Sticker Shock

[tim walker]

Bought three pieces of wood last week. Talk about sticker shock. 5' x 12/4 x 5" black walnut ($180) 5' x 8/4 x 5" hard maple ($110), 3/4" S4S purple heart, approx 5" x 7' ($55) All told #65 with tax. So much for inexpensive Christmas presents.

[John Goodin]

Well, I may be in for a surprise. Headed to Fine Lumber in Austin soon to pick up hard maple for a double bath vanity. I am not sure how much but at those rates even a few small boards will be a fortune.

If you are ever this way and have never been, Fine Lumber is a great lumber yard. There is a Woodcraft close by and a new Rockler store opened five or six miles north on I35.

[Phillip Mitchell]

That’s almost $30 / bd ft for the Walnut and over $25 / bd ft for Hard Maple??.....what sort of establishment did you buy these sticks from? Rockler / Woodcraft :D ?

Granted 12/4 is always a premium but that’s about 4-5x what I’d pay for 4/4 or 8/4 walnut around here and over 5x the price of 8/4 FAS hard maple...and for short pieces.

[Kevin Jenness]

Yes, unless you got something really special that seems way high for the domestic hardwoods and more than I would expect for purpleheart. What was the source?

[John TenEyck]

8/4 walnut is $16.50 from my local supplier. No clue what 12/4 goes for but I'm sure it's more. 8/4 hard maple is around $7.
John

[Richard Coers]

Must be some really expensive freight charges added into those. None of those species grow in Texas, right?

[Stewart Lang]

You seriously overpaid. I'm in FL, which is about as expensive as it gets due to freight. 8/4 Hard Maple is $8.60/bdft near me. So $35 for that piece. Wherever you went, don't go back.

[tim walker]

Its Alamo Hardwoods in San Antonio. Premium lumber is all they sell. Not many choices here.

[tim walker]

We have a Woodcraft in San Antonio and wish we had a Rockler. Jealous since your Rockler just opened.

[John Stankus]

Its Alamo Hardwoods in San Antonio. Premium lumber is all they sell. Not many choices here.

Tim
I have had good luck with Dakota Hardwoods which is off of Perrin-Beitel close to where 410 meets I-35. Alamo always seemed pretty proud of their stock.

John

[Jim Dwight]

The store I bought my PCS at sells hardwood but I haven't purchased any because of the price. I think cherry was $10/bd ft or more there last time I needed some. Cheap compared to the place the OP visited. Around here at least, cherry used to be cheaper than walnut but it isn't much different now. I buy from a different place, further away, where I can get it for about $5/bd ft. The boards at the expensive place are nicely planned but I prefer to plane it myself so all the boards are planned to the same thickness. I did not find that domestic hardwood went up last year when lumber prices skyrocketed.

When I see prices like the OP paid, I just walk out and look some more. I haven't had to come back yet but I might some day. If I really need something and they are the only ones that have it...

[John TenEyck]

The store I bought my PCS at sells hardwood but I haven't purchased any because of the price. I think cherry was $10/bd ft or more there last time I needed some. Cheap compared to the place the OP visited. Around here at least, cherry used to be cheaper than walnut but it isn't much different now. I buy from a different place, further away, where I can get it for about $5/bd ft. The boards at the expensive place are nicely planned but I prefer to plane it myself so all the boards are planned to the same thickness. I did not find that domestic hardwood went up last year when lumber prices skyrocketed.

When I see prices like the OP paid, I just walk out and look some more. I haven't had to come back yet but I might some day. If I really need something and they are the only ones that have it...


They didn't go up much around me last year but that all changed this Spring. I talked to the guy I buy lumber from and he said prices were increasing nearly every week during Spring and Summer, and that certainly has been reflected in their prices. Hard maple was less than $4 last year; now it's $7. Black walnut was $8 for 4/4, now it's over $12. Good grief I think tulip poplar was $4 the last time I looked.

John

[glenn bradley]

That’s almost $30 / bd ft for the Walnut and over $25 / bd ft for Hard Maple??.....what sort of establishment did you buy these sticks from? Rockler / Woodcraft :D ?

Granted 12/4 is always a premium but that’s about 4-5x what I’d pay for 4/4 or 8/4 walnuts around here and over 5x the price of 8/4 FAS hard maple...and for short pieces.

+1. About $10/bf for walnut out here.

[Dave Sabo]

Rocker was 14$ b/f for walnut last week in ATL.


Tim , was. Ben Dover your salesman at Alamo ?

[Justin Rapp]

A place in PA has their price sheet online https://www.hearnehardwoods.com/price-list/

Plain (non-figured) FAS walnut 12/4 is 14.25 a board food. Your board is 6.25 should be about $90 unless it was 100% clear or had some cool figure or something in it to make it worth 30.00 a board foot.

If you need a fair amount of wood, it might be worthwhile to have it shipped.

[Eric Anderson]

John, I was there last week. If I understood correctly hard maple is now much more than walnut. Cherry is about $6 bf while maple was $14, and walnut $11. Popular is now same price as red oak and don't even think about plywood products. Been dealing with fine for couple of decades now and prices are just insane and topsy turvy. Consider cherry or sapele for your vanity, will be much cheaper than the maple.

[Bob Cooper]

I just bought some wood last week. $4/bf (s2s with one straight edge) for maple and $100 for a sheet of prefinished one side maple 7 ply plywood. I know I used to pay about $60 for this plywood in the past.

[Joe Hendershott]

Wow, that is a lot.

Here in Atlanta I pay about $4 for hard maple 8/4 and about $8.50 for 8/4 walnut. Perhaps try a regular supplier and not one they call 'premium.'

[Dave Sabo]

Wow, that is a lot.

Here in Atlanta I pay about $4 for hard maple 8/4 and about $8.50 for 8/4 walnut. Perhaps try a regular supplier and not one they call 'premium.'

Where are you shopping ?

I haven’t seen those kinds of prices for 5-6 years.

[Jim Becker]

A place in PA has their price sheet online https://www.hearnehardwoods.com/price-list/

Plain (non-figured) FAS walnut 12/4 is 14.25 a board food. Your board is 6.25 should be about $90 unless it was 100% clear or had some cool figure or something in it to make it worth 30.00 a board foot.

If you need a fair amount of wood, it might be worthwhile to have it shipped.

You need to take a field trip there sometime, Justin...it's a "candy store". :) Very dangerous to the wallet but thrilling at the same time. Lots of species you've never heard of in addition to those you have.

[John K Jordan]

Reading about some of these high prices makes me glad I have a good stock on hand. I'm helping a friend make a cutting board now: chose bubinga, guatambu, and thick walnut veneer for accents. Fortunately I have plenty of all that in 8/4 and thicker.

[Keegan Shields]

If you are up for a drive, you might consider some of the independent Central Texas sawmills like Berdoll Sawmill.

https://berdollsawmill.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAv_KMBhAzEiwAs-rX1ElBrbdJLI5VckRGH2r545t7SfV-gY7YXgyy6rxDD6qPMjTo8uN_OhoCHEMQAvD_BwE

Great people to deal with.

[Brian Holcombe]

Easy fix is to just stop looking at the bill. Problem solved :D

[Malcolm McLeod]

For the TX folks, you might consider Plywood Co. of Ft. Worth (https://www.plywoodcompany.com/MainSite/Store1/Store/CategoryHome/27), currently:
- - Walnut RWL 6/4@$10.40/bf // 8/4@$14.02/bf (no 12/4 listed) - no bargains here IMHO, but for OP's comparison;
- - Maple Rough SEL-BTR RWL 4/4@$5.29/bf // 8/4@$5.56/bf // 12/4@$6.61/bf

They cater to the cabinet and sign trades, with basic NA hardwoods and some softwoods, but so far, have been just fine with me walking in the front door with my consumer sized orders. Hardwood stock is not what I would call premium or furniture grade, and the walnut is steamed, but you can pick it off the pallet. You might not find that perfect turning square, but you can save some coin on large orders of basics (vs local Wood World or Woodcraft). And I'm sure they will ship or deliver.

...just a customer. And I found a bit of curl in the cherry I got from them!:cool:

[Karl Loeblein]

Consider also joining http://Woodbarter.com and then asking for the woods that you’re wanting to buy or trade. There are several members in the Texas area so one might be close.

[Chris bodnar]

A place in PA has their price sheet online https://www.hearnehardwoods.com/price-list/

Plain (non-figured) FAS walnut 12/4 is 14.25 a board food. Your board is 6.25 should be about $90 unless it was 100% clear or had some cool figure or something in it to make it worth 30.00 a board foot.

If you need a fair amount of wood, it might be worthwhile to have it shipped.

Hearne is my go to place, fantastic selection. Even if it was highly figured, you would only be adding a few $$ per bf. So you 12/4 highly figured might be 16/bf. You should definitely look for another place to buy from.

[Alex Zeller]

Last month my local guy said prices have gone up on almost everything but both cherry and walnut have remained steady. I paid just under $8 a BF for 4/4 12" wide QSWO and $10.25 for 10" 4/4 walnut. I like his walnut because he doesn't steam it. Since he logs off a family farm only a few miles from me his selection is only what grows locally. I do have envy for those of you who have a local place that stocks wood that doesn't grow locally. I keep saying I'm going to stop in and check out Highland hardwoods in southern NH (exotic price list (https://www.highlandhardwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/Exotic-Lumber-083021.pdf) and domestic price list (https://www.highlandhardwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/DOMESTIC-LUMBER-102721.pdf)) but they are just far enough out of the way that I would want to buy something and I'm rarely driving anything that I could carry long lengths of wood.

[tim walker]

No, a younger hispanic gentleman

[Keith Outten]

http://www.forest2home.com/

Forest2Home is a new advertiser here, they sell high quality northern species.
I posted pictures recently of the Butternut boards that I got from them, very nice.

We also have a Member here (David Borik (512-422-5200) who lives just outside of Austin Texas. David sells about anything you want including endangered species that he imported before they were banned.

Another member here (Scott Smith 919-291-0095) recently sent me some copper beech for some special pen blanks. He owns a sawmill and a kiln and specializes in quarter sawn lumber in North Carolina.

There are some excellent sources for anything woodworking here. With over 140,000 registered members you can bet you can get more than just good advice.
NOW, how do you find the people here who can help. For many years we have had the Friends of the Creek group whose information is accessible via database but very few have taken advantage of their services. So, we are in the process of creating a Friends of the Creek Forum that will provide the kind of access here that you are all familiar with. It's a bit to early to provide the details, mostly because we have a lot of decisions to make yet but it won't be long before we convert our database to a new forum here.