London hardwoord merchants§

[duncancompton]

I've been buying hardwood for a while in London, but I'm not happy with my current suppliers. They're the usual rude builder's merchant types, they lie about stocks and when they can get stuff in, and also, as an added bonus, they try to patronise you with bullsh@t they've made up about the characteristics of wood. I'm not a big company, and I don't think they're interested in my business really.

Anyway...

Who has trusted and, preferably, loved suppliers in the London area? I'd be glad to give some new places a try.

 

[wizer]

what part of London are you located in?

 

[duncancompton]

Camden Town, but I don't mind making a journey for the right supplier.

 

[wizer]

Well SL Hardwoods are good but a little pricey. Not sure who else in London. Morgan's down in Rochester are very good and deliver into town.

 

[CNC Paul]

Duncan,

Try Moss & Co in Hammersmith

 

[promhandicam]

Another vote for SL Hardwoods if you only want smallish quantities of sawn timber. They are very helpful and do deliver but at a cost. If you are going to be buying a reasonable amount then it is worth paying the £15 a year to be a member and thus get 10% off most stuff. One word of warning - for some reason you have to use IE to order online - there is a problem using Firefox that they haven't been able to sort out.

Steve

 

[matt]

Catford Timber.

They have the most helpful team working there. Nothing it too much trouble and they're happy to spend time with someone wanting a small piece of timber or much larger orders.

They have a mill on site and they're always preparing timber for me to the dimensions I specify (although I do leave them somewhat bewildered when they suggest I could save money by taking 20mm rather than 25mm but I stick with my spec).

They've never, ever, made a mistake on one of my orders or supplied anything unusable and the dimensions are always millimetre perfect. On the rare occasion I've found a "2.1" length with a bit of a bad end where it's come of the machine it turns out they've supplied a 2.4 length cos they've spotted it.

I cannot fault them and would urge anyone near enough to try them out.

 

[Jake]

Where in Catford are they, Matt?

(Sitting here in New Cross, and not heard of them for some reason)

 

[patrick]

Hi Duncan. I am a North Londoner and have a similar problem to you. I have had some success with small quantities from P.O Joyce in East Finchley but I have a sneaky suspicion this may be the supplier you refer to? Or is it Castles in Kentish Town? Notoriously rude!

For larger quantities I use Park Royal Timber who deliver to my workshop. They are good to deal with and can get you most things.

Goldbergs in uxbridge are OK too but getting out west
http://www.goldberg.uk.com/

If you are after some character stuff try Barnes & Branch High Wycombe. Straight talking and good to deal with They are part of the Vastern group. If you can put your trust in them they can sort some decent character for you and ship to to High Wycombe from their Swindon base. Best for large quantities though.

http://www.vastern.co.uk/about-us.html

P.S, please let me know if you find a winner!

 

[Roy Clarke]

DW Mouldings in Tottenham may help.

 

[wizer]

Where in Catford are they, Matt?

(Sitting here in New Cross, and not heard of them for some reason)

Right on Rushey Green

Never thought to use them, always thought it was just a builder merchant type place.

I will check them out for prices next time I am passing.

 

[Woodcrafts]

"If you are after some character stuff try Barnes & Branch High Wycombe. Straight talking and good to deal with They are part of the Vastern group."


Sadly Barnes & Branch no longer in High Wycombe. I use Moss & Co in Hammersmith occasionally. They are always helpful, carry a good range of hardwoods (and softwoods) and will deliver.

 

[Russ]

I know exactly how you feel... Some merchants can be very patronising but this should cheer you up... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoSx...50A39C72&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=32

 

[duncancompton]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Moss and Co look good (on the website), I'll be checking them out. I've got an email in my inbox from Park Royal, so I'll see what they have to say.

I will check out SL Hardwoods and Catford Timber, but only if the more local ones fail to live up to expectation. Croydon is about 12 miles away, but over an hour to get to. South of the river you see? Too much traffic down there, Brixton a nightmare, etc. etc...

If I find something that blows me away, I'll post it on here. Like, for example, someone phoning me back when they said they would, that kind of thing...

 

[Kane]

Any hints on suppliers in the Peterborough area?

 

[CNC Paul]

Duncan,

I have been using Moss & Co all my life and my father before me, they have an excellent choice of timber, hardwoods, Russian joinery softwood and sheet material.

They also have a mill that will prepare wood and run mouldings.

I hope you find them useful

 

[katellwood]

Anyone tried blumsons in barkingside never had a problem with them, they allow me to self select and the price is always reasonable. much cheaper than Morgans which is my closest supplier

if you are willing to travel Brooks Bros in Maldon are excellent, will let you self select however if you wish to go direct to them you will need to make an appt

 

[duncancompton]

Thanks to everyone again for your input on this thread.

I went to Moss and Co this afternoon for some maple; left with some cedar, padauk and blackwood as well...

What a place. Absolutely brilliant; large stocks of LOTS of different woods, really friendly and helpful, fair transparent pricing system, self-selection encouraged, I could go on... I have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone looking for hardwood in London. I'm sure, once I've bought some unsorted joinery timber there, I'd recommend them for that as well.

I don't even have to go into the congestion zone to get there...

My previous supplier will never see me again.

 

[CNC Paul]

Duncan,

I glad you found them useful, it's a little jem tucked away in Dimes place.

 

[duncancompton]

It certainly is! I drove past about 4 times before I found it.