Buying wood during the pandemic?

[Silly_Billy]

My local wood supplier is closed because of coronavirus. Could anyone recommend any online suppliers of wood?

 

[Torx]

What are you looking for, hardwoods, panels? The big box stores (B&Q, Wickes etc.) are still doing click and collect.

 

[sammy.se]

Fulhamtimber.co.uk
Builderdepot.co.uk

But delivery times are long.

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[Silly_Billy]

What are you looking for, hardwoods, panels?

I'm looking for medium-hard wood to make a small table.

Also, I'd welcome advice about suitable woods for a table made using only hands tools.

I'm a beginner and made my last table from oak. But I only possess hand tools and oak was hard work! It seemed like I spent as much time sharpening as woodworking While I was pleased with the end result, this time I'd like to use a wood that's easier to work with.

 

[topchippyles]

What area are you ??

 

[Silly_Billy]

South East. However, I've just seen that Woodshopdirect is still delivering. But with a lead time of up to 30 working days! Ditto for Fulham Timber, although it doesn't have a wide choice of wood types.

 

[profchris]

What are you looking for, hardwoods, panels?

I'm looking for medium-hard wood to make a small table.

Also, I'd welcome advice about suitable woods for a table made using only hands tools.

I'm a beginner and made my last table from oak. But I only possess hand tools and oak was hard work! It seemed like I spent as much time sharpening as woodworking While I was pleased with the end result, this time I'd like to use a wood that's easier to work with.

The various mahoganoids are hard to beat for comparative ease of working. But I'd avoid sapele - the interlocking ribbon grain can be hard work to plane and scrape smooth.

In normal times I'd say to find an old wardrobe and break that down - my current Victorian wardrobe is full of easy-working Honduras mahogany, plus a little bonus Spanish Cedar. Maybe someone local via Facebook ads has one to dispose of, in an appropriately socially distanced way of course. If so, can you easily distinguish solid mahogany from veneer?

 

[Silly_Billy]

Many thanks, I'll see if I can scrounge some mahogany. Is it hard to tell if it's solid or veneer?

 

[profchris]

Hmm, hard to explain to a beginner. Once you've seen lots of veneered pieces you get an idea just from photos.

The best test is to look where you would expect end grain - probably the tops and bottoms of doors, back and sides. If you don't see any, that piece is veneered. Or you see end grain, but also see the layer of veneer on the outside.

 

[JFC]

Surrey timber is doing online orders .

 

[Silly_Billy]

Would anyone be able to recommend a beginner's book about different types of wood for woodwork? I've looked online but only got more confused!

I've got some great books on general woodwork, but they don't cover how to choose wood. I need the Dummies Guide to Wood

 

[Nikolaj33]

I can recommend wood database website. It has great articles, plus great searchable database that will help you identify the wood you will have in your hands, with good information of that woods working properties. For example, recently I found some piece of furniture that looked like it could be mahagony, but with the help of this website I not only determined that the wood was meranti, but that another species of meranti was used as secondary wood.

 

[Silly_Billy]

I found a few books on Amazon, but does anyone know which is easiest to read and use by a beginner?

 

[AndyT]

The Hoadley book is a rather dry textbook, definitely not for a beginner.

Don't know the second.

Nick Gibbs posts on here - maybe he can clarify re the third one!

 

[MikeG.]

Thorogood Timber near Colchester is still open, albeit you have to make an appointment in advance and they'll bring the packs to you to choose from.