I was mildly and pleasantly surprised recently to see that Home Depot was selling untreated 4X4, 8 ft in Doug fir. I haven't seen ANY Douglas fir at HD in many years. This is in Baltimore Md (East coast USA)
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I make 'em. I got a stack of 'em, 4x4, 4x6 too, in ash, cherry, maple, pine, and maybe one or two other species. It's what's left over when you saw out a log to grade and the heart is left.
Of course, you also have to have a sawmill, too....
Jon E
yep.. I see redwood and fir 4x4's at the borgs all the time here on the west coast.. I used 2x6's on my bench and it seems to work fine... some are doubles and bolted, though..
mac
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But here in the midwest there's redwood and fir...some untreated southern yellow pine.
Can you alter the plans and laminate 2x4's? There HAVE to be twobys available...
mac
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I read the whole string and not one person mentioned that 2 2x4's are not dimensionally the same as a 4x4. I suppose that doesn't matter. :-)
I would have 16/4 stock made into 4x4's. There are at least two yards in Houston that will produce 4x4 stock in any specie of wood that are so gorgeous, I'm tempted to display them as art objects. I saw some clear white pine recently that was close to perfect.
Find a real lumber yard.
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I'll bet it was a pretty penny, too... :)
Easy (at least theoretically possible?) in larger markets, no doubt...point of my post was that in rural areas and small markets, it's simply not possible any more... :(
I went into the local (one and only) lumber/supply a while back looking for some fir to match existing work...no one working there on the floor or behind the counter even knew what it was/is...and when I found Jimmy (the 2nd in command) he said it wasn't available to them!!!
It was a pretty price :-(
It probably was about the same as poplar costs at the BORG.
I'm thinking about making blanket chests for two grand daughters and I really would like to use white pine and may just do it. The chests would be here long after I'm dust. (So the cost of the wood could be justified.) Mike Dunbar did a chest in FWW a few years back that I really want to do, wrought iron hinges, milk paint, and square cut nails included.
I know the real yards have been put out of business. I think it's a sad state of affairs. The guy's at Homestead Heritage make work benches from SPF (or what ever the BORG calls it). It's laminated to dimensions that are close to regular sizes. The benches look great and are functional. I made a rocking chair on one of them.
They did an article that was published in Woodwork Magazine last year about making a Joiner's Bench.
I am the OP. The point is, I can get SYP in nothing smaller than 2x8x10'. The only 2x4 stock I can get is SPF trash.
I would love to. We had them when I was a kid. A while back I called a local place that advertised having hardwoods. I asked them if they had any 4/4 white oak and they said "what's that?"
~Pike~
I didn't mean to sound critical. I do sympathize with your situation. I guess I'm blessed to be in an area that has both saw mills and retail yards . There is a yard just 15 minutes that has all sizes of milled dimension lumber in various species. They have no rough lumber (other than western red cedar). There are at least 4 yards in the Houston area that carries rough lumber as well as milled lumber. There are a number of saw mills in the state that will sell retail. Making a one to three hours drive will get me to saw mills that will custom mill a log if I want it.
Are there saw mills in your area?
None that are interested small orders. I remember back about 25 years ago, when there were sawmills all over the place around here. Getting a pickup load of green oak 4/4 for building a shed was no big deal. Now most of the local mills are just piles of rotting sawdust, and the few that remain seem to specialize in making railroad ties.
It doesn't matter. I'm starting to really like SYP.
~Pike~
Pike wrote: ...
I feel your pain...
Got the same response from the local Best Lumber on Doug Fir...
The only hardwood (other than the small stock at the trade school) available locally is the pre-milled glued-up read oak shelf panels at the Ace Hardware for exorbitant pricing and which show no matching for grain, etc....
I've resorted to buying 300-400 bf of any particular type of stock I want for each project simply for the purpose of building up an inventory to have on hand. To do that, of course, requires having a place to store it and the cash available to be able to do so...I'm lucky I now have the roof on the barn intact again so I have dry storage in the loft and so far I've only bought less expensive stuff like some 5/4 soft maple and 4/4 white oak. It means driving 200 mi to Wichita to pick it up as well...
When back in E KS and SW MO next month I'm going to start an extensive search for a small mill...I've a brother in that area that may be able to help and gives me an excuse for going back there...it's 350 mi or so, though. I've been told there are some suppliers in the Denver area, but I've not yet explored too thoroughly....it's 250 mi or so there and don't get that direction very often for other purposes.
Try Northland Forest Products, Inc. in Troy VA which is about 40 miles West of Richmond. 434-589-8213. I have been buying from them for some time. I believe they do ship, but am not sure as I am only 6 miles from them.
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