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This may seem silly or conceited. I am not a huge customer of any lumber outlet. But I get frequent e-mails about where I buy specific types of wood. Hopefully this will provide some answers.
At the risk of being shunned by fine woodworkers, I confess that I do buy some wood from the familiar big orange box (Home Depot) or big blue box (Lowes).
There are several locations where I have bought furniture-grade wood in Austin.
BlueLinx Hardwoods
formerly Austin Hardwoods Inc.
4209 S Industrial, just east of IH35 at St. Elmo
Monday-Friday 8-5, Saturday 9-12 (the only place with Saturday hours)
(512) 442-4001 -- fax 441-6444
Dry measure
From the south, go east on St. Elmo. Three blocks east of IH 35 turn north on S. Industrial - the building on the right is where you are going, but go around the north end and enter from the rear.
From the north on IH35 take exit 231 - Woodward Street. Turn left on Woodward... it will curve south. When you reach Ben White, turn left (east) on the Ben White access road, and in one block, turn south on S. Industrial. In two long blocks, turn left on Commercial Center Drive, then into the parking lot on your right.
They are in the north end of the big building on your right. Enter next to the loading docks at the back, "375" on the door, next to Crawford Electric. The new space has allowed them to display individual boards and exotic woods and an expanded selection of hardware.
Austin Hardwoods? |
BlueLinx is a large international company that bought Austin Hardwoods, with the intention of expanding from just construction lumber into hardwood, while maintaining the small, personal service atmosphere. Not all the employees liked corporate big brother - the new manager is Mike Beville (former salesman) who is charged to carry on the customer-service focus. All the people in the office, warehouse, and delivery are really nice and the service is great. The sale to BlueLinx has provided the resources for the recent expansion to four times as much space and far bigger inventory than they had in their cramped facility on Goodrich Avenue.
Much of their hardwood is FAS or S&B grade (the good stuff), 4/4 wood planed on two sides to 7/8 or 13/16 inch thick, with one edge ripped straight (S3S). If you want just a few boards, you can pick from the top 6 rows in their stack at retail prices. If you buy "off the top" in larger (100 board-foot or greater) quantities, the "wholesale" price is FAR lower. For example, at one point 4/4 Cherry S3S was $7.96 retail and $5.94 in wholesale lots. Overall I have found the quality of most species very good. They often also carry the lower #1 Common grade hardwood - lower yield, but much lower price, and a good option if you need smaller pieces... but don't expect to find large clear boards in the #1 common. Their primary sheet stock is now the "composite" core with a thin man-made ply under the surface, then regular plies in the center. I am not fond of this, but they are also starting to carry a higher grade domestic ply core that is "green" and all "real" plies. They also sell hardware such as hinges (Blum) and drawer slides (KV and others) at good prices, and if you buy box quantities (such as 10 pairs of side mount drawer slides), the prices are especially attractive.
They offered free delivery if I could take it when they had a truck coming to my area. With my first $660 order, the truck just happened to be coming to my area the first thing the next morning, with nothing else on the truck. Each subsequent order was delivered promptly, no later than the next morning, with a call to advise that the driver was on the way (no vague promise of "some time tomorrow").
Their web site at www.BlueLinxHardwoods.com gives contact information, but the list of products is incomplete, and every product says "For product specs, availability and price please call BlueLinx Hardwoods" (so why bother with the web site)?
Fine Lumber and Plywood
9407 Brown Lane (Northeast Austin, east of I35 and Cameron, North of 183)
730-5 M-F, until 6 on Thursday, closed weekends.
(512) 836-8990
Current measure
This is a great place to start if you are not experienced in buying hardwood. The folks are really nice and helpful, and will also let you look and plan. Most of their rough cut lumber is skim-planed, so you can get a pretty good idea what the board is like. They also have planed and sanded lumber, mouldings, hardwood plywood (walnut, cherry, etc., with ply core, MDF core, and lumber core). They have some "tropical/exotic" hardwoods, wood such as quarter-sawn white oak, and even recycled old pine and river recovered southern yellow pine for the New Yankee Workshop projects. You can pick your boards from the racks, then go to the office and a clerk will measure your selections and check you out. The prices for hardwoods are competitive, but the sheet goods are pretty expensive... for example, I paid $54.96 per sheet for 1/4 inch walnut plywood, but have paid as little as $26.15 for the same item from their competitors.
I go there occasionally for small quantities of hardwood, since I can pick boards to meet a specific need. Since everyone can pick their boards, sometimes I have trouble finding sufficient wood of decent quality when I am starting a larger project, even digging through their entire inventory. Generally, they do not deliver, but when I asked recently they agreed to for a fee.
Mason's Mill and Lumber Company Inc.
236 Trademark Drive, Buda 78612 (Reportedly near Cabellas, but I haven't been there)
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
512-295-3000 (toll from Austin), fax 512-295-3001
Current measure (more S3S for your money)
From Austin go south on I35, exit Neiderwald/FM2001 and continue south on the I35 access road. In about a mile, turn right on Trademark drive, and Mason's will be on the right
Mason's mill is a major Houston lumber yard that got tired of making deliveries to Austin and San Antonio, so recently opened a lumber yard in Buda, just south of Austin. My initial order included some wood that the other places didn't carry (and it was at a far lower price than expected), plus other wood at a very good price with pleasant service and prompt delivery. The price on sipo (a mahogany substitute) is the best I have seen (they reportedly are the largest importer in the US, and sell to other area lumber yards). They have all the standard woods plus the ipe, quartersawn white oak, antique longleaf pine and pecky cypress - they can get other woods from Houston such as Sinker Cypress (for New Yankee Workshop projects). I never thought I would buy dimensional lumber (S4S) but that is what took me to them. They also have "green" plywood, for the environmentally conscious (or those who, like me, prefer the better quality). I normally make rather than buy my mouldings, but they say they have one of the largest library of profiles in the world.
Sam Damiani handles inside sales, and Wesley Saunders outside sales - together they have helped Mason's get established in the area. They are expanding their staff... Ron Mazzarella, with 13 years experience selling Austin hardwood (hint) has joined the outside sales staff, and Alex Pruneda, with 7 years hardwood warehouse experience, is coming to run the warehouse and help with sales. Their truck driver, Terrell, even wanted to help me store my lumber delivery, not just stack it on sawhorses.
Brazos Forest Products, a division of Baillie Lumber Company, formerly
Hogan Hardwood which was formerly
Paxton's wood source
600 Industrial Blvd, South of Ben White, between Congress and I35
(512) 443-0777
Dry measure
This is where I learned about industrial or wholesale purchasing. You place the order with a salesman, by phone or in the office, and get wood in the order it comes off the bundle. Good and bad, but the stacks haven't been picked over by every woodworker ahead of you. Rough cut lumber has generally not been skim planed, so you will have to do some basic planing before you can select boards for a project. You don't need to be special to buy this way, but you do need to act like a wholesale customer. They expect to take your good-size order, fill it quickly, and move on, not meditate on each board. They will deliver larger orders.
On my first order after Paxton became Hogan, they let me down - couldn't deliver what they promised. On the next order they messed up billing by about $100, and took a month (and many phone calls to corporate headquarters) to fix it. I haven't dealt with them, nor their successor, since, but many woodworkers like them.
Hogan's Woodcrafter's Store
Current measure
This was the retail outlet is next door to the (Wholesale) Hogan HardWood Source in Austin. The wood displayed in the retail store was eliminated with the change to Brazos, and the people who ran this outlet have retired, but some of my friends report that the store still provides retail service to smaller customers.
Mail order is expensive because of shipping costs. Several places offer a "UPS bundle," about 70 pounds of wood, no long boards - basically a much as they can ship by UPS at the "normal" rates without jumping to the higher freight rates charged for large or heavy shipments. Sometimes the wood is especially good. Top grade wood must be fairly long, but long boards cannot be shipped in a normal UPS package. One company explained that if they have a board that is very good on one end, but bad on the other, they cut the bad end off and put the good end in the UPS bundle (since the shorter board can no longer be considered top grade by the official grading specifications). A UPS bundle (or two) may be enough for a small project, but certainly not for an entertainment center or bedroom set. For a regular order (not a UPS bundle), the estimate for shipping 100 board feet from North Carolina to Austin (pick up at the terminal, not even delivered) was over $100. When I bought 300 board feet it cost $222 for shipping. Even a full truckload (6,000 to 8,000 board feet) costs about $2 per loaded mile to ship.
The other risk of shipping is the quality of the wood. No wood is perfect - as they love to say, when you buy a steak you pay for the bone, too. But just how good will it be? The reputation of the vendor is critical.
Steve H Wall Lumber Company in Mayodan North Carolina has been selling through fine woodworking magazines and on the Internet "forever." Steve personally called me back instantly when I e-mailed a question. They have been very responsive to me, their deals look good, and they have a long term reputation on the Internet as good people to deal with. Freight costs have killed most potential purchases, but I did take advantage of UPS bundle for some exotic wood, and another time took advantage of a special on Walnut. The extra cost of the freight made the special not so special, but the wood was good. Dry measure
Curly Woods in McKinney Texas, that I really liked and recommended for "curly" hardwoods, has gone out of business.
Hartzell Wood Stock in Lime Springs in Northeast Iowa is run by Jim and Jana Hartzell. Jim was a wood buyer and lumberman processing thousands of trees per week until he had a lumbering accident that left him paraplegic. He found a new career using his knowledge of wood in a small-town lumber yard. They are great people to deal with. If they don't have what you need in stock (they are small), Jim can probably get it for you. I couldn't leave without loading up the minivan with some odd size pieces of very nice walnut that Jim gave me at a great price. A good friend bought a large quantity for the trim and cabinets in the house he was building and was very pleased. Another woodworker we know in the area recommends them highly. Much of their wood is local wood that they had milled and dried by people they hired, not just bought by the carload for resale. Their published prices are attractive. Regular freight for small orders is expensive, as for everyone, but they have a "friend" who takes loads to various parts of the country periodically (it sounded like Jim could be competitive with Austin prices at about 300 board feet and up, and would probably deliver a premium quality.) Their lumber seemed worth checking out. They also sell Amish-built furniture (from selected craftsmen that meet their high standards for quality and finish).
When should you buy lumber at a store that isn't a lumber yard? When Woodcraft is having a sale! Woodcraft is a great place to buy tools, but their lumber selection is limited. They often feature one wood at a very competitive price. If that is a wood you need, "go for it." As I originally wrote this, I was planning on stocking up on 5/4 Lyptus from them. But I knew Hogan (Brazos) carried it (and I hear Fine Lumber now carries it) if I need more after the sale is over.
One of the importers of ipe, the Brazilian ironwood, is located in Austin. Everwood Decking Partners, just east of Austin, is a good source of this wood and it's close Brazilian relatives.
My other web site, www.solowoodworker.com, includes a page on "how to buy hardwood" that you may find useful.
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