another wood buying ?

[mike farm]

Hi,
I know the topic is a never ending one, but the local guy
has cherry for $7.4 bdft. Much ov it only has one red side and
more light wood on the other side than I like. Why pay $7.4 bdft
for scraps I can not use.
Question is do all of you buy cherry with only 1 mostly red side ?
For those that buy online do you get descent wood with mostly red
on both sides ?
I really want to build a lot more stuff, but do not want to only use
oak. Getting good wood is really holding me up.

East Central FLA.

Thanks
Mike

[Larry Cooke]

Mike, it would help to know where you're located at. Prices vary from one area to the next but there may also be some other members close to you that can help.

Offhand, 7.40/bf seems a bit high to me.

Larry

[Steve Wargo]

At $7.40 it better have no sapwood, and some pretty extraordinary figure. In Ohio that is pretty high. Average price at a sawyer around here is about $3.25 for FAS.

[glenn bradley]

Mike, where are you located (you can add this to your profile)? In SoCal, that price is about 40 percent too high (as in, almost double). Other areas get walnut pretty reasonable and I pay a premium.

[Mike Hill]

Just look above his signature :-) for location
Mike

[Ian Gillis]

Yikes... I'm in Nova Scotia and I pay less than that for imported cherry - and that's in Canadian bucks. You gotta love wood to do work in FLA, I guess.

Back on topic FAS cherry should not have a lot of sapwood in it. I don't know the particulars of grading cherry, but I would reject boards with more than about 10% sapwood. Try another supplier if you have to. I can't see why anyone in the lower 48 should have to pay more than $5.50 +/- for FAS cherry. Try buying online and paying the freight - you might do better.

Cheers
IG

[Mike Cutler]

Mike.

Order it. I hesitated to order lumber online also, but finally took a chance with Curly Woods out of Texas. Mike Mastin,owner, is a member here on the board.
I got some beautiful cocobola from them. Definitely worth the price. In fact the quality, and figure of the grain have caused me to abandon the project it was intended for, and really go top shelf with it. There is a Greene& Greene Bookcase that this stuff will be used on.

The guys from Pa. seem to have a lot of good lumber yards available, especially domestic hardwoods. I'm certain that they will check in and give you a bunch of recommendations for sources.

7.40 bd/ft seems really high for cherry too me, especially if it has that much sapwood.

[jonathan snyder]

Mike,

$7.40 is the going price in Alaska! Most of that cost is the shipping!

Seems like you could do better in Florida, it doesn't have to go by barge to get there!!

Jonathan

[Jim Becker]

Mike, I tend to pay about $3.00-3.50 for quality air-dried cherry with little or no sap from a local supplier. He cuts locally, dries locally and sells locally...for cash. If I need something "special", I pay about double that from one of the larger concerns; usually Hearne Hardwoods.

[Ernie Hobbs]

$7.40 a b.f. would be way too high in Alabama. I see you're in Eastern Central Florida- maybe if you drive a little bit north, you can find a better deal. In north Alabama, I pay $1.50 to $2.25 a b.f. from local sawmills, kiln-dried. I have to pick through to find good stuff but, usually I can find good quality.

[Michael Morgan]

I sell cherry, red oak, walnut and white oak. I make runs about twice a month. I hook up with woodworkers and find a bunch in the same general area and make the delivery. I sell 4/4 cherry for about $3.00 per b.f. delivered to your door. However Florida is a little far. My uncle lives in Orlando and comes up my way at least once a month with an enclosed trailer. I am currently talking to him to get some lumber to Florida. I am going to the D.C. area this weekend.

[Mac Cambra]

I live in Melbourne and I don't pay $7.40 a bf. For 4/4 cherry I pay under $6 locally, 8/4 might be a little more. The quality is much better than you describe there is usually no/minimal sapwood on the boards my supplier sells.

[Jerry Olexa]

That is high IMHO...I've been paying $3/bf for rough sawn air dried cherry w mostly no sapwood and less for "shorts" (under 5'). Not always available though...

[Larry Fox]

I get most of the stuff I buy from Hearne Hardwoods. They also ship.

http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Inventory/cherry.html

I think that even with shipping from them you could do better than the price you posted. I happen to live near them but based on what I have seen I would not hesitate to order from them.

[Don Baer]

YIKES..:eek: I can get 8/4 fas Cherry for arou d $4 bdft here in the middle of the desert.

[Steven Peters]

If you can't find it cheaper in central florida you can always head south. 4/4 cherry is around $4 a bf here.

[Mac Cambra]

It's funny that cherry is so much cheaper up north, I pay less for walnut in Melbourne, under $5 a bf and cherry like I said above is about $6. Hard maple is about $4 a bf if memory serves me.

For those in Central Florida (CFL) I have been buying my lumber at:


Building Materials Center Inc
465 Distribution Dr
Melbourne, FL 32904

(321) 723-5224

They have a pretty good selection of things like cherry, maple, walnut,
poplar, and mahogany. No exotics though and they will special order if
they don't have any in stock.

They also have a good supply of sheet goods as well.

Also I visited Chipmunk Hardwoods in Edgewater, FL last week looking for some 8/4 maple, only found about 61 bf and they charged me $426. Needless to say I probably won't be returning - but I glad I went. Further their warehouse was disorganized and hard to examine their stock, every was piled and not sorted according to species from what I can tell. Their website really overstates their facility and like I said they are pretty pricey.

I think there are a couple places over in Orlando that I will check out next.

Regards,

Mac