I’m building a sideboard.
For the legs I need 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ x 30″ walnut or hickory. I live in Boston, and none of the suppliers around here carry it.
I’ve spent a little time on EBay, with no luck so far.
Any suggestions on sources is appreciated.
Dorsett
Replies
Have you tried Downes and Reader in Stoughton? Highland Hardwood in Brentwood NH (near exeter) should have what you need as well.
SMS,Thanks. I'll try D&R and Highland as well.Dorsett
Did you already try Anderson & McQuaid in Cambridge. They probably have the largest inventory out of any one in MA. There's also NE Hardwood Supply out in Littleton (45 min driver out Rt2) and The Woodery in Lunenberg MA (1 1/2 hr out Rt 2).
Originally from central MA (now live in JP) so the two out that way were my usual suppliers. Other than that, I know some local sawyers out that way, though I doubt they would have anything that size precut. You'd either have to wait 4 yrs for air drying or pay to have them kiln dried. Email me if you want me to check with them.
Jimmy W.
Jimmy,Thanks for the information. Anderson & McQuaid is my regular supplier. They can special order it, but can not guarantee delivery time or how "wet" it might be. I figured I could do the same or better myself.I have never dealt with NE Hardwood or Woodery, and will call them.Dorsett
I forgot to mention NE is a bit pricey, maybe more than Anderson, but it's been a few years since I've used them. Woodery has decent prices (property is so much cheaper out that way) and a decent inventory but is a pain to find. I looked it up after remembering that fact and it's actually off of 2A at the Lunenburg/Fitchburg line, near the John Fitch Highway. Lemme know if you're going out there, I can give you some landmarks to guide you.BTW, where is you're workspace? In the city? I've been looking for a place to possibly rent a small space from and heard about a few, but wicked pricey. I'd rather drive the hour out to my parents place.
Jimmy W.
Jimmy,Thanks for the info. I'll call the suppliers first, and ping you if I travel up to Littleton and/or New Hampshire.I use the basement of a family house west of the City. I agree that space in the City is tight and too expensive. I'm also affraid of theft.I may have found a private supplier in RI, from Craig's List. D
L. L. Johnson Lumber of Charlotte, Michigan will have it, I would bet on it.
Tom Higby
I Seem to remember a place in Pens. called Geoff&Herns (they advertise in FWW. If you don't mind Claro walnut try http://www.bakerhardwoods.com/index.html they might be able to help.
There are a couple of other people doing walnut in California and Oregon who should be able to help.
Good luck
Troy
Tom Higby is right. L.L. Johnson does carry 3" and 4" select and better walnut. They only carry 2" hickory, but they do have the walnut. You can check their prices (pdf) at theworkbench.com. I buy there all the time , but I live in AA Mich. Their stock is usually the best that I can find.
Terry
One way around that sized stock would be to use the Stickley method to make large stock out of small. Use a 45 degree lock miter bit. If done well it is very difficult to tell the difference and you will have a pretty stable piece.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce,When I started checking some of the website sites suggested by others, and looked at the price of 3x3 walnut ($12-13 b/f) I started thinking about gluing smaller pieces together.Where can I learn more about the Stickley method. Like a lot of woodworking solutions there are many different ways to accomplish the same result. I'm interested to learn more.Thanks.Dorsett
The 45 degree lock miter bit can be obtained from http://www.eagleamerica.com Part number 192-2815 or 192-4405. No need for the set-up blocks, just follow the instructions. It can be a tricky bit to set up, but once mastered it is a great bit to use. You will be able to use 3/4" stock and with a little care and selective lumber picking be able to match up grain patterns. Basically the bit is a 45 degree chamfer bit that has a self cutting spline in it so it is very easily glued up and self locking. Not to be done free handed, You must use a router table.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Dorsett,
Not sure if you need the paid subscription in here but: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/fwnpdf/011121054.pdf I think this is what you are looking for.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/5/2008 11:39 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Here is another idea for you.
Take an 8/4 board and fold it in half, along the length of the board, and bookmatch the rip line. The joint will be invisible on three sides and almost invisible on the 4th. I recently did it on a cypress bench and you would never know the joint was there.
Please let me know if you need a better description of the process.
Edited 2/6/2008 7:26 pm ET by Tbagn
Tbagn,Do you have pictures of your cypress project?Dorsett
Okay, I posted the full-size pics so you can see the detail of the legs (rather than shrinking the file size). This is all M&T joinery with dove tailed drawers - assembled with TB3 and West Systems Epoxy. It was intended to be outdoors... but I finished it in the fall so it made its way inside.
Tbagn,Thanks for the pics. Nice work. Detail is very good. Cypress is on my list of woods to work with. The grain, in finished form, looks great.Dorsett
Thanks for the feedback. I got the wood for next-to nothing and i have about 130 bf left over. I plan on making a smaller bench in the spring that has a copper sink. SWMBO loves to garden so it will be a great gift for her... Besides, she is letting me get a SawStop for my BD in March!
Good luck on your project!
I was going to recommend that also. It works well on straight legs. radical taper or cab legs, not so well. It almost eliminates the chances of residual wood forces distorting the leg. Also much cheaper. Another method, same vein, do it (straight leg) with 4/4 mitered and wrapped around cheap square stock 1x ( no lock joint) then mill sides to final needs. Either way gives you the opportunity to have straight grain on all four sides of the leg.
John
Not to take anything away from the locking miter bits but you can do a nice glue-up buy doing miter joints and using tape to hold it together while you glue it up. I think they covered this method in one of the back issues of Fine woodworking. I used this to do some 4x4 stair newel posts.
Troy
Hello. Check with Treedivision in the classifieds. He lives back East and I believe he has what you are looking for. I've been talking with him about some pics of the Hickory as well.
http://forums.taunton.com/fw-classifieds/messages?msg=2069.3
Brian
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