Here in Colorado all the hardwood wholesalers sell KD Eastern white pine in various thickness and grades. Some rough and some hit and miss. Ponderosa and Sugar pine not so common anymore. D select is as much as some hardwoods.
Contributor
Here in Colorado all the hardwood wholesalers sell KD Eastern white pine in various thickness and grades. Some rough and some hit and miss. Ponderosa and Sugar pine not so common anymore. D select is as much as some hardwoods.
Member
Where I live, Southern Yellow pine is plentiful and cheap. I haven't seen any rough sawn in a long time. I think the problem is that nobody who wants to machine their own lumber has any interest in building anything out of pine.
I only use SYP for things like jigs, fixtures and table frames in my shop. I usually keep some on hand. I buy it a few months ahead of time and then air dry it further in the attic of my shop. Even though it has already been planed and sized, I plane it and size it again as if it were rough sawn. That is the only way i can get it to an acceptable level of straightness, flatness and dimensional accuracy. I don't mind waiting a few months and losing 1/8 inch off the material to get better quality.
Member
I'd be looking for some sawmills.
Member
In TX, finding a Sawmill is NO problem.
Finding a Kiln that does Pine.. or will do a small batch is WAY WAY tougher.
Marc
I'm pretty new here, not as as experienced as most. Please don't hesitate to correct me
Member
I guess the reason is in the comparative costs to oven dry wood. The cost for dry wood is very close independent of the wood species. Just as an example suppose it cost $100 per cubic meter. If the raw lumber is $5000, add those $100 in its cost is negligible but it doesn't when the raw lumber cost $200 for the same cubic meter.Originally Posted by David Sloan
Probably it is the reason it is difficult to find cheap wood oven dried and if eventually found, the prospect buyer complain for its "high prices".
[OP]
Contributor
Art, I also have used SYP a lot for things like jigs and shop tables. I always have some on hand and just dimension it when I need it. Richard, I will check with Steve Wall. Carl, it is nice to have quite a few small sawmills near by that sell kiln dried hardwood. I once had someone let me empty his barn of cherry and walnut for nothing. I am still using that wood! I honestly haven't made a furniture piece out of pine in decades but I have several pieces in our house and I really like the look of aged pine. I also read an article very recently maybe it was FWW where there was a beautiful piece made of pine. It just is interesting that the big box stores have so much pine, both common and select, and it's so difficult to find it rough.I appreciate all your comments and suggestions.
Contributor
Had similar issues, since I wanted to match the pine of some doors I was building for my house. I found this supplier in Xenia, Ohio, which I understand is a bit of a drive from central KY. They sell Eastern Pine in a variety of sizes, including 8/4, which you can resaw down to 6/4, which they do not carry. I also believe they have 4/4, but I'm not certain.
https://crlumber.com/
[OP]
Contributor
Great tip Andrew. It wasn't clear to me from their website so I called them and they have exactly what you described so thanks. That's not that far a drive for me. Looks like a really good place!
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