Ridiculous prices

Your so lucky.

We can't buy chesnut here.

Stopped by the PA Chesnut Society this weekend at the PA Farm Show. They're close to re-breeding an American Chestnut with all of its original characteristics, along with the blight-resistance from the Chinese variety. Apparently there is a surviving American Chestnut that they been using to cross-pollenate right here in Harrisburg. They had a bunch of items made out of chestnut (of course everything is recycled from barn floors), and it really beautiful. Never been to an auction, but I might have to check it out to see if I can get my hands on some of that wood.

But the timber is "superior" to the cheaper stuff in the US....

Seems like at those prices that it would be cost effective to mail-order stock from the states and ship it across the pond. Never looked into it but ...

Wow, just ridiculous. I definitely wouldn't have gotten into woodworking for those prices.

WHAT????? $78 per board foot!!!??? Am I reading/calculating that correctly? Wow! How much is "cheap" wood?

DYB

Since I'm in the States I don't have any real solution, but I'm wondering where you're looking? Surely there are suppliers that will be closer to world market prices that will still sell direct to consumers?

I recall a sign I noted in a shop front window when visiting on business in the Rochester, Kent, area a few years ago --"Joinery for Purpose".

I've moved to learning the fine art of veneering. It was that or give up the hobby.

It's cool, full of finishing surprises, and I'm selling 3 times as many pieces then before. I can make an exotic looking chess board using MDF and rare woods far cheaper than any of the 'real' hardwoods.

Now if only I could afford a darned vacuum press I could really go nuts.

Affording it's easy - its finding the right supplier that's the hard part. Might I ask where you got those quotes ?

Try these prices instead

"foggytown" wrote in news:1105541873.308233.5150 @c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Sounds awfully steep. Where are you buying this stuff from? Have you searched Google for timber merchants...if you're buying from the local home improvement centre, you'll undoubtably be paying more than if it's from a specialist.

BTW, if I'm reading you correct, that 24" x 2.5" x 7' piece of chestnut is 45 board-feet, or ~$4.50/bf, which is extremely cheap.

John

Build your own.

Some ideas:

A. Recycled wood. This site claims to have oak beams for 10 pounds a cubic foot in UK.

I didn't know you had Home Depot in the UK. ;-)

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

In mitigation, this is probably English Brown Oak, which is just about unavailable except as recycled wood. It ain't cheap anywhere.

Still, if those are your only choices, I'd suggest taking up a hobby where the cost of materials is less. Say, silversmithing.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:41:46 -0800, Gino calmly ranted:

Goodonya.

People throw away old refrigerator daily in this small town. Find one of those, strip out the pump and motor, and get thyself over to

Actually it#s "European oak" whatever that is.

FoggyTown

Ooooooooops. That should have been $26/meter and $4/meter. OK, so now we all know I#m not a metric kind of guy! I still think it's expensive even though the retailer is called "Timber World".

FoggyTown

Measure 15 times, cut once.

Joe C.

No, brown oak is always noted as such. There's quite a price premium on it, but there's some around as old flooring and my contacts are still felling it. I've a few boards in my stacks too.

Here's an example of it. No finish on that other than a coat of oil and wax - no colouring at all.