Sacramento Area Woodworking...

[Derek Arita]

I'm moving to Roseville, CA., which is just outside of Sacramento. I know nothing about the area and would love to find out the best places for tools and supplies on the area.

[Dick Sylvan]

This may not be what you have in mind, but Felder has a showroom in West Sacramento with some beautiful equipment to drool over!!

[Bill Jepson]

The Sacramento area has 2 Woodcrafts that I know of. One is on the east side of town near Rancho Cordova. Don't remember the exact address. There is another newer one that just opened towards Elk Grove (South of Sac.) Both are listed in the YP.
I use the East Sac Woodcraft for my tool needs. They are well stocked and the building is fairly new and clean, nice experience. I live in the gold country more than an hour away and the trip is usually worth it.
Bill J

[John Cooper2]

Welcome to the neighborhood, I am just up hwy 80 from you.

There are two Harbor Freights close (roseville,citrus heights)
Closest Woodcraft is in Rancho Cordova.
There is Sacramento Machinery in Sacramento.
Auburn Hardwoods has good section of Wood.

More Borgs than you could shake a stick at.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

[Mike Spanbauer]

Derek, I live in Rocklin, which is basically the neighbor. Rather than write a dissertation, if you're free this evening you can come up to the Auburn Area Woodworkers guild on the first Tuesday of the month and meet some real talented folks. I consider myself an advanced hobbyiest capable of building most anything given enough time, and the Auburn guild is probably the highest density of real pro's and similar minded shop owners to myself I've seen.

Woodcraft is one, SMF near Fry's off of Northgate towards the airport is another. For woods, Higgins lumber, Hughes lumber, Auburn hardwoods are my first choices generally.

There are 2 furniture / woodworking guilds you can choose from, both are held on the first Tuesday of the month. Sacramento Area Woodworkers (SAW) and the Auburn Woodworkers. You're just about 1/2 between both and frankly it's MUCH faster to get to and park at the Auburn location, then the SAW group due to downtown traffic and parking.

Welcome to the area. What industry do you work in?

mike

[Jason Beam]

Well since your subject is so dang close to our club's name (Sacrament Area Woodworkers), I figure I'll chime in :D

We have a club that gets INCREDIBLE discounts from the local stores. Annually, the club gets together one Saturday morning for a "bbq" at one of the local lumber yards. There, we eat hot dogs and chips and get sold a bunch of lumber at really good prices. The year before last, I got a pallet of about 300 sticks of 12/4 maple rippings (about 2-3" wide each, 10' long) for $100. I only got to haul 40% of it home since I sold the remaining 60% for $80 on the spot. This is the kinda deals you might see at these. I didn't do as well last year, but I didn't hunt for any deals that time.

The woodcraft we have is on Folsom Blvd - exit hwy 50 at Bradshaw - north on Bradshaw to Folsom, west on Folsom about a half a mile - it's on the right. I don't know of a woodcraft in Elk Grove, nor does one come up on the woodcraft site.

But ... even better than woodcraft, we have two Western Tool Supply stores. These guys give the best deals to the club members. Especially the one in West Sac. Talk to Rob, tell 'em I sent ya. :)

There's also a store called Sacramento Machinery who is a reseller of some Rockler things, but they have odd hours and I don't shop there much. Some folks have had good experiences with them, though.

Also, we have 3 fairly major lumber yards in the area that will get you some good selection of hardwoods. Higgins is the place we have our annual "bbq". There's also Hughes and Aura - they're out in the rancho cordova area. Higgins is just north of downtown.

The club meets on the first tuesday of every month (tonight!) at the senior center downtown. Our club website has all the info about that. If you google Sacramento Area Woodworkers, you'll find our site.

As if I got tired of talking, here's some more: Every weekend, chances are good that the club's doing something. We get together at someone's shop and talk about various subjects. From those meetings we sometimes spring off classes of limited attendance where people can get some hands-on training about a specific topic. I did a class on Google SketchUp not long ago, we have a member who teaches really good sharpening, hand tools, hand cut joinery and other classes. I'm also working on a turning class for the club as well.

As you can see, we have a pretty active club and we'd look forward to seeing you!

I spose I should quit pluggin the club on SMC. If you wanna learn more, shoot me a PM! :)

[Bill Jepson]

Derek, I live in Rocklin, which is basically the neighbor. Rather than write a dissertation, if you're free this evening you can come up to the Auburn Area Woodworkers guild on the first Tuesday of the month and meet some real talented folks. I consider myself an advanced hobbyiest capable of building most anything given enough time, and the Auburn guild is probably the highest density of real pro's and similar minded shop owners to myself I've seen.

Woodcraft is one, SMF near Fry's off of Northgate towards the airport is another. For woods, Higgins lumber, Hughes lumber, Auburn hardwoods are my first choices generally.

There are 2 furniture / woodworking guilds you can choose from, both are held on the first Tuesday of the month. Sacramento Area Woodworkers (SAW) and the Auburn Woodworkers. You're just about 1/2 between both and frankly it's MUCH faster to get to and park at the Auburn location, then the SAW group due to downtown traffic and parking.

Welcome to the area. What industry do you work in?

mike

Mike do you have an address for Auburn Hardwoods?
Thanks,
Bill

[Bill Jepson]

Well since your subject is so dang close to our club's name (Sacrament Area Woodworkers), I figure I'll chime in :D

We have a club that gets INCREDIBLE discounts from the local stores. Annually, the club gets together one Saturday morning for a "bbq" at one of the local lumber yards. There, we eat hot dogs and chips and get sold a bunch of lumber at really good prices. The year before last, I got a pallet of about 300 sticks of 12/4 maple rippings (about 2-3" wide each, 10' long) for $100. I only got to haul 40% of it home since I sold the remaining 60% for $80 on the spot. This is the kinda deals you might see at these. I didn't do as well last year, but I didn't hunt for any deals that time.

The woodcraft we have is on Folsom Blvd - exit hwy 50 at Bradshaw - north on Bradshaw to Folsom, west on Folsom about a half a mile - it's on the right. I don't know of a woodcraft in Elk Grove, nor does one come up on the woodcraft site.


I spose I should quit pluggin the club on SMC. If you wanna learn more, shoot me a PM! :)

Jason,
The southern WC I was thinking of IS the one on Folsom Blvd
Bill J

[John Cooper2]

311 Nevada St
Auburn, CA 95603
(530) 885-8877

[Mike Spanbauer]

311 Nevada St
Auburn, CA 95603
(530) 885-8877
Thanks John :) Ya beat me to it.

Great guys, been around a while and they have competitive pricing.

mike

[Derek Arita]

Thanks for the responses! I haven't moved from OC yet. I'm in the process of selling my house, but hope to be up there for the long, hot summer. I'm a TV News/Production Photographer and Producer, but have had woodworking as a side for about 10 years.
I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions once I get up there, but I just wanted to make sure that I had some options up there for tools and supplies. Thanks so much for the help.

[David G Baker]

Derek,
Which station do you work for? I worked for KXTV in Sacramento back in the film days, when they were affiliated with CBS and retired out of KGO TV in San Francisco, an ABC/Disney owned and operated station. I miss the action once in a while but am much happier making saw dust and metal chips.

[Derek Arita]

David,
I worked the longest for The Orange County Newschannel, here in So.Cal. After that, I spent some time at the CBS affiliate in LA and also shot for MTV, VH1 and American Idol. For the last few years I've been at KOCE TV, the Orange County PBS station. I can tell you this, shooting for PBS, where the emphasis in on education, is a lot different from shooting for a commercial station, where the emphasis is on $. Not sure what I'm going to do for work up in Sacramento. My new wife lives in Roseville and convinced me that I needed a change, so change I will.

[Jason Beam]

Jason,
The southern WC I was thinking of IS the one on Folsom Blvd
Bill J

Hey Bill, That one's in Rancho Cordova. Is there another one in the area? I'd love to give 'em a try if there is. The woodcraft site only shows 5 in the state, most in the Bay Area, though.

http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/Default.aspx?locate=state&state=CA

[Ken Pywell]

Well, nothing to add wood wise that hasn't already been said, so I'll just say welcome to the neighborhood. What area of Roseville?
Ken

[David G Baker]

Derek,
Sacramento is a good news town, when I was there the local stations shot their own local commercials and probably still do. If you are interested in working in the industry in the Sacramento area, check the local station's web pages for employment.
Sacramento has a much slower pace than Southern Cal. It has been years since I was in Roseville. It was one of my favorite areas when I was in high school.
From all of the posts from locals it sounds like you have found a gold mine of woodworkers. It is probably a good time to think about buying in the area as well due to the decline in real estate prices in the Sacramento area. Good luck.

[Derek Arita]

Ken,
My wife owns a house in NE Roseville, near Pleasant Grove and Foothills Blvd. We'll be looking for a bigger house, but we're not sure where to look. Naturally, I want a shop space, but I don't want to pay more than $350K. Of course I also want it to be in a nice area, close to conveniences and as new as possible. Any suggestions?

[Mike Spanbauer]

Lol, she's probably less than a mile from my keyboard. That is a pretty nice area actually Derek. Other than that, a lot of folks are buying in Lincoln where there was a large number of overextended mortgages and houses are selling for $.55 on the dollar what they were 2 years ago. A co-worker just picked up a 3300sq ft house w/ a pool, 3 car garage, and only built 6 years ago for $390... makes me depressed to think what I paid for mine 3.5 years ago in Rocklin.

mike

[Derek Arita]

Mike, Ken, with any luck, I'll be up there by summer. At that time, expect a lot of questions on where to get what in the area. I might even call on you for some muscle.

[josh sharp]

I am looking for someone in the sacramento area to share a shop with. I have some stationary tools, table saw, band saw, miter saw and every hand power tool that you can imagine. I am currently commuting to grass valley to use a friend's shop and it's just too far. I mainly work on small projects, mostly furniture and cabinets. I am a licensed contractor, C6 license. I would really appreciate if anyone out there can help me out.

Josh

[David DeCristoforo]

A few other resources not yet mentioned:

Gallery Hardwoods
5001 Florin Perkins Road
Sacramento, CA 95826
(916) 386-1150

California Walnut Designs
Michael Kimmes / Proprietor
12681 Wolf Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949
(800) 660-0203
Local (530) 268-0203
www.woodnut.com

JE Higgins Lumber Co
1301 N Market Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 927-2727

Hughes Hardwoods
11441 Sunrise Gold Circle
Rancho Cordova, CA 95747
(916) 638 8658

Aura Hardwoods
2477 Mercantile Dr
Rancho Cordova, CA,
95742-6218
916-638-7800

Sacramento Machinery Co
729 Del Paso Rd
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 568-7514
www.cbtoolgroup.com

Charles McMurray Co
2601 Land Ave
Sacramento, CA 95815
(800) 533 0533
http://www.charlesmcmurray.com