Timber merchant advice

Martin Bonner · 2006-10-17T08:29:31+00:00

SWMBO has ordered some bookshelves to fill the alcoves next to thefireplaces in the sitting-room/dining-room. We want solid oak shelvesabout 25mm thick by 300mm wide. No problem, I'll just nip down to B&Qand pick up a pack... or perhaps not!I've already spoken to a fairly local timber importer who recommendedbuying the planks as 150mm wide and biscuit jointing them together -seems reasonable. After all, if a job's worth doing, it's worth buyinga new tool for :-). Next problem, the timber importer /just/ importsthe timber. They don't machine it at all. I don't fancy hand planing60m of timber thank-you-very-much, and although I have inherited anelectric planer/thicknesser, it only does about 80mm wide. (I havealso inheritted a table-saw, so cutting to width / length is not aproblem)Does anybody know a timber merchant who can supply planed oak at areasonable price to Cambridge?Alternatively, should I bite the bullet, and make each shelf out offour strips?

Oct 17, 2006 41 Replies

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Guy King 19 years ago

The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

Very true - but even the hardest bit of balsa in my stack isn't as hard as maple or apple.

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Martin Bonner 19 years ago

For anybody researching the subject in future, Ridgeons it was that gave me the best price. Although actually they just subcontracted it to E O Burton from Brentwood.

Cost about 500 UKP for 24 shelves about 900mm x 320mm with a finished thickness of 20mm.

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