Portland/Vancouver Tool/Lumber Places to Peruse.

[Fred Bryant]

I am going to be in the Portland Oregon/Vancouver Washington area this next weekend. Any places, lumber/old style hardware stores/tool places that I should peruse?

Thx's, Fred ( jyblood@nwi.net ).

[Jeff L Miller]

You would like Gilmer Hardwoods in NW portland. Miles Gilmer is a great guy and he has tons (literally) of hardwood available for purchase. Instrument wood, piles of exotics, rare stuff etc. A very nice place to visit.

Hippo hardware on 11th and East Burnside is a great place to walk around, cool vintage hardware stuff.

You can not miss Voodoo Doughnuts at 3rd and Ash in SW Portland, gain a few pounds with some of their specialty doughnuts.

Powells books at 10 and W. Burnside is a great place for any book you could ever want. 5 stories of books, any subject and all day to prowl. Take a look at the woodworking section..wow! Try their rare book room for a treat.

Give me a call at 503 793-7505 and I will give you some good advice on the local spots to visit.

Jeff

[Jim Koepke]

I'll second Jeff's mention of Gilmer Hardwoods. That is just fun to go in and look. Check their web site. If there is a particular piece you want call them and reserve it. Or they can find things if you have the item number.

My wife and I like to dig through their discount barrels. It can get pricy real fast though.

There is Crosscut hardwoods in Portland. They have a location in Seattle also as I recall.

There is also Sure Way Building Center in Vancouver that has a selection of hardwoods. Mostly I go there because they carry a good selection of 1X pine. Their prices are good on the softwood, but you need to pick through the 1X12 since it is #3 grade. I can get a 1X12X8' for half or less than what the Borges charge. The 1X6 & 1X8 are also at a good price but are a better #2 grade.

They often have cut offs or odd items priced to move.

I have not found too many good places for tool buying in the area. Found a few places on Powell, but nothing I would advise unless one was just trying to kill some time.

jtk

[Andrae Covington]

Another lumber supplier is Crosscut Hardwoods.

For something a little different, there's the Rebuilding Center. Lots of bits and pieces of old houses. If you go through the main building, across the alley there is a separate building with lumber. It's almost entirely softwood construction lumber, plus baseboard trim, t&g floor boards, etc. So nothing exotic or 30 inches wide. But that's where I sourced all of the old-growth douglas-fir for my workbench.

If you want something a little more "foofy", but still well-made reproductions, there's Rejuvenation. Period lighting fixtures is their specialty, but the store also usually features furniture by Stickley as well as some local craftsmen (at least last time I was there). They also have a small section of vintage parts and pieces similar to the Rebuilding Center.

You might consider poking your head in Gary Rogowski's Northwest Woodworking Studio. You'd probably want to call first and see if they're doing any classes that day.

[george wilson]

You guys are like me. I went to Haileigh (sp?) and bought a milling machine in the early 70's while my wife was laying in the Sun in Miami!! When I was ion the bus,everyone kept telling me I was going to miss the race!! That seems to be the main reason everyone goes there. A large used machinery co. was there. Harry Hollander. He was nice and drove me back to Miami,where he lived. The mill was a little Burke #4,the forst REAL mill I had. The first one was an Atlas. We also had supper there with a guitar maker I had somehow met. Can't recall who he was by now.

I never liked laying in the Sun.

[Brent VanFossen]

You might consider poking your head in Gary Rogowski's Northwest Woodworking Studio. You'd probably want to call first and see if they're doing any classes that day.

Northwest Woodworking Studio is hosting the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event Feb 10 and 11.

I'll recommend Gilmer Wood another time. Great people, and a world-class selection of exotic woods.

Woodcrafters (not Woodcraft) at 6th and Davis http://woodcrafters.us/ is all new, but they offer just about everything. They have a terrific book section, machines, handtools, a nice selection of hardwoods, and cutoff bins scattered and in the rear.

[Fred Bryant]

I have been thinking of picking up a backsaw and this will give me a chance to try some. I am just getting started and still need the touch/feel to evaluate. Maybe I can also pick up some sharpening tips. Who knows, I might see some of you guys there on Sat.

Thx's, Fred ( jyblood@nwi.net )