Chicago wood stores

Oct 29, 2003 14 Replies

All (at least most) of us Chicago woodworkers are familiar with Owl Hardwood, but I ran across a wood place recently that I had not seen before. Wood World is located in Chicago on Elston west of Western. I understand they used to have a store in Glenview. I was in the general vicinity today and stopped by to take a look. The appearance is that they're not quite as organized as Owl, but had a pretty decent inventory. A quick scan of their prices on maple, red oak, walnut, and cherry show that they're 10-20% higher than Owl. If anyone's interested, I scanned their price list. You can find it at

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They also had some used equipment for sale, but nothing that knocked my socks off. Example was a Delta DJ-20 with mobile base for $1400. If you can't figure it out, I have nothing to do with Wood World.



todd


"todd" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

There was a wood store somewhere on the south side that was interesting. IIRC it was in the Blue Island or Oak Lawn area. They had a good selection of hard and softwoods and a reasonable selection of Delta and Porter Cable products. Staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgable.

r

Does anybody know the name of this store? And while we're at it, can anybody suggest other stores in the South Chicago/Gary area for woodworking tools?

TIA.

DanD

That would be Paul Bunyan Lumber in Blue Island.

not exactly a woodworking store, but berlands is a great place for power tools.

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woodcraft is way up on I53 and dundee. West of I53, north side of dundee. the biggest piece of purpleheart i've ever seen is there. though, i've never really been shopping for it. Harbor freight is up around there also. East of I53, north side of dundee. Rockler, up on golf and arlington heights road? haven't been to rockler in a while. i've heard of wood world and owl, but haven't had the time to check em out yet.

What lumber yards to people recommend? in skokie you got crafty beaver on oakton and skokie blvd. not a great pick. i saw one on lawrence, can't remember the name. somewhere in between cicero and pulaski? drive by, don't remember where exactly.

thanks for the scan, I dont know why i would want to pay higher pricers for lumber. on the other hand. I did buy some cherry at the glenview store a while ago and the wood was of a better figure than what they have at owl. Owl could lower their prices if they sold lumber that wasnt 2s2. I am looking for rough cut lumber. any of guys have a source?

thanks Leo

The Blue Island Store is closed

Try the Kirkland Sawmill, 606 W Main St in Kirkland, IL., 815-522-6150. It's a bit northwest of DeKalb. Not real close to Chicago, but the price difference between the sawmill and Owl is worth the trip. By the way, no credit cards IIRC.

I have been to this store. Its very well organized and has a wonfderful inventory. Its well worth the long drive for me. But, I do wish there was something in the south suburbs.

Ms Leslie Gossett

The Hardwood Connection Contact: Kenneth Burtch Address: 1810 West State Street Sycamore, IL 60178 Phone: 815-895-8733 Fax: 815-899-8733 E-Mail: snipped-for-privacy@AOL.com

While googling for more info on Kirkland Sawmill, I ran across this link from the Illinois Department of Natural resources.

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It's a list of sawmills in Illinois.

todd

None of the stores mentioned in the previous posts (at least not most of them) showed up on the list...

Just for back from owl, and must say, the staff seemed friendly enough to a newb wwer...

is there a chicago area wwers guild or such?

irax.

todd wrote:

That's because I posted a list of sawmills, not retail wood outlets. There are woodworking clubs in the area depending on where you're located.

todd

Berland's is great! One of the largest selection of tools for all types of work that I know in the Chicagoland area. I can't go there too often. It makes my eyes wate. And my wife keeps reminding me about the charge card bills.

Gary Dyrkacz snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+

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