have run across in stores, at the woodworkers club, or online. However, I do also keep some standards such as mahogany, cherry, QS white oak, birdseye and tiger maple that I tend to use all the time for smaller projects. Occasionally I also run across good deals that I just cant pass up. For instance, I recently picked up about 100bf of ash for $1.50/bf. I don't do a lot of large projects, so this system works very well for me.

I
378359

Nice, I use Elfa shelving for my wood racks as well!

[Hoang N Nguyen]

My wife likes nice furniture and home items on the cheapy cheap. For this reason, my wood selection is pretty narrow so I always tend to buy much more than what I need for any given project. It's hard for me to find time to go to the lumber yard so when I do, I stock up. I also usually stock up on a plywood by the bulk, this is mainly due to limited means of transporting them. I don't have a truck or trailer, so the lumber has to fit in my SUV or I have to rent a truck for sheet goods. Renting a truck is a hassle for me so I always end up buying at least a dozen sheets of ply at a time when I do.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Hoang, I don't know where you get your lumber and sheet goods but, if you get it from Atlanta Hardwoods, buying enough of it will get you free delivery.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Hoang, I don't know where you get your lumber and sheet goods but, if you get it from Atlanta Hardwoods, buying enough of it will get you free delivery.

Those suckers never told me that!! I use to stay about 10 minutes from their Mableton location and shop there all the time. I'd stack 500 pounds of lumber from my truck all the way to the front seat of my car and they'd just stand there and laugh.

[Brian Henderson]

For this reason, my wood selection is pretty narrow so I always tend to buy much more than what I need for any given project. It's hard for me to find time to go to the lumber yard so when I do, I stock up.

I try to as well since my lumberyard is 80 miles away. I don't just buy a ton of lumber that's cheap though, I will go with 5-6 projects in mind and buy for those specific projects. I'd love to have them deliver, but their requirements are so absurdly high that it just makes no rational sense to spend thousands of dollars for wood that I may or may not ever need.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Those callous scoundrels !!