Where to get hardwood planks?

[Capt Weasel]

I've been seeing stuff cut out of hardwood planks like oak, maple, walnut etc. These planks and rounds still have bark on them or at least 2 sides. Where can I get some of them? The only thing I can find are basswood blanks and I don't particularly like them. To fuzzy for me. Scroller Ltd. nor Wooden Teddy Bear carry them. My wood supply doesn't either. Just looking to try something different because I like some of the patterns in the catalogs that show them cut into the planks. Anywhere in particular or just find something via search engine?

[workin for wood]

How about looking for a local sawyer/sawmill. There's always someone, although you may need to air dry them in your shop for a year, but that saves you money too. If you can't find someone in your yellow pages, ask someone at your lumber yard if they know anyone with a woodmizer, or go to the woodmizer website and they have a locator for people with their equipement, so you may find one near you. Also call some local tree trimmers. They are sure to point you to the people with personal sawmills, and sometimes the tree trimmers have sawmills of their own. Here, I can get a log from the city for free if I call them and ask, and then take it to a woodmizer for 80 cents a foot, or I can just buy oak that they already have for a buck a board foot. Sometimes they have stacks that are already half air dried or even almost finished air drying for a buck to a buck and a half depending on the species. Either way, even if it is already been sitting a year, you still need to bring it inside and dry it a bit more, as well as acclimate it. It's so simple to do, wrap the entire bundle of wood in plastic with a dehumidifier inside the plastic..seal/tape it all as good as you can, with the hose from the dehumidifier exiting the plastic of course. This will take the lumber down to kiln dry specs. Just don't do this step until the lumber has sat on a rack for a year first. drying lumber has to be done with a bit of patience, but the pay off is insane. I'm reading about people on here paying $7 bf for oak that I can buy for a buck or less.

[lucky788scroller]

try here http://www.petersonscustomlumber.com/custom_slabs.htm Dale

[Capt Weasel]

Thats agent 7 and double 8's. I look'em up. I also found ocoochhardwoods and itascswoodproducts offer some. Only found Walnut, Butternut, Cherry and Basswood so far. Saw a finished piece out of pine that looked great to.

[kofte]

One thing I found out the hard-way about wood from local sawyers (in this case my own mill): if you're getting bark-on wood down south, you need to be careful for bugs. I've heard if you get the wood up to at least 130F for 30 minutes you're ok, but I had some that ended up with lots of tunnels and little piles of sawdust in the lumber pile...

[Pagan]

I live in an area that is quite filled with trees and having contacts with a lumber yard and tree fellers i can ask for particular wood and have it cut to planks, the drying is no worry for me cause i have different species of wooden flooring that i use.... And some sleepers from the lumber yard are sometimes really nice to use.

Danny

[Andy]

I'm too new in here to know for sure what the etiquette is ... I know, read the FAQ page Andy! LOL I'm not sure if we're supposed to post links or not? Anyway, if The Hardwood Store of NC isn't too far from you it might be worth a day trip. Looks like an awesome facility!!! Wish they were in my neck o' the woods.

[NC Scroller]

Danny, sleepers? That is a new one on me. Maybe an England English vs an American English thing. Would you care to share what they are?

[Pagan]

Hehe... offcourse i can explain...

Uhhmm sleepers are as i know it: Two 4 X 4 x 25 inch pieces of wood that support a large bundle of wood so that the forklift can pick it up with the fork...I hope my english is better than my thinking because i am actually Dutch.
And the few sleepers they got in the lumberyard where Iroko and pretty much in a good condition so i am allways looking out for it.

Danny

[NC Scroller]

Thanks Danny. I now know what you are referring to. I just call them spacers but I am sure they have a more formal name.