Replies

1. 
   notDusty | Apr 09, 2004 06:22am | #1

                    Dustin ,

        Ask your hardwood supplier for what is called Natural Maple . It is the same price range as Poplar , but is Eastern hard Maple . The natural has more color than select white does. It is one of the most beautiful woods I have ever used . A clear finish is awesome on this Maple . In fact take a good look at the material and you very well may decide to go with it for the entire project. You won't be sorry , I have used many board feet of it and have never paid more than $2.00 per bd. ft. compared to close to $5.00 or more  a ft for white Maple .

                                            dusty

2. 
   toolsnob | Apr 09, 2004 06:25am | #2

   Do you want a substitute for maple, or do you want maple only where it will be seen?

   If you want a substitute then birch has a very similar look to maple, you can buy birch plywood for about half the price of maple plywood.

   For parts that wont be seen I'd use poplar. It's free of knots and generally more stable than pine.

   As long as you allow for proper wood movement mixing woods shouldn't cause any problems.

   Mike

3. 
   darbywoods | Apr 09, 2004 04:25pm | #3

   use maple plywood for the carcass and on the show piece use real maple.  someone below said use baltic birch,  I would use it  but I have not seen it over 60" in a cabinet grade. 

   David

   http://www.darbynwoods.com

4. 
   fdampier5 | Apr 10, 2004 07:00pm | #4

   $400 for the wood for a entertainment center?

     you are nuts!

     avoid all of the middle men..   avoid the store with their 25% markup..  avoid the broker with his mark-up..  avoid the guy who does the surfacing and edging and avoid the kiln..

     go direct to a sawmill,  (don't know any? try woodmizer.com  they keep a list of guys with sawmills and are glad to share it with anybody)

        Sure you may buy wood that is green and roughsawn.  but!!!!!   you will pay a fraction of the price.  Right now I could buy white hard maple for a entertainment center for about $50.00 and have enough left over for a number of projects.

     you'll have to dry the wood yourself.  (not very hard and depending on the method you use it could take a month or a year) plus you'll have to plane it and edge it  (that is giant fun!  to have these rough ugly looking planks go into your planer and find some fiddle back in a couple of them or something else very interesting..  run the edges over your jointer and poof!   $400 bucks of wood for $50 (actaully it could be a a lot less since I don't know how much wood you need0

     Fair Warning !!

      getting a great deal on wood does become adictive!   I recently brought home about a 600 bd.ft. of hard maple for $30.00 I don't need it, I don't have the place to store it and I already have a problem with a surplus of wood.  but who can pass up a deal like that? 

         

          

1. 
   Drose | Apr 11, 2004 12:42am | #5

   Frenchy,

   Went to woodmizer.com and clicked on every link they had and came up dry.

   do I need to write for a list, or visit the store in portland (6 or so miles away) or am i just blind from sanding all day and missed the link?

   Dustin

1. 
   fdampier5 | Apr 12, 2004 10:00pm | #8

   Actually what I would do is get their phone number and call them  (it worked for me when I was looking)  I hate not talking to a real human being...

2. 
   fdampier5 | Apr 12, 2004 10:02pm | #9

   Check with your local store for their list of customers, explain what you are trying to do so they understand that you aren't a competitor trying to steal their customers.

2. 
   xxxxxxxx | Apr 12, 2004 05:24am | #6

   Wow! Where do you find 600 bd ft. of Maple for $30?

   -Mike

1. 
   fdampier5 | Apr 12, 2004 09:51pm | #7

   Sawmill's.. 

      What happens is when they are sawing boards not all trees yield boards that result in perfect 4/4 or one inch thick pieces.. since there is no market for odd thickness wood they toss them out, either in the wood chip pile or the slab wood pile..

     I go and take them off their hands for what amounts to slabwood prices.   They currently are sawing cherry and I might get 200 bd.ft. or 500 bd.ft..  should  cost me around 20 bucks or so..

         Thickness varies a lot but I run them thru my planner untill they are either 2/4 of an inch thick, 1/2 inch thick or 3/8th's of an inch thick.   Thin wood like that dries very fast. evan when air dried and I can often use the wood in a month after I get it..   wonderfull for wanescoating,  or paneling..  can be used for drawer sides and bottoms..

        I have plenty of 4/4 wood and 6/4 wood as well as 3,4,6,8,12 inch thick wood  so it's not an issue..