Buying Hardwood Locally For Diy Joinery

[Hippogriff 10]

For any amateur joiners out there... people who like making knick-knacks and boxes and furniture and suchlike... where could you recommend going to see and buy your wood? What I specifically want is some Beech PAR... I doubt I can wander down to Wickes for that, it's mostly pine there I think... but the online places which allow you to specify your size seem to add massive premiums for what they call small orders - like one site added a "Small Order Charge: 115.99" to an order of a few metres of Beech PAR costing around £34. 😀

 

I found another site with more reasonable prices and delivery of £10... but they don't do the thickness I want (need) for my rabbet router bit to work with... 13mm / half-an-inch... they come in at a standard 19mm and I do not have a thicknesser (yet).

 

As I'm only just starting-out with working any hardwood, where would be a good place to buy (as and when Lockdown restrictions permit, of course)?

[nikki-red 307]

I’ve bought quite a bit of wood from Richardsons DIY at Firth Park. They have a wood workshop out the back.

I have no idea if they’d sell what you’re looking for but it might be worth giving them a ring?

[rudds1 102]

Timber specialist on herries road might do what’s needed 

[Hippogriff 10]

1 hour ago, glitterballs said:

Don't know if these are still open https://www.sheffieldtimber.co.uk/

They are, but only have thick sawn boards... not PAR.

[ianparkin 11]

You really wont get par hardwoods in sheffield anywhere off the shelf

and many specialists wont have par in any species

get a planer thicknesser and do your own from rough sawn

depending on what you want i have a small  stock of hardwoods that may suit you

[tinfoilhat 11]

Allen and Orr in chesterfield would be worth a ring.

[Hippogriff 10]

1 hour ago, ianparkin said:

get a planer thicknesser and do your own from rough sawn

Possibly. I was looking at a well-reviewed Triton model (TPT125) that came in at a reasonable price... but everywhere seemed to be out of stock of it. It's quite an investment when you don't really know what you're buying... most of my other gear is Makita, but a Makita thicknesser is mega-money.

 

I'm looking for lengths of 13mm thick, 170mm wide beech... not because I'm fussy... because my road is full of beech trees, and also carries that name, so it had meaning.

 

On this occasion I may need to bite the bullet and purchase some 19mm thick, 170mm wide 2,100mm lengths of beech online (£33 each)... I have no bandsaw (or thicknesser) to thin them down, so what I make will be extra sturdy. 😲

10 minutes ago, tinfoilhat said:

Allen and Orr in chesterfield would be worth a ring.

Engaged, but dropped them an email from their Contact Us page... their stock list on the site implies not, but you never know.

[Hippogriff 10]

18 hours ago, tinfoilhat said:

Allen and Orr in chesterfield would be worth a ring.

They told me they have oak, tulip and sapele.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Hippogriff
sale changed to sapele

[peak4 261]

Arnold Laver might be worth a try.
I've bought oak off then, and they did have other woods in stock at the time, though nothing like the range they used to carry.
Their website claims Beech is available, but I guess may only be to order.

[Hippogriff 10]

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered 2.4m of 19mm thick beech PAR from a website... total cost is £35, £10 of that being delivery... it's not what I really wanted, but I can't complain as I hope that it'll allow me to make some progress with my little project - I'll need to get a better strategy for the future. Dunno what the lead time will be... probably some time in 2022. 😉 Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

I would really have preferred to go somewhere and see and select the wood I'm buying... now I can get whatever... hoping it's not cupped or bent out of shape or damaged in transit.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Hippogriff

[Janus 28]

Is that just one length of 2.4 ×19mm  for a total price of £45?

 

When I enquired at my local diy for a small amount of hardwood, they didn't sell it. They sell just about everything else. There is probably very little demand due to the price.

[melv 16]

Have a look at antique furniture auction sites. The couple I've been to sold some lovely tables, wall units and wardrobes for next to nothing.