Wood

[Andrew0109]

My question is why is wood so expensive? At homebase the other just a small piece of basic wood cost nearly £20 how do you guys on hear do it where do you get your wood from and how much do you pay? Im so new to all this i havnt got a clue how to get it cheaper MUCH cheaper cos if i build something id like to sell it for a small profit and if a small piece of wood is £20 then id hate to imagian how expensive the wood for a bed or wardrobe or chest of draws are lol Please help a total amature thanks everyone.

 

[marcros]

it depends what you want, but i dont think that Homebase is aimed at those looking to make a profit on items made- it is for the DIY'er that wants to decorate thier house, and wants the convenience of being able to get everything at the same place. It is also likely to be of questionable quality.

What type of wood are you looking for- hardwood, softwood...

 

[carlb40]

As said places like that are for diy types. Search out local timber/ builders merchants. Find one or two you like, use them and get to know the people there. You might even get a discount for being a regular.

Just for comparison this is one of my local builders merchants, as you can see the price difference in PAR timber is a lot compared to the likes of homebase/ b&q etc

http://www.dbmdiy.com/planed-timber.htm

 

[Gwilym68]

hi Andrew

Unfortunately wood can be expensive and prices have increased over the years, along with everything else really. I myself avoid buying wood from DIY stores because they are always to expensive for my liking (Dick Turpins without the mask) I purchase my wood from a builders merchant or timber supplier, it is worth shopping around.

I'm also always on a look out for good offcuts of wood others think is rubbish, old furniture people discard that can be stripped sliced and diced into something usable etc, I'm also lucky to have a son who is in the building trade that sometimes is able to purchase wood that has been miscalculated or supplied in error.

I have two separate wood storage areas within my workshop, reclaimed and new, Always be careful when using reclaim wood, especially if using any machines to rip or plane, any nails or screws that may have been missed can cause a lot of damage and unnecessary expense.

So basically keep your eyes open, you would be amazed what people throw away!

All the best and be safe.

Gwilym

 

[carlb40]

hi Andrew

Unfortunately wood can be expensive and prices have increased over the years, along with everything else really. I myself avoid buying wood from DIY stores because they are always to expensive for my liking (Dick Turpins without the mask) I purchase my wood from a builders merchant or timber supplier, it is worth shopping around.

I'm also always on a look out for good offcuts of wood others think is rubbish, old furniture people discard that can be stripped sliced and diced into something usable etc, I'm also lucky to have a son who is in the building trade that sometimes is able to purchase wood that has been miscalculated or supplied in error.

I have two separate wood storage areas within my workshop, reclaimed and new, Always be careful when using reclaim wood, especially if using any machines to rip or plane, any nails or screws that may have been missed can cause a lot of damage and unnecessary expense.

So basically keep your eyes open, you would be amazed what people throw away!

All the best and be safe.

Gwilym

Shame your son gets charged for excess timbers etc. All the companies i have worked for normally give it away as it will get skipped otherwise. In the last month of my last job i got 2.5 sheets of 18mm ply, 8 300mm x 2440mm x 12mm rips and 2 half sheets all high quality exterior ply. The 12mm stuff has a beech veneer on it. Plus over 40mtrs of 4 x 2 tanalised timber All free

If you can get access to the bigger construction sites, you will be surprised what materials are just thrown away. Due to the fact apparently it is not cost effective to return materials :shock:

 

[Gwilym68]

Hi Carl

Payment for the spare wood/materials is a site/company thing, its only a nominal payment which goes into a pot that contributes to thier nights out etc.

To be honest giving £20 for the amount of wood I normally get supplied is a god send, I worked out last time that I saved approx £320.

So happy days


Take care and be safe

Gwilym

 

[andersonec]

Don't go down the DIY stores route, they will be twice as expensive as any saw mill or timber merchants etc. and the timber will be mostly warped and bent because of the way it is stored, Timber obviously has to be cut, planed and transported from abroad so the cost builds and can be expensive when it finally gets to the end user.
If you have the facilities, a friend or some sort of help to process sawn timber ie. sawing, planing etc. then the way to buy it is from a sawmill or timber merchants in plank form and finish it yourself.
Builders merchants normally only have softwood in nominal sizes and the quality is usually for the building trade, stud partitions etc. Furniture grade softwood is available but again usually from a timber specialist. Some of these will offer a cutting service but it will cost, hardwoods will have to be sourced from timber merchants.
If you are lucky enough, and hull is quite a large place, you may be able to find a little one-man-band saw mill.
Have a look in the yellow pages for sawmills, timber merchants etc. and pay them a visit.

As for the sheds being more expensive, B&Q chainsaw oil £8.98 for one litre,,,,, I just ordered five litres from newsawchains.co.uk for under £20 and free postage, five times the amount for just over twice the price.

Andy

 

[marcros]

Somerscales at Immingham is worth a look, although you may have the bridge fee to pay. They have a good choice of native hardwoods. You might be advised to practice on some cheaper softwood, however before you look at selling things.

 

[Andrew0109]

Thanks for the responses iv checked some places and there the cheap prices are for trades and i dont have a trade ill have a think about getting around it.

 

[carlb40]

Thanks for the responses iv checked some places and there the cheap prices are for trades and i dont have a trade ill have a think about getting around it.

Most places if it's trade only? just require ID a business letter head. That is easy to knock up

 

[Limey Lurker]

My question is why is wood so expensive?


It doesn't grow on trees. you know!

 

[Jelly]

My question is why is wood so expensive?


It doesn't grow on trees. you know!

Unless you're coppicing them... :wink:

 

[ivordavi]

I have some reclaimed 2inch thick beech but an concerned about hidden nails. Are there any magnetic detectors for finding small nails/screws? I want to plane these planks to make a dining table and don't want to chip the blades on my planer

 

[carlb40]

I have some reclaimed 2inch thick beech but an concerned about hidden nails. Are there any magnetic detectors for finding small nails/screws? I want to plane these planks to make a dining table and don't want to chip the blades on my planer

Axminster sell this, much like what Norm used to use on his reclaimed timbers.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod814131/

I think rutlands may also sell something similar

 

[Andrew0109]

Well thank you for your help i havent been on for a few days im suprised by all the responses againg thatnk you all.

 

[paulm]

I got one of these a few years ago, really good, saved a fortune in bandsaw blades, table saw blades and planer blades

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tools/ma ... l-detector

Cheers, Paul

 

[marcros]

I have some reclaimed 2inch thick beech but an concerned about hidden nails. Are there any magnetic detectors for finding small nails/screws? I want to plane these planks to make a dining table and don't want to chip the blades on my planer

i would put a belt sander across it first, having looked for any nails that you can see. That should clean the top a little so that you can see any that you had missed on the first look.

 

[RogerS]

I have some reclaimed 2inch thick beech but an concerned about hidden nails. Are there any magnetic detectors for finding small nails/screws? I want to plane these planks to make a dining table and don't want to chip the blades on my planer

Axminster sell this, much like what Norm used to use on his reclaimed timbers.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod814131/

I think rutlands may also sell something similar

Did he use that one or the much better Lumber Wizard? The Axminster one has a one-star customer review.

Another source of reasonably priced timber might be at auction if you have anyone like Pugh's (Ledbury) near you. Exotic hardwood is getting very scarce and so very expensive. This is being driven by the Chinese middle-classes developing a taste for furniture made from these timbers.

On the subject of Pugh's auctions, they had an auction yesterday at very short notice. It was essentially a sale of the estate of a deceased collector and as it primarily focussed on his tool collection, there was only a token offering of wood. My interest lay in trying out the EasyLiveAuction facility that Pugh's have now tied in with. I was very impressed with the speed and reliability of the system...sitting there in the comfort of my own study, listening to the auction live, seeing photos of each lot and sitting on my hands so I wouldn't bid! They had over 800 lots to get through and the rate was something like 150 an hour....quite staggering throughput.