Where to buy wood

[SteveM]

This area of the forum was a great resource for information on where to buy various types of wood. Let's rebuild that information using our collective knowledge and experience. I've given credit in parenthesis to those who have contributed the name of that source.

Sources of milled wood (Australia):
Modellers Shipyard (Shazmira) - A limited selection of sheet and strip stock. They also have kits, tools, and other supplies. Ships internationally.

 

Sources of milled wood (Germany):

Arkowood (TRJ) - A bit on the expensive side, but good for smaller quantities. All major wood varieties, including swiss pear, box, lime.

Massivholzwerkstätten Horschig (Redshirt) - Good assortment of wood, high accuracy and good price.

 

Sources of milled wood (UK):

Hobby's (AntonyUK)

JoTiKa (Marsares)

Cornwall Boat Models (Marsares)

The Model Dockyard (Marsares)

 

 

Sources of milled wood (USA):
Ocooch - Good source for milled sheetwood of all species but no Boxwood, swiss pear or holly.

Syren - sheets and strips of milled Boxwood, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Swiss Pear.

Itasca - Mainly a source for basswood. Their "Half Price" wood is still of good quality and excellent value. $20 minimum order size. 20% military discount.
National Balsa - Another source for basswood, Maple, Cheerry. More expensive than Itasca, but they have a greater range of sizes and have lots of dowels.

tallships_model_builder (themadchemist) - An eBay store with several items targeted towards model ship builders (eg. Deck planking and sheet wood). May be willing to cut custom sizes for you.

http://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/shop/index.php?PHPSESSID=fbf4aea8bc5623641aa53ab405ec4c6a - Northeastern Scale Lumber

 

I'm adding my list of US suppliers of lumber.  Given the market they may or may not have the wood you want.  IF they do have it, order it, don't wait as they will run out.  

All Righteous Woods

Bod Nosen

Colonial Hardwoods, Inc.

CookWoods

Dyes

Exotic Wood, Birdseye Maple, Curly Maple & Tiger Maple Bell Forest Products

Gilmer Wood Company

Griffin Exotic Wood--High Quality Exotic Woods

Groffslumberr

hearnehardwoods.com-

Inlay Banding, Ebony and Holly Wood Products

Kettle Moraine Hardwoods, Inc., Hartford, WI

Midwest Products

National Balsa Wood Co- Balsa wood, Basswood, Mahogany, Architectural Models, Model RC Aircraft, Savox Servos

Ocooch Hardwoods - Supplier of Thin Wood for Scroll Sawing, Carving Blocks, Intarsia wood, Plywood for scroll sawing, and more.

Rare and Exotic Lumber in Maine - Rare Woods USA

Rare Woods USA

Rockler.com

S.H. Goode & Sons Workshop

Specialty Wood Exotic Lumber Exotic Woods - Keim Lumber

The Wood Database

Tropical Exotic Hardwoods

Welcome to the World of Hardwoods

Wood Project Source - milled wood sheets and strips and wood carving blocks

woodcraft.com-

Woodfinder® Marketplace

Woodworkers Source for Imported, Rare, Specialty, Exotic Woo

 

 

Sources of rough lumber (Australia):
Trend Timbers (1492) - Local, imported and exotic timbers.
Anagote Timbers (Jim Lad) - Local and imported timbers. Named after a pet goat called Anna.
Australian Furniture Timbers (BANYAN) - A wide selection of timbers. Avilable in 1 meter lengths.

 

Sources of rough lumber (UK):

Workshop Heaven (AntonyUK) - Various sized chunks of exotic wood

Yandles (Kevin)

 

Sources of rough lumber (Spain)

Maderas Barber (ymperivm)

Sources of rough/billets lumber (USA):
Gilmer Wood Company - Mainly Exotic wood and much of it highly figured. The main species of interest for ship modelers will be boxwood, ebony, and holly. $100 USD minimum order for Internet purchases, no minimum for walk-in purchases. Ships internationally.
Cookwoods (mtaylor) - Exotic hardwoods. Ships internationally.
Righteous Woods (davec) - Domestic, imported and exotic timbers. $100 USD minimum order for Internet purchases. Ships internationally.
Tallgrass Custom Wood Productsfff382 (Thairinker) - Domestic hardwoods. Located in Kansas, does not appear to offer shipping.
Woodworkers Source (Sephirem) - Domestic and imported. Lumber is organized based on geographic region that it comes from.

Rare Woods USA (ChrisLBren) - Ships to Continental USA only for online orders, but is free for orders >$100 with conditions.

Sources of rough lumber (global):
A local hardwood store - Usually a great place to buy domestic wood and some exotics. I have seen ebony and purpleheart at Woodcraft.
A local hardwood flooring store (muzzleloader) - Mahogany, maple, cherry and other hard woods. Inquire about sales of remnants at bargain prices.


A note on Gilmer:
This is a local business for me so I am fortunate that I can visit. If you've purchased milled Castello Boxwood for your model then it probably came from here. They told me that they don't have a source for this wood anymore, but in addition to the large stack of wood towering over me they also had a bunch more in another warehouse. The Castello Boxwood starts out as rough 8/4 (2" thick) boards around 6" wide and 7' long. When the stock on their website gets low they pull down a board, clean it up in a planer, spray with shellac to bring out the color, then seal the ends with wax. They told me if I was to buy a board off the top of the stack it would be $30 a board foot (1"x12"x12") but that if I wanted to dig through the stack they'd up the price to $35 per board foot. Indeed, the chunks on their website were about $35 a board foot when I last ran the numbers. Ebony is tricky stuff as it all looks the same in pictures so ask them to select a board with straight grain, if you tell them it is for a ship model they will understand what you need. When I was there last they showed me how to hold the ebony to the light to check the grain for straightness. Also don't be too concerned if the description of Castello Boxwood on the website is "figured" as that is what they listed my piece of wood as and it was actually fairly straight. Not all wood can be sold to customers outside of the USA because of laws to protect endangered species.

[muzzleloader]

Steve

Another source of wood, if you have the tools is a flooring store. My local Lumber Liquidator sells their leftovers and scrap every year. You can get mahogany, maple, cherry and other hard woods. Usually comes to a couple of dollors a board foot. Inconsistant but you can find some really good stuff.

 

Mark

[mtaylor]

Here's another for rough cut planks https://www.cookwoods.com/lumber-site/    You'll have to check them out regularly as the post "specials" and also their inventory changes regularly.

[SteveM]

Thanks Marks. I hope you don't mind, but I've added your contributions to the first post with proper credit.

 

I've also update with other important info such as if they ship internationally, minimum order sizes, military discounts, etc. I welcome any corrections or additions in this area as well.

[Shazmira]

 

I actually discovered Modelers Shipyard www.modelshipyard.com.au/timbers/

Hobby Mill here in the US was shut down for their winter holiday so I need
to get my wood from somewhere else. I found the people at the Shipyard
extremely helpful, and they have a wide variety of wood in stock in varying
lengths and thicknesses.

They do ship internationally as well, you will pay an extra $30 USD for the
shipping, but for me, I chose to do that rather than wait until mid March to
begin my build.

 

[davec]

When I lived in Boston, I used to buy wood at

 

http://www.righteouswoods.com/woodmenu.html

 

They were great.  They regularly had Swiss Pear, Holly, Cherry, and Ebony lumber and slabs, and intermittently had European boxwood half logs.  The quality was great, you could pick the wood out, and there wasn't a minimum order.  I have only bought at their shop, and haven't tried ordering.

 

Dave

[Thairinker]

I'm new to the forum and model ship building. I just happen to live down the road from "Tallgrass Custom Wood Products". He is just getting started as well and was great to work with in selecting any native Kansas wood. I look forward to working with Kevin Church for a long time to come. His email is email removed by moderator to prevent spamming.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Anja
if you want to share telephone numbers or email addresses, please send a personal message. Non-members can read this as well.

[sephirem]

Nice selections to choose from here. I do alot of wood working and some of these will come in hand.

 

One source I use is http://www.woodworkerssource.com/index.php

[SteveM]

The MSD has an article that covers the more common woods and their uses.

 

 

Walnut :
Common Name(s): American Black Walnut.

 

Botanical Name :
Juglans nigra

 

Colour :
Fairly even dark brown.

 

Description :
A very nice wood for working with hand or power tools, although its coarse, open grain make its modelling applications limited. Bends easily when steamed or heated. Sands to an excellent finish. Cuts and carves exceptionally well, but usually can't obtain fine detail. Very stable and will not shrink or expand once in use. For its weight, Walnut is exceptionally strong.

Use:
Frames, keels, decorative planking and mouldings. Well suited for hull timbering and framing.

Edited February 24, 2013 by SteveM

[TRJ]

For Germany there is Arkowood. Bit on the expensive side, but good for smaller quantities. All major wood varieties, including swiss pear, box, lime.

 

http://www.arkowood-shop.de/

 

Maybe a suggestion to include in the top post..

 

They also have a French portal

 

http://www.arkowoodfrance.de/html/body_les_bois_de_arkowoodfrance.html

 

But perhaps our friends from the Arsenal have oher suggestions.

 

Best regards,

 

Tjeerd

Edited February 25, 2013 by TRJ

[SteveM]

Thanks, I've added to the list above.

[Kevin]

hopefully not of topic to much, but i am possibly going down the semi kit route next build, is there a site that does timber kits - like lumberyard in the UK

[mtaylor]

Kevin,

 

Over here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1520-timber-help-for-a-newcomer/   Cornwall was mentioned:  http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/timber.html   I don't know if they do bespoke timber or not.

[Modeler12]

Having said the above about Hobby Mill, let me add another source for rough lumber to the list that was started.

http://macbeath.com/information/contact/contact.html

 

MacBeath is a large retailer in all sorts of wood and has locations in a few spots in the US. Check out the heading 'products/exotics'.

 

I have been to the store in Berkeley a couple times to buy wood for my furniture projects. But what I like is that they have a 'scrap bin' with all sorts of leftovers that is sold by the pound. I have some bloodwood, ebony and others. I don't know if other stores have the same thing. But you might contact the above if you want to find out more.

[JPett]

Ahoy Mates

 

There are also some chain stores that do carry a very nice selection of wood. "Rockler" being my favorite

 

http://woodworking.rockler.com/c/wood-products

[Modeler12]

Yes, Rockler does carry a lot of items. Most are intended for folks like us who like to 'hobby around'.

 

I have bought several things from Rockler in the past, but afterwards found that in general I could do better by going on line with other places (McFeely's for one) or simply go to my local hardware store. The selection of wood 'samples' from Rockler may seem good, but it is not the kind I would consider useful for ship modeling.
Am I stepping out of bounds on this one??

 

BTW another place (a bit expensive but with very good quality stuff) is Woodcraft http://www.woodcraft.com/search2/search.aspx?query=exotic%20wood

 

Sorry, perhaps a better site is http://www.woodcraft.com/category/1001038/wood-products.aspx

Edited May 9, 2013 by Modeler12

[JPett]

Ahoy Jay

 

Go back and look at their veneers. They stock ebony. They also, although not on subject have a great selection of tools

 

As for pricing, if you choose not to support your local brick and mortar they will just say good bye. I buy online but always support the locals, even if it cost me a little more. This does not include Walmart. Sorry

[Modeler12]

Woodcraft has a store about four blocks from where I live. I consider that local, don't you? 

Now ebony is not exactly local.

Again, Rockler carries a lot of things and I have their brochure near by and have ordered from them in the past. But I prefer others if I can. Just a personal thing because of one bad experience that has nothing to do with this discussion.

[JPett]

 Ahoy Jay

 

My apologizes to you

 

Your post had nothing to do with shopping locally, although my post implied differently,

Sorry; I think I may have combined response symtom. That or it was the beer. Let’s go with the beer ‘lol”

[Modeler12]

No apologies necessary, J.Pett, and I will join you in a beer. The last time I was in Texas, though, we were in a 'dry county' and beer could only be bought at a 'coke machine' with special coins at the 'country club'. But I am sure you know the routine.

 

I had a look at the 'ebony veneer' at Rocklin and indeed it was called 'Mexican ebony' but really was Katalox, which is a dark brown wood much like the stain I use to 'tar' ropes. Interesting.

[davyboy]

For members who live this side of the Atlantic  found this supplier on one of the German forums. 

    

                        www.modellbau-holzleisten.de

 

There are several suppliers on the first google page,the one you want is Massiveholzwerkstätten Horschig.

He has a very good selection, eg 5mm x 100mm x 1000mm Birnbaum (pearwood) & Nussbaum (walnut)

plus others at 7 Euros per plank. Well worth a look IMO.

 

Dave

[robboxxx]

A lot of scratchbuilders use beechwood and it is their prefered wood. Tip: good wooden toys are made from beechwood look around in a toy store if they have any wooden toys on sale.

 

A good source for this wood is all around you. Just ask family or friends who have growing up childern if they stil have their wooden blocks & sticks. Good chance they lay around in the attic or so.

[Timothy Wood]

This is a very good place to buy wood for people close to the Hampton Roads area, (South East Virginia and North East North Carolina).  They have a extensive selection including exotics.  http://www.yukonlumber.com

 

Cheers,

Tim

[grsjax]

I took a chance and bought some lumber off of eBay.  Lucked out and was very satisfied with the result.  The seller was "Curlyloggerfrancis".  He cuts wood from salvage trees and his inventory depends on what he can get this way.  I purchased maple, walnut and cherry from him and was very pleased with what I got.  Nice people to deal with and they sell a quality product.

[the learner]

Anouther good source for woods in southern CA North OC is  http://www.eisenbrandhardwoods.com/   or    http://eisenbrandhardwoods.com/index.php?cPath=37 for most ship building woods in large quanitied  ie: boards. I think that they may have moved their location and the webpage is new and still in progess of being constructed but there is a listed phone number that will put you in to contact with the owner

[flying_dutchman2]

WOW, great links, thank you all.

Marc

[HIPEXEC]

I have found wood in the strangest places. Even Ace Hardware. Most hobby stores have some variety. The trouble comes when you need millimeter stuff and only find inches. Good luck

[mtaylor]

I'm tossing this one out.  It may not help anyone outside the States but I've spent some time on it testing it and it seems to do what it's advertised to do... find a supplier(s) for a given species of wood.   Do note that the hobby type operations, Micromark, Model Expo, The Lumberyard, etc.  are NOT part of this.  But it will lead you places you can get billets and even milling.

 

http://www.woodfinder.com/

[Mike Y]

Does anybody know where to buy Holly in EU/UK? Or it might be sold under different name?

It is also hard to google it, because all search engines are sure that I just did a typo in a word "Hollywood". Facepalm! 

Edited November 4, 2014 by Mike Y

[mikeaidanh]

Mike,

 

Using Holly (Ilex) a a search Ebay came up with Holly blocks.

 

Mikeaidanh.