Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 18

Thread: Sawmills in NE PA

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Wentzville, MO
    Posts
    165

    Sawmills in NE PA

    I recently moved to NE PA (Harvey's Lake) and I finally have my shop set up. I started looking for lumber supplies and haven't had much luck. Anyone in the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area with a recommendation on where to buy lumber? thanks, Rob

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    State College, PA
    Posts
    376
    Lewis Lumber Products in Picture Rocks is about an hour from Harvey's Lake.

    Irion Lumber Company in Wellsboro is about 2 1/4 hours.

    Alderfer Lumber Company near Mount Pleasant Mills is about 2 hours.
    Last edited by Jay Aubuchon; 02-10-2018 at 10:06 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    I ate breakfast this morning at the Lakeside Skillet lol! Welcome to the Back Mountain, it’s really a great place to live. Closest hardwood supplier is Downes & Reader. They are in Blakeslee where Rt 115 meets I-80. They’re kind of a pain to deal with, as they are a wholesaler and only want to sell to businesses. So you may need to “open a business” and create a cash & carry account with them.
    As Jay mentioned, Lewis Lumber is a straight shot out 118 to the west, one hour drive almost to the minute. They are very nice people, helpful and have a good inventory. Also their retail store has Saturday hours.

    Also...I made the acquaintance of a small independent sawyer with a band mill and a large dry kiln located in Lehighton, which is about an hour down 476 to the south. His inventory is somewhat limited, but he sometimes has really nice flitches and slabs. Shoot me a PM if you want more info.
    Last edited by brian zawatsky; 02-10-2018 at 11:38 PM. Reason: forgot somethin...
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Broadview Heights, OH
    Posts
    711
    Rob,

    You might check out my brother as well who sells mostly figured maple at www.curlymaple.com He is also in Picture Rocks. Coincidentally, if you visit Lewis Lumber in Picture Rocks, the town I grew up in, at their store they have hand painted images of 4 artisans on the exterior of the building. The one of the guy making a PA Longrifle was my Grandfather, Louis Gansell. He was a master carver and had a long career in the area.

    http://www.lewislp.com/our-history/

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Newburgh, Indiana
    Posts
    918
    Dropped by Irion a couple years ago. They usually want to sell only flitches and will ship, however, I called ahead and I found them to be very easy to deal with. They let me look around all I wanted until I found the piece I needed. Great people to deal with. A little hard to find, but worth the trip!
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    Wellsboro (where Irion is) is 2 1/2 hours from here...
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Wentzville, MO
    Posts
    165
    Thanks for the tips. Lewis looks like a good place. Anyone know anything about Deer Park Lumber in Tunkhannock? They claim to have cherry, maple, oak, and a few others and is less than 30 min. I'll probably try them first since I haven't decided on a project right now. I just want something to have around for now. I'm still making some appliances since I had to get rid of everything over the last two moves.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Broadview Heights, OH
    Posts
    711
    Most Lumber yards don't want to deal with people walking in off the street. Frankly, their expectations exceed reality. For instance, if you go to a yard and want 20 BF of cherry, the yard expects that they will just scale off 20 BF of cherry and you pay for it and you are on your way. The customer expects to be able to spend several hours digging through 2 packs of lumber to get that perfect board. Yards just are not set up for that kind of deal. That is what makes Dwight Lewis unique, they have a retail store where a lot of the lumber is already surfaced and ready to buy. You can dig to your hearts content.

    I've been to that mill in Tunkhannock, and they are a yard that sells to other yards and wholesale. Things may have changed since I was there last, but in general, most big yards can't be bothered with guys who want to dig. Takes too much time, too much liability if I guy gets run over or a pack of lumber falls on him to make it worth it. Boutique places like Lou Irion and DL are different as they have the lumber priced to account for the time and expense required to sell it.

    If you do want to buy lumber at a lumber yard, a few helpful tips:

    Drive there in a pick up truck. Guys that show up in an SUV or Sedan get the instant cold shoulder
    Bring a lumber scale and know how to use it
    Go to the yard office and ask if you can pull out some XXX. Sometimes they will bring a pack out for you depending on how much you need to go through. If it's just a plank or two, they will bring it to you if they want to deal with that small a sale at all
    Know what grade you want. FAS, Select, 1 common, 2 common, these are grades you should be familiar with. Also be sure to ask for Kiln Dried (not everyone wants or needs Kiln Dried Lumber)
    Be respectful of the Mill's time and recognize that they are doing you a favor by selling to you at all. If you are a demanding, act like a Diva or are a jerk, they will tell you to hit the road and not come back

    I know all this because when I was a kid, I went to countless lumber yards with my Dad who also ran his own lumber business (that my brother now runs). My Father and I would be sorting through 10 packs of lumber to load on the flatbed which took most of the day, and I would be able to hear the kind of off the wall requests from hobbiests who rolled in expecting the world. They never got it.

    Some helpful tips you might employ to get what you want.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    All good advice. When I go to Downes & Reader, I call ahead and ask if they can pull out a pack of whatever I’m looking for (thickness/grade/length) and ask what would be a good time for me to come. They prefer if you’re not sorting through boards while there are forklifts flying around and trucks being loaded. Also I always neatly re-stack whatever I’ve sorted through so as not to be a pain in the butt. The guys there appreciate it and it makes them much more likely to take a minute to help you get on your way. I generally take a cargo van when I go for lumber, but it has the same effect as Pete’s pickup truck.
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hartmann View Post
    Thanks for the tips. Lewis looks like a good place. Anyone know anything about Deer Park Lumber in Tunkhannock? They claim to have cherry, maple, oak, and a few others and is less than 30 min. I'll probably try them first since I haven't decided on a project right now. I just want something to have around for now. I'm still making some appliances since I had to get rid of everything over the last two moves.
    I didn’t realize Deer Park dealt in hardwoods. I was under the impression that the bulk of their business was in construction lumber. I’ll keep them in mind as well. Thanks
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    State College, PA
    Posts
    376
    If you go to Lewis Lumber, you might be interested in stopping at the nearby Country Store. You could also swing by the Lycoming Mall and shed a tear at the former site of the sadly departed Grizzly.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Wentzville, MO
    Posts
    165
    Thanks again, all good advice. Agree on the tip about a lumber yard not necessarily wanting to sell to individuals. I try to be respectful and it usually pays off for a mutually good experience.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Broadview Heights, OH
    Posts
    711
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Aubuchon View Post
    If you go to Lewis Lumber, you might be interested in stopping at the nearby Country Store. You could also swing by the Lycoming Mall and shed a tear at the former site of the sadly departed Grizzly.
    If you do visit the country store, you must get some of their smoked sausage. Their ring bologna is also not to be missed. They have been in business since 1839. When I was a kid, that's where my Mom shopped and still does. The last time I was home, I saw that they have gotten into the catering business. The motto on their mobile van that they bring to your event is: "You kill it, we grill it"

    Very sad and true about Grizzly. It was very nice to stop in and check out their stuff when I would stop home. I can't believe that place is sitting vacant. A shame!

    countrystore.jpg

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Taran View Post
    Most Lumber yards don't want to deal with people walking in off the street. Frankly, their expectations exceed reality. For instance, if you go to a yard and want 20 BF of cherry, the yard expects that they will just scale off 20 BF of cherry and you pay for it and you are on your way. The customer expects to be able to spend several hours digging through 2 packs of lumber to get that perfect board. Yards just are not set up for that kind of deal. That is what makes Dwight Lewis unique, they have a retail store where a lot of the lumber is already surfaced and ready to buy. You can dig to your hearts content.

    I've been to that mill in Tunkhannock, and they are a yard that sells to other yards and wholesale. Things may have changed since I was there last, but in general, most big yards can't be bothered with guys who want to dig. Takes too much time, too much liability if I guy gets run over or a pack of lumber falls on him to make it worth it. Boutique places like Lou Irion and DL are different as they have the lumber priced to account for the time and expense required to sell it.

    If you do want to buy lumber at a lumber yard, a few helpful tips:

    Drive there in a pick up truck. Guys that show up in an SUV or Sedan get the instant cold shoulder
    Bring a lumber scale and know how to use it
    Go to the yard office and ask if you can pull out some XXX. Sometimes they will bring a pack out for you depending on how much you need to go through. If it's just a plank or two, they will bring it to you if they want to deal with that small a sale at all
    Know what grade you want. FAS, Select, 1 common, 2 common, these are grades you should be familiar with. Also be sure to ask for Kiln Dried (not everyone wants or needs Kiln Dried Lumber)
    Be respectful of the Mill's time and recognize that they are doing you a favor by selling to you at all. If you are a demanding, act like a Diva or are a jerk, they will tell you to hit the road and not come back

    I know all this because when I was a kid, I went to countless lumber yards with my Dad who also ran his own lumber business (that my brother now runs). My Father and I would be sorting through 10 packs of lumber to load on the flatbed which took most of the day, and I would be able to hear the kind of off the wall requests from hobbiests who rolled in expecting the world. They never got it.

    Some helpful tips you might employ to get what you want.
    Its nice to know the lumber yards really don't want your business. You apparently are a nuisance to them.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
    Posts
    527
    Pete is talking about wholesale yards, Pat. Like the places that supply commercial cabinet & furniture shops that buy in 2,000 boardfoot lots. If you had ever been to a place like that, you would understand.

    edit: I just re-read my post, and I realize that it may have come off as smarmy. Not my intention, sorry Pat.
    Last edited by brian zawatsky; 02-12-2018 at 2:57 PM. Reason: insert foot...
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •