Wood sources

[Dan A]

All the patterns I have or seen, call for 1/2 to 1/4 inch wood of choice. I only have access to 3/4 inch pine, mostly from discarded pallets here in town. The closest Menards is an hour away and places like Loews are over 2 hours away.
I don't have a planer. Is mail order my only choice? Or does anyone have any other suggestions on where I might find the 1/2 and 3/4 inch lumber.

Dan A

[wood-n-things]

I beleive you are asking about 1/8 " and 1/4" wood which most of us use for puzzles and fretwork etc. You said you have access to 3/4" stock in your first sentence. Unless you have a cabinet shop near you willing to plane stock down which is a terrible waste of wood. Yes mail order is your best route. Be sure and inquire as to actual shipping costs as some are more reputable than others in this area.

[RFortier]

I have had a lot of success getting wood through Ebay. Nearly any size and species are available. Most sellers combine auctions for shipping. It's worth checking out.

Ray F

[Dan A]

I was pondering on my way home from work about this. I know from hunting the area there are a lot of old barns, sheds, piles, etc laying around. Is it possible some of this may be thinner wood? Or would exposure to the elements have rotted it all out. I'm sure some of this stuff has been laying around for over 30 years. I don't know of anyone around here that has a cabinet shop. Most of the patterns I have or seen on Steve Goods site simply say 1/2 or 1/4 inch. Would be 3/4 inch be good enough to try?

Dan A

[wood-n-things]

Dan,
that is difficult to say. It depends on the pattern being cut. Old barn wood is Ideal for some items especially making your own frames. Be sure you get permission before you start picking that stuff up though. I'd hate to read about you in papers "shot by irate farmer"...LOL

[Terry Jay]

Most lumber or building supply stores carry "door skins" in oak, mahogany and birch, 1/8" 3-layer plywood 7'x36". Flooring installers often use ACX plywood, good one side and available in 1/4" and up. Actual thin lumber is a specialty product and for most of us must be ordered and shipped. For a lot of thin and intricate shapes the plywood is stronger and less likely to break, but is will if not handled carefully. Good luck.

[madwood]

Dan, you may want to post your location as there may be other woodworkers nearby you that would be willing to lend a hand. I do know that I've had good results with eBay for purchasing exotics at decent prices. There are quite a few good sellers on there, just check their feedback. In my opinion, which ain't worth much,you would do good in buying a planer and jointer. That would give you more options in the wood you do have available to you. I personally have no problem in recycling pallets, shipping crates and the like. You just have to be careful of nails and grit. I try to pick up clean stuff. The nasty stuff comes home too, but to use in the shop wood stove.

John

[Chris "The Wood Artist"]

Dan, an idea you might try is looking in your local paper in the classified for old furniture and maybe even cragslist. I don't if you have a bandsaw or not. If you do, you can build a jig for it and rip the thicker boards down in turn given you two pieces out of one thick piece. I've also heard of people doing this and I've tried it myself a couple of times, you can use your scroll saw with a heavy duty blade and another jig and use your scroll saw as a band saw. When I tried it, it worked the only downside is that you are limited to the width of the material to the thickness your saw will cut being you have the material on it's side. The way I did it was to rip down a bunch of pieces then glue them up to make a big slab, which made for some interesting pieces with the different grain details as well as putting different species of wood together. Just some ideas you could try. But if it was me in your place I would check for other scrollers and check into mail order. I'd also look in your phone book or online phone book to see if there are any cabinet or woodshops close. If they are you may could either get their scrap or even get them to order materials for you. I've had a couple cabinet shops here do that for me to get some exotic wood and being they ordered it at wholesale price, I was able to get it for about half the price I would've paid for it ordering it myself.

[Dan A]

They all sound like good possibilities. I'll just have to make time to look into all of them. I had been saving my loose change for a router. But my Dad gave me one as a "permanent loan" this weekend. (He had two or three to begin with.) May have to change that to a planer now
As far as being shot at by an irate farmer (mentioned above) it would've been more interesting if it was about a 51 year old man chased by bull while defending himself with barnwood.
As far as my address goes I am located in Chamberlain SD, which is right along the Missouri river. I tried cutting a pattern this weekend using some 1/4 inch plywood I had here and about 1/2 way thru the job the center of the plywood cracked out, pulled out, whatever you want to call it, was very annoyed, which is what prompted me to look thru this section of the forum.

Dan

[Forester21]

Dan -
you might want to check this site: www.woodfinder.com
put your zip code in and search. You might be surprised and find some wood mills close to you.
T

[Chris "The Wood Artist"]

Dan -
you might want to check this site: www.woodfinder.com
put your zip code in and search. You might be surprised and find some wood mills close to you.
T

Thanks for posting that link as I will use that also. Not that I'm having trouble finding wood. I sometimes have a hard time finding a particular species of wood. I have access to cedar, pine, oak and a bunch of others that I don't know what they are. I have over 75 acres of land that I'm clearing out slowly for crops and cattle. Anyway, thanks for the link.

[Dave]

Dan,
re-sawing thicker lumber has worked well for me. I use a band saw for stuff up to six inches wide, but to lessen the load on the band saw I first cut into each edge an inch or so with a table saw then cut the center portion with a band saw. I also do the same with wider stock like 12 inch wide , but cut the centerportion with a handsaw.
All of the clean-up work is done with a drum sander.What type of wood are you looking for?I live in Huron, SD so I know what you mean by the limited sources for lumber, but have had some success by checking lumberyard scrap piles, new construction sites and the city landfill, it always amazes me what people will throw away. Lots of luck and keep looking.
Dave

[Forester21]

You're welcome Chris! I love that website.
T

[Dan A]

Dave,
At the moment I'm so new to this that I don't think I really have a specific wood in mind. It's just that some of the patterns like what is on Steve Goods website are calling for 1/2 or 1/4 wood. I just don't know where around here I could find anything like that without the use of a planer. Unfortunately I don't have a bandsaw either. The 3/4 inch pallet wood I have doesn't leave much after the knots are cut out. I did make a paper towel holder from a piece of 3/4 inch black walnut even though the pattern called for 1/2 inch walnut. I can't help but wonder if the curves would've been a little smoother if it had been thinner wood stock.

[wood-n-things]

Chamberlain is huge metropolis huh? 2338 people at the last census. No wonder you don't have a place to find quality lumber.

Try sloans, Or give this guy a try. tell him you want good both sides unless you plan on covering the back side with felt or foamies or some such.
Scroll Saw Plywood | Wood Deals Online

He is easy to work with and has quality plys at reasonable prices. His shipping is fair as well.