Are these wood prices out of line?

[Allen Bookout]

I need to find a place to buy good wood. I live about twenty miles north of Fort Myers Florida and Alva Hardwoods east of Fort Myers is about the only supplier around here that I know of. I would think that there would be some suppliers in the Tampa area but if these prices are reasonable I would just as soon have some place close. Tampa would not be out of the question if someone knows of a good place around there. I guess that mail order might be another option.

I would appreicate your input reguarding these prices per board foot. Rough sawn.

Thanks, Allen

Ash $4.00
Basswood $4.00; 12/4 $5.00; 16/4 $6.00
Bloodwood $15.00
Bocote $32.00
Bolivian Rosewood $25.00
Bubinga, Figured Rosewood $24.00
Butternut $7.00; 16/4 $12.00
Canarywood $15.00
Aromatic Cedar/Hickory $6.00
Spanish Cedar $6.80
Curly Cherry $10.00
Cherry, PA Red $7.00
Chestnut $18.00
Cocobolo $30.00
Concalo Alves $15.00
Ebony/Pink Ivory $150.00
Elm $5.00
Iroko S3S $11.00
Figured Lacewood $15.00
Lignum Vitae (up to 7" thick)/Honduran Rosewood $36.00
Locust/Antique Pine $5.00
Mahogany (genuine) pattern grade $11.00
Honduran Mahogany Crotches $20.00
Makore, figured $16.00
Birdseye Maple $12.00
Curly Maple $12.00
hard Maple $6.00
soft Maple $5.00
Red Oak $4.00
Curly Red Oak $8.00
White Oak $5.00
Osage Orange/Redheart $10.00
Padauk $8.00
Paela/Tank Cypress $12.00
Pine/Cypress $3.50
Pine/Knotty 1x12 $1.49
Poplar $3.00
Purple Heart $7.00
Sassafras/Sycamore $5.00
Teak, F.E.Q. $20.00
Black Walnut $7.00
Wenge $18.00
Zebrawood $18.00
Ziricote/Indian Laurel $30.00

[Don Baer]

I can do better for example I am paying $3.20 for white oak if thats an indicator.

[Jamie Buxton]

Those prices don't seem wildly out of line to me. The important thing is that you have a local supplier who has a large variety of species -- that's more than many people can say. Go ahead, buy what you need, and get busy making beautiful stuff!

[Dan Oliphant]

Allen,
As you know, the prices vary quite a bit as you go across the country. So I believe your question should be "how are these prices compared to other suppliers in your general area" That general area is what you make it.
For Southern California, some of your pricing is quite high and some others are about right.
I believe the folks in the southern and eastern states may say the pricing is real high.

[Jack Norfleet]

They seem typical of Florida prices. Since almost none of those species grow, are harvested, or sawn in Florida, they are all imported from out of state and thus more expensive. I am planning a trip to Chipumunk Hardwoods on the east coast. They have a website with their prices that you can compare.

[Scott Thornton]

The prices you listed seem a little high to me. The common woods, Cherry, Oak, Poplar, Maple, Walnut etc are quite a bit (10 - 30 %) more than what I pay. The sawmill I buy from also surface planes everything if you want to 13/16.

However, with that said, the list that you provided is quite extensive, there are a lot of woods listed there and with that kind of selection at one place, you can probably expect to pay a little more.

You can also compare prices on www.internetlumber.com

I never realized Ebony wood was so expensive!

[Don Baer]

I also checked the price of eony and I paid $72/ bd ft vs $150 that you were quoted. Since then I have found it for $48/bd.ft.

[Mark Singer]

It is on the very high end of the spectrum... I have done better even with the new crazy prices

[Allen Bookout]

Well, they seemed high to me but I have not bought any "good stuff" since I have lived in Florida. I still have a good bit of Honduran Mahogany left but man does not live with mahogany alone so I guess that I will shop around a bit even though Jack, over in Orlando, said that they were about right for Florida. It is too bad that we all do not live much closer together and we could open a non profit hardwood lumber yard for all memebers.

Allen

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I bought some 8/4 Hard Maple yesterday to make a jig and it was 5.50/bdft.

That's all I have purchased in quite a while, so it's the only one I know.

Bruce

[rick fulton]

example southern california prices -
http://www.frosthardwood.com/images/pdf/retailpriceguide.pdf

[Mark Singer]

I just got 200 bf of teak for $15/BF MOSTLY 6/4.....i HATE TEAK!

[Allen Bookout]

I just got 200 bf of teak for $15/BF MOSTLY 6/4.....i HATE TEAK!

I'm with you Mark. They can keep their teak.

[Deirdre Saoirse Moen]

In San Francisco, land of high rents, I can get most of those woods for less, but most of them are within 10% of the usual prices I pay. Let's just say I wouldn't be buying the pricier exotics there unless I really liked the piece and it was very, very small.

[Tony Falotico]

Allen, They seem average for your local, but still kinda high. Getting quality lumber in FL is very difficult at best. I get most of mine from a place in Bountstown (just west of Tallahassee), great selection and very nice folks. I pass through there about 2 - 3 times a year and stock up. Kinda long trip for you, but if your up that way........

Let me know if you want a name & address.

[Chris Barton]

The prices are much higher than I pay in TN. I can get soft maple for 2.30/bf, walnut for 3.45/bf, red oak for 3.20/bf, white oak for 4.00/bf...

You might give consideration to ordering your wood on line. For instance, Steve Wall Lumber (just do a google search for "Steve Wall Lumber") will ship 100 bf of wood to you at a very reasonable cost. Even adding shipping to their regular prices and you would save considerably. I have done business with Steve for a couple of years and his crew are the best...

[scott spencer]

Guess it depends on your location. The common woods you listed are about double what I can get them for in WNY...not sure about the exotics.

[Robert Mayer]

most of it isnt too bad. the ebony is way out there. woodcraft sells it for $60 a bf and a local sawmill can get it for $30 a bf

[Tony Falotico]

A couple of folks have PM'ed asking about the place I mentioned in Blountstown Florida.

Redwood Bay Lumber, 20756 NE Clark Street, Blountstown Florida, 32424 (850) 674-8464 .

sample from Last price list he gave me,
4/4 Cherry 5.25 8" & wider 5.75
8/4 cherry 5.75 8" & Wider 7.00
4/4 soft maple 2.85
8/4 soft maple 3.60
4/4 hard maple 3.75 10" & wider 4.35
8/4 hard maple 4.25 8" & wider 4.75
4/4 walnut 5.75
Hickory 2.75

That's what I've bought from him, he also has some exotics and hardwood plywoods. If you check him out, let me know what you think.

Tony

[Nelson Chen]

In San Francisco, land of high rents, I can get most of those woods for less, but most of them are within 10% of the usual prices I pay. Let's just say I wouldn't be buying the pricier exotics there unless I really liked the piece and it was very, very small.

Where else besides Mac Beath can you get exotic hardwood in the San Francisco Bay Area?

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks for all of the information. I checked out Chipmunk Hardwoods like Jack said and the prices are a little better but not much. I compared my prices to Blountstown, Fl where Tony goes are they are a little better yet overall. Looks like that every few miles north that you go the prices get a little better. I know that part of it is the transportation cost but I think that there are so few dealers in Florida that they are able to jack up the prices as it is almost like they have a monoply in their areas.

You guys from Tennessee and North Carolina northward really have it good as far a wood prices.

I checked out Steve Wall Lumber in North Carolina, as suggested by Chris Barton, and he was right. The best prices that I could find south of the northern North Carolina border and east of Alabama. I did not check out of this area. I did not check out shipping cost but could afford a good amount and still come out well ahead. I think that I will give them a shot when I am ready to buy.

This thread must make you guys in New England and the Pacific Northwest feel really good.

Thanks again for the responses as they really did help a great deal.

Allen

[skip coyne]

Have you tried miami ? seems like there ought to be a few places there that might make it worth the trip .



might contact , get involved with this group
http://www.sfwg.org/

[Ken Fitzgerald]

In this part of the Pacific Northwest....we pay through the nose for good hardwoods!

[skip coyne]

heres another link might work for you

http://www.floridawoodworkers.com/resource_directory.html

scroll dwon for lumber sources

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks Skip,

A lot of really good contacts.

Allen

[Ben Chattin]

Hey Chris. I am in Jackson TN. Do you have any recommendations for wood suppliers in TN?

[Peter Russell]

The other cost not mentioned is the cost to the environment of some species that are unsustainably harvested.

Wierd names and high prices may be code for rape and pillage.

Pete

[Earl Kelly]

Allen,

If you want exotics, check out Amazon Exotic Hardwoods in Casselberry just north of Orlando. He has Macassar ebony, bocote, wenge, bubinga, etc. His prices are not too bad, but with the woods he has you can melt a credit card in there.

[Allen Bookout]

Wow! I cannot believe that this old thread was found.

Thanks for the information Earl. I will check it out. I may have to apply for more credit cards talking about those kinds of woods.

[Julie Moriarty]

And it was found again, Allen. I was Googling for a place to buy hardwoods in SWFL, as I am new here. This thread came up and solved the mystery.

[Bill Space]

And it was found again, Allen. I was Googling for a place to buy hardwoods in SWFL, as I am new here. This thread came up and solved the mystery.

Oh! I thought Julie is not new here...I have seen so many of her posts!

Oh oh! You mean new THERE! :)

Merry Christmas!

[Alan Lightstone]

Welcome to Florida, Julie.

If you stop by there, let me know how the selection of woods looks. I'm in the St. Petersburg area, and hardwoods can be pretty hard to come by, sometimes.

This would have been more convenient when my daughter went to school in Ft. Myers, but still, beats paying for shipping.

[richard b miller]

chris, where do you get your local lumber? i'm just a little south of you in very NE Alabama.
thanks
rich

[Doug Hobkirk]

This is my favorite source of hardwood, although it's not convenient (60 miles away). I haven't been there in a while, but they used to let you pick your own and they had a fairly extensive "shorts" section at discount.

I only checked a few prices, but they were lower in every case.

Their price sheet (http://highlandhardwoods.com/wp-content/uploads/domestic-lumber-112015.pdf)

[Julie Moriarty]

Welcome to Florida, Julie.

If you stop by there, let me know how the selection of woods looks. I'm in the St. Petersburg area, and hardwoods can be pretty hard to come by, sometimes.

This would have been more convenient when my daughter went to school in Ft. Myers, but still, beats paying for shipping.

Thank you for the welcome, Alan!

I found World Hardwoods (http://www.worldhardwoods.net/home) in my Google search this morning. It's in Sarasota. Have you been there?

[Alan Lightstone]

Not yet, but probably only an hour from me. Whoever gets there first, let the other one know.

Weiss Hardwoods in Largo is only 7 minutes from me, and I get a lot from them, but they only have a few species.

[Wade Lippman]

Guess it depends on your location. The common woods you listed are about double what I can get them for in WNY...not sure about the exotics.

Where do you shop in WNY?
I just looked up Pittsford Lumber and found them to be higher than Allen's.
I was shocked by the walnut; last time I bought it, it was $5!
http://www.pittsfordlumber.com/Pittsford-Lumber/Hardwood-Lumber-Hardwoods-Rochester-NY.html


(http://www.pittsfordlumber.com/Pittsford-Lumber/Hardwood-Lumber-Hardwoods-Rochester-NY.html)

[Michael Zerance]

I buy from Associated Hardwoods in Tampa. They have the best prices around and are probably about 40% less than your listed pricing. I don't know what selection they have for exotics but I buy tropical mahogany, african mahogany, soft & hard maple, poplar, oak, and spanish cedar from them. They also have sheet goods. They may only sell to businesses; I'm not sure.

[Scott Cenicola]

I buy from Associated Hardwoods in Tampa. They have the best prices around and are probably about 40% less than your listed pricing. I don't know what selection they have for exotics but I buy tropical mahogany, african mahogany, soft & hard maple, poplar, oak, and spanish cedar from them. They also have sheet goods. They may only sell to businesses; I'm not sure.

Thanks for the info Michael. I usually buy at Craftsman Supply on Busch. Very good service and family owned. But it's always nice to compare quality and prices.

[Michael Zerance]

Thanks for the info Michael. I usually buy at Craftsman Supply on Busch. Very good service and family owned. But it's always nice to compare quality and prices.
Rome Lumber is also a good place to go. They are family owned and operated. Very nice people. If I am buying in bulk, I order from Associated and they deliver it to me. If a need to be selective about the pieces I need, I pick through the stacks at Rome Lumber. Good prices, too.

[Halgeir Wold]

If you think those prices are high - you just wouldn't believe what it's like up here in Northern Europe Nowhere......

[Ronald Blue]

This thread is 9 years old just so you know....

[Alan Lightstone]

Julie moved here 9 years ago? It seems like just yesterday...

[Scott Cenicola]

Rome Lumber is also a good place to go. They are family owned and operated. Very nice people. If I am buying in bulk, I order from Associated and they deliver it to me. If a need to be selective about the pieces I need, I pick through the stacks at Rome Lumber. Good prices, too.

Thanks Mike. I'll check Rome out too.

[Julie Moriarty]

Welcome to Florida, Julie.

If you stop by there, let me know how the selection of woods looks. I'm in the St. Petersburg area, and hardwoods can be pretty hard to come by, sometimes.

This would have been more convenient when my daughter went to school in Ft. Myers, but still, beats paying for shipping.
I finally made it out to Alva Hardwoods today. It's a small barn-like structure owned by a very nice man named Merrill. He was a woodshop teacher and his love of woodworking shows.

I have been spoiled by Owl Hardwoods back north, so this may not be a review relevant to the area.

Owl's warehouse could fit many times over what what I found at Alva. Still, I wasn't terribly disappointed. What I did see was prices that were often double what Owl would charge. I have several projects planned and normally I would buy stock for the future. I wasn't comfortable doing that today because I felt I needed to check other suppliers first.

That being said...

I picked up some 5/4 flat-sawn maple today. The markings on the boards indicated their width to be either 8" or 9". Every board was between 9.75" and 10.75" in width. Two of the boards I picked out had some curly figure in them, maybe about 30-40% and one had maybe 20% curly figure. The actual thickness of all the boards was 1.125".

I've purchased a lot of wood from Owl. If there is figure, it goes into another bin and the price jumps, about double. If it's flat sawn, there is no figure at all. If they noted width is 10", you pay a premium. If Owl says it's 5/4, it's 1" in thickness. 8/4 is 1.75". I don't know if this is typical.

With today's purchase, I paid about $13/bd/ft for 5/4 maple with a minimum width of 9.75". All of the wood had some figure. None of it had any blemishes. Not cheap, by any means. But if I got the same thing from Owl, I don't think it would have been that much less.

What was nice to know is finding hardwood in Florida is not like finding a do-do bird. But the quest will continue...

Just my 2 cents...

[Steve Kinnaird]

Noticed a lot of Gulf Coast lumber yards listed.
I am about 40 miles South of the Kennedy Space Center. In Palm Bay, Florida.
Anyone know of any yards worth checking out on Florida's East Coast?

Wade Lippman needs to bring us a truck load of Maple :)
I am originally from Olean, NY, but it still snows there ..... brrrrr

[Greg Works]

That's higher than here in the St. Louis region, at least for the domestic hardwoods I buy. I can buy S2S cheaper than this. That said, there are places around here that charge about what you quote for rough lumber. Prices seem to be all over the place. I can often find good deals on craigslist from people who cut their own wood (may not be an option for you). I tend to build projects with whatever I can get a good deal on. If I want to build something with a certain species I wait until I run across some at a price I like.

[Chris Hachet]

Guess it depends on your location. The common woods you listed are about double what I can get them for in WNY...not sure about the exotics.


I can find lots of deals here in Ohio also.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Hmm. those prices 9 years ago are expensive? Seems good to me but it's not like I can drive anywhere and buy wood. This has got to be the oldest dug up thread I've seen... LOL

[Andrew Hughes]

Although it is a old thread talking about wood and prices never gets old for me.
Threads about table saws and sander are boring.

[Jeff Duncan]

".

I've purchased a lot of wood from Owl. If there is figure, it goes into another bin and the price jumps, about double. If it's flat sawn, there is no figure at all. If they noted width is 10", you pay a premium. If Owl says it's 5/4, it's 1" in thickness. 8/4 is 1.75". I don't know if this is typical.

With today's purchase, I paid about $13/bd/ft for 5/4 maple with a minimum width of 9.75". All of the wood had some figure. None of it had any blemishes. Not cheap, by any means. But if I got the same thing from Owl, I don't think it would have been that much less.

What was nice to know is finding hardwood in Florida is not like finding a do-do bird. But the quest will continue...

Just my 2 cents...

Ouch! Well chalk it up as another reason for me not to want anything to do with Florida. Bought a couple sticks of 5/4 black walnut today just to play with when picking up some other material for a job.....$6.95 bf. Not figured or overly wide, but nice stuff. Obviously maple would have been quite a bit less.

good luck,
JeffD

[Julie Moriarty]

On the Alva website, they have a 2015 price list. For hard maple their 2015 price is $7/bdft. One piece of 5/4 I bought was 10" x 97.5" and was priced at $105. That's $12.41/bdft. But this board was definitely not the flat sawn I would see at Owl. It has some figure and the growth rings are much tighter. It's better looking wood than what I would typically see in the basic hard maple racks at Owl.

Owl went to great lengths to grade and separate the wood and they priced it accordingly. Alva doesn't seem to do that. So if I shop smart at Alva, I believe I can get about the same deals as I did at Owl. (I need to believe that or my woodworking days are limited. :rolleyes:)

[Julie Moriarty]

An update on the 5/4 maple boards I bought at Alva...

When I got it home, back in February, I brought the wood inside and stickered it and clamped it tight for over 2 months. I then had to move it to another location in the workshop to get it out of the way, so I stacked it without the stickers. Before I knew it, the wood had twisted, cupped and/or bowed, two pieces pretty badly.

I have bought a lot of hardwood in the past, all from Owl and I've never seen wood from Owl move like this. Usually it doesn't move at all.

My neighbors across the street (two of them) buy their wood from Alva. One mostly builds cabinets, I don't think he makes furniture. The other is a carver, some of his work is quite large. The cabinetmaker seems pretty happy with Alva, price not included in that, but he usually buys the wood when he's ready to start the project. The wood doesn't have much time to move.

I don't know why the wood from Alva moved this much but I do know I'm not happy. That wood was almost twice the price of what it would have cost at Owl but the quality was poorer. I do remember the owner saying he asked his supplier for 5/4 maple and the supplier cut him up the pieces he had on hand. There was no mention of kiln drying or other such treatment.

I'm making the wood work as best I can. It's just a waterbed frame but I did want it to look good. I assembled the four sides together the other day and the last corner required some muscle to get the twist out. Maybe after several years functioning as a waterbed frame the wood will find its way back to something close to straight and flat.