The quality of lumber

Probably thru the local full-service lumber yard on special order or, if you're in a larger metro area there may well be a "real" hardwoods dealer who'll also handle clear pine and other furniture-grade softwoods. Be prepared for sticker shock, however, in wider dimensions

When doing the barn restoration about 10 yr ago, tried to get some 5/4 for the windows and it was essentially unobtainable at the time--all was being used by Pella, Andersen and friends. Market isn't _quite_ so tight now since the big housing crash...

Your/your wife's experience is certainly not the same as mine, but then I never had a house worth's of lumber delivered.

The 2 lumber yards in my area have never prevented me from going into the yard. In fact, one yard has a storefront where you tell them what you want, they write it up and you drive around the back, get out and walk into the storage area, hand the receipt to the worker and between the two of you, you pick out your boards. If you want something cut, you stand right next to the saw while the guy cuts it.

The wood might be the same, but I have never had to sift through board after board after board, by myself, to get to the good boards. I've never seen the warped, curved and twisted boards that I see at the borgs.

I haven't read all of the posts in this thread, but I know that straight lumber in any size smaller than 2X3 is getting progressively harder and harder to find.

I believe that all lumber is straight as an arrow when it's cut to size. The problem is that it's cut to size before it's fully dried. Wood cell wall shrink in thickness as wood dries, and that's what accounts for the twisting that happens when the straps are cut on a lift of wood and the lumber is allowed to move.

Probably the best solution is the one you chose; buy a larger piece of lumber and have it ripped down to size. But, even that option requires that the lumber you buy is relatively straight to begin with, and that can be a problem with lumber sizes smaller than a 2X3.

You can prove to yourself that the wood is being cut to size when it's still too wet by taking a close look at the 2X12 joists at your local lumber yard.

each and every one of them will be split at both ends for anywhere from

Canada has an "export grade" of lumber that is prepared specially for export to countries like Hong Kong and Singapore that need lumber for construction but don't have forests or a forestry industry. That wood is dried for much longer AND the ends of the lumber is painted with oil based paint before it's cut into 2X12's or whatever. That paint prevents the evaporation of any residual moisture in the wood through the end grain. Consequently, any residual moisture in the wood (above about 16% which is what wood will typically dry to indoors) has to evaporate across the grain of the wood. The result is that the lumber dries evenly all the way along it's length with no faster evaporation of moisture at the ends and hence no splitting at the ends. The longer drying time and the additional preparation make that wood more expensive to produce, but it also sells for much more at it's export destination.

In a perfect world, all lumber would be made like export grade lumber.

That reminds me of my brother John. He was a master carpenter who worked mostly alone and hired casual labor when he needed help lifting something. Any way in the 1960s he spent a year or more building a house up in NE Oklahoma. The owner liked his work so much that he provided housing for him all the time he was building the house. The owner was also a good scrounger. He found a man who was clearing some land and had a saw mill. So he bought almost all the lumber for the house from him. The owner bought a planer a had John finish the lumber. It turned out that most of the wood was oak. By the time John finished the wood he was getting it for about 40 cents a foot. Even then that was an astounding price. When I visited there was an oak plank that was being used as a walkway up to the door of the house. John said a friend of the owners saw that and was really envious about them using what would cost him a relative fortune as a walkway.

Bill

Around here, #3 is bundled up, and sold as kindling wood to the campers.

The red oak at the borg is _way_ overpriced. Usually USD8-15/b.f.

A good lumberyard will have it for USD2-3bf; a mill if you are lucky enough to have one local, will sell for less. Regional variations apply.

Granted the borg oak is S4S and you're more likely to find S2S with one straight edge at a lumber yard, or rough at a mill, it's worth it if you have the tools to surface the boards yourself.

At the time I didn't have the ability to surface the wood or rip it accurately, so I gave them my cut list and they shipped me all the S4S boards I needed. The price was way less than any local lumber yard. I had a problem with one of the 2x6x8's that I needed for a bed rail. Even though it technically fit their specs for % clear, once I explained that the imperfection (a knot) was in a spot that would hamper the construction, they shipped me a new board for free.

I haven't priced hardwoods on line recently, but I wonder if good deals can still be had.

BTW...the design of the bunk beds was such that they could taken apart and reassembled as 2 single beds, with a tall headboard and shorter footboard. My daughter now uses one of the single beds at college, so my plan worked out quite nicely.

On 2/25/2014 9:29 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote: ...

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As one would expect, it's all over the map. There are those who will do as your supplier did (but it won't be cheap any longer) to direct purchase in bulk and all in between. Much now depends on shipping as to how good a deal it is as that has become significant for common materials (oak, walnut, etc., not the exotics such as teak, rosewood, etc. that are pricey).

I think unless buying large quantities if one has a decent hardwoods supplier in town you'll likely do as well or nearly enough so as to make it unworthy of messing online for again the ordinary. If you're looking for a 20" plank, that's something else again. :)

I generally wait until am going to Wichita for something else and plan ahead to take the big truck and will buy 200 to 400-ft of several items to make a full load. I'm fortunate that the barn has room... :)

Oh, the other place to investigate locally is the local HS or community college if they have a woodworking program...

I make a lot if stuff with red oak and the HD S4S is competitive with the local hardwood retailer here or anything I can find online

I assume I could get rough sawn cheaper if I lived somewhere that actually mills it locally but I don't own a surface planer.

On the west coast, where I currently abide, red oak has to be shipped from back east. The HD red-oak is about 4x the price at the local hardwood suppliers (Global, Jackel Enterprises (great prices)). Southern Lumber prices closer to HD, unfortunately. Recently I bought S2S for $3.20/bf (compared with $12/bf at HD).

Last time I was at the mill in Iowa, they told me they shipped most of their clear oak/walnut/cherry to Russia - more $$$ to the mill when compared to selling it domestically.

Now Baker Hardwoods has some really _nice_ claro walnut, and it is priced accordingly.

You need to go to a real lumber store that sells quality, straight, properly milled, lumber. But it won't be cheap. Where I live, if you want good wood you go to Southern Lumber and you pay high prices for good stuff. If you want poor lumber you go to Home Depot. Lowe's is generally better than Home Depot.

You're answering a 4-month-old post. Hopefully the project is done by now.