Hard wood supplier in or around Austin Texas

[Stephen White]

I am getting some rough hard wood out of my San Antonio supplier and trying to find a source in or around Austin, Tx?

[Erik Loza]

Austin Fine Lumber

Erik

[Jeff Frazier]

Dakota Hardwoods on east Stassney lane. They are fantastic

[Ed Mitchell]

I have limited experience in Austin, only lived here a coupla years. I've been to:

Fine Lumber and Plywood They have a decent selection and service is friendly and professional. My nitpick with them is prices: nothing is posted or online, you have to call a phone number and ask a person, who has to look it up, which is annoying (probably for them as well as me). So what I do now is make a list of every kind of wood I might even remotely be interested in buying (and the different thicknesses in which I might be interested) and call in for those prices while I'm driving to them. That way, when I arrive, I already know how much everything costs, and I only have to make a call in unusual situations.

Berdoll Sawmill: Great people, highest quality stuff, but the most limited selection of species that I have ever seen in a lumberyard. That's because they only do lumber that has fallen on someone's property or etc, so if you're into the "reclaimed" or "green" label, that's 100% their inventory. Only been a few times, but they seem to reliably have an air dried option, and best milling equipment of any of the lumberyards.

I tried to go to Dakota Hardwoods, but this was when covid first hit, and their covid policy at the time was that nobody was allowed in, so you had to call in your order, and they would bring it out to you. As a hobbyist, no way I'm not choosing my boards personally, so I never went in. Hopefully that policy has changed, I haven't checked.

[Stephen White]

Thanks everyone!

I hear you Ed on picking it out. I have to email my order (not in Austin) and they they pull and its getting ridiculous and now I am willing to drive a bit to solve this. I have tried to be a sport but I have had consistently worse and worse wood that is just riddled with knots and worm holes. Twice I have showed up and been billed for 2, 3x as much walnut as there is. It's like they honestly think I don't care if I order and pay for 30bf of walnut and get 10 @ $10 foot. They made it right but then did the same thing the next order. My last order was a couple hundred bf and it seems like 20% is just crap. I now have 2 huge bins of crap cutoffs to sort through so I really want to be done with them.

Its not just the dough but if I screw up sorting it then a finished piece is crap, wasting a bunch of good wood and time in the process.

[John Goodin]

I prefer Fine Lumber. It is self serve so customers can pick lumber at their own pace. They have a good selection of domestic and ok selection of exotics.

[Keegan Shields]

I haven't been here yet but these guys in Georgetown look like fun:

https://www.billstuewe.com/

[John Stankus]

I have limited experience in Austin, only lived here a coupla years. I've been to:

...

I tried to go to Dakota Hardwoods, but this was when covid first hit, and their covid policy at the time was that nobody was allowed in, so you had to call in your order, and they would bring it out to you. As a hobbyist, no way I'm not choosing my boards personally, so I never went in. Hopefully that policy has changed, I haven't checked.

I have purchased from Dakota in San Antonio both before and during the pandemic (and am looking forward to the after pandemic purchases ) Process not too different. Once you have the list of what you want (either by going to the desk in the before times, or calling ahead) back the pickup to one of their low docks, give the list to one of the crew. They grab the whole stack with a fork lift and bring it to right behind the truck, and then I picked the boards I wanted. A quick measure of board feet and some help loading. Repeat for different species and/or thicknesses. Then its just paying and going. Good experience

John

[Keith Outten]

CAll or PM David Borek. His lumber yard and shop outside of Austin.
David visits SawMill Creek on occasion and he has a huge inventory of exotics as well as local hardwoods.
His facility is incredible, has a lathe big enough to turn a car.

512-422-5200

[Malcolm McLeod]

... and now I am willing to drive a bit to solve this. ....

Drive how far? ...for what?

I was thru Santa Anna, TX (regrettably, 6-7yrs ago), between Coleman & Brownwood, and stumbled on a gentleman with a Wood-Mizer set up for sawing huge* Mesquite logs, harvested from across the Hill Country. I stopped and he was gracious enough to talk for several minutes, even tho' he was headed home for the evening. Nice guy; beautiful material. Sadly, I have not had need to go back**, and it's a BIG state to wander by on a whim.

I am not sure, but web-search makes me think he goes by "Mesquite Time" now. Satellite map shows the yard has expanded a great deal since my visit and is on the north side of the E-W main drag, just east of 'downtown'.

* - His yard was full of 22-24" logs, which by Mesquite standards makes them 'huge'.

** - Mr. Bolton recently almost triggered a trip to see the man as trade goods for a Laguna slider... if only WV was closer (I blame TN).

[Michael Elliott]

Dakota Hardwoods on east Stassney lane. They are fantastic

Dakota has a huge selection of hardwoods and sheet goods. However, their shipping/receiving and accounts receivable departments really struggle.

[Eric Anderson]

Ed, the problem with Fine Lumber and pricing is that almost every load of lumber or plywood they get is a different price and they price each load at a certain price until it runs out and then the price is based on the latest shipment. Posting prices, particularly for plywood products would be like posting prices of hog futures. I've seen prices change dramatically week to week. About the only price that has changed very little is red oak, that was $3.97 in 2019 and has now gone to $4.11. Unlike poplar that's gone from ~$2 to $4.06 (or was two weeks ago, today?)

[Ed Mitchell]

Thanks for the clarification, John! Another question I had, but never needed answered since I never went inside -- A couple of posters in this thread have mentioned that they have a huge selection...how would you find out what species they have available? Their website only lists a small number of choices. Do you ask someone on the phone to read you the entire list of species, thicknesses and cuts?