Devon woodworkers? Where to get timber?

[cjp]

Hi all,

First of all I'd like to say hello, and I hope that you are all well.

I'm new to these forums, and indeed woodworking in general. But I'm looking to start a couple of basic projects (table, cabinet) and so I am looking for sources of decent hardwoods. I have never purchased timber before, so am finding it hard to know where/what to look for.

Are there any woodworkers here based in Devon? If so can I ask where you get your timber from? What kind of prices can I expect to pay for things like Oak, Maple, Cherry, Walnut etc?

I've found at least one company nearby (Devon Hardwoods) but I have nothing to compare them to.

Does anyone have any experience of ordering woods online, and having it delivered?

Finally, will it cost me significantly more to get the wood milled to a reasonable size? Being a hobbyist, I will find it hard to store/transport huge great boards, and currently don't have the equipment to re-saw them easily - though certainly, if things work out, I would look to invest in such tools as soon as I can. But we must start somewhere!

Many thanks for your time,

Charlie

 

[Mike.C]

Hi Charlie, welcome to the forum. Try our very own Devonwoody (John) who I am sure will give you the heads up about the best places to shop. :wink:

Cheers

Mike

 

[MikeH]

Hi CJP, welcome to the forum.

I am pretty close to you, down near Bovey T. I haven't really used local suppliers for hardwood, but there is Beech Brothers in Exeter, they certainly used to do small amounts of machined stuff to your specification. There is somewhere over near Newton Poppleford but I can't remember the name at the mo.

I tend to use Yandles to be honest, mainly because I travel past them on A303 on business a lot. They do mail order if you wanted to get an idea of prices etc.

 

[Shane]

I've only used Devon Hardwoods, so I'm unable to give any other comparisons. The quality of their timber is always spot on IME. For 21mm panels I use their t+g because they don't have kerfing or joint gaps on the underside, for thicker sections I get in rough resawn planks and take it from there.

 

[devonwoody]

Cjp, welcome from me at Paignton. I also purchase from Devon Hardwood, but being trade merchants I do not abuse their service I usually order at least £100 and collect.

Yandles at Martock are around a 50 mile trip up the A30 and you should find that a good place to shop because they do retail as well as trade sales. Decent merchants they will accept returns of timber if dissatisfied owing to unseen faults.

Otherwise I trawl the internet and order timber sawn, never purchased prepared timber anywhere lately because I have equipped myself with a hobbyist workshop.

 

[srp]

I used to live in Woodbury Salterton and bought english oak from Bill Garvey http://www.williamgarvey.co.uk/ - he used to mill and kiln his own timber and it was super quality.
Looking at the web site he seems to have gone a bit more up-market. and I don't know if he does anything with native English stuff these days - be interesting to find out if you decide to give him a call.

 

[tjwoodms]

Give mike mann a try a crocadon sawmill nr saltash i do alot of work or him. He keeps a hugh stockpile of a large vatity of woods he also has a wood store of pre cut smaller pieces that may well suit you needs.

 

[cjp]

Hi all,

Thanks for the welcome and the very useful replies.

In the end I took the somewhat long (65 miles from here!) trip up to Yandles on Saturday. But it was a nice day for a drive.

Boy am I pleased I did. I was amazed at the sheer range of woods and tools on offer. I originally decided to get into woodworking with the aim on building some bass guitars (though I now find myself more drawn to other aspects) -so seeing those piles of zebrano and bubinga really made me drool........

In the end I completed my basic collection of hand tools, and also couldn't resist picking up a scroll saw that was on offer. I picked a few practice boards of cheery, maple & purpleheart just to play around with. Also a useful selection of offcuts. I think I'll probably do a few box projects to start with and work up from there. Also they are having a show on the 10th-11th September, which will be good timing for me as by then I should have finished extending/insulating my workshop (by workshop I mean shed) and will be looking at some larger tools such as a bandsaw and tablesaw - this'll give me a chance to see them in action before I decide to buy.

I also popped into Devon Hardwoods and picked up a sample pack of wood, but they do seem to mostly cater to the trade - so I think I'll visit them when I'm ready to get some larger quantities of wood. Nice quality though.

Srp - and tjwoods: Thanks for those names - when I'm ready for some more stock I'll give them a shout. I'm not looking at my oak project (a replica of an old desk we used to have in the family) for a least a few months, so I won't bother Bill Garvey until nearer the time - when I do I will post back and let you know if he's still doing the native stuff.

Anyways, apologies for rambling on! Once again thanks for the warm welcome and the useful responses. I hope to talk you all again soon. But right now I have to go make a planing jig.........

Cheers,

Charlie

 

[devonwoody]

and if you fancy a call into Paignton sometime drop me a PM. Pleased the Yandles trip went well

 

[MikeH]

Charlie,
The Yandles show is DEFINITELY worth the trip. But be warned, it gets really (really, really, really) busy! I now tend to get there at 9am on the Friday (it doesn't officially open until 10 but never had a problem and everything is up and running by then), you are more likely to get some of the bargains as they often run out fast.

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[cjp]

Hi Mike,

I've decided I'm definitely going to give the Yandles show a go, so I've booked a camp spot for a couple of nights - that way I can get there nice and early!

Cheers,

Charlie