Lumber suppliers

[John Allen]

Recently needed to order some extra lime wood for my HMS Victory Mamoli 1/90. Most suppliers would not cut to a specific length, or charged extra or shipping was to expensive. Searched this site for suppliers contacted some but was disenchanted for 1 reson or the other.

 

Found a Wayne Cantin located in South Carolina, he responded quickly, custom cutting no problem from 24" to 48" price & shipping was excellent.

 

Can contact him at tallships3@aol.com

 

He may have been mentioned as a supplier in one of the MSP forums but did not see him during my search.

 

John Allen

[John Allen]

I did contact Jeff and he did respond right away, and the feeling I got is that he is a very reputable dealer, but for my needs I needed a length over the 24", he said he could provide more strips to make up the difference, but I needed a specific length. His prices were good and I would have no problem from ordering from him in the future.

 

Thanks any advice to assist in navigating reputable businesses and suppliers is appreciated. There are enough people that promise everthing then like the song "take the money and run".

 

John

[Chuck Seiler]

John,

 

I am having trouble seeing why you would need any piece of wood over 24 inches when dealing with 1/90 scale. If my calculations are correct, that is 180 scale feet.

[John Allen]

Chuck,

 

Most will be for the Victory, I have another project where I need strips 5" to 5 I/16 it seemed easier to me to get the 30's and do the final cut. I would have less waste and would not have to pay extra for a special order.

 

Should have explained that in my original post, so not to confuse anyone or cause any discombobulation.

 

Thank you for your comment any advice is appreciated.

 

John

[Chuck Seiler]

John,

 

    If I understand you correctly, you want to get strip wood 24", 30", whatever, and then cut them into individual smaller planks around 5" or so.  Is that right?  Obviously the final length of the plank will be dictated by the bulkhead or frame location, but at least 1 plank per strake will probably be shorter than your ideal plank length.  This will be due to:

 

1.  Not every strake will be an even multiple of your ideal plank length.

 

2.  Staggering of butt joints will result in a short plank in the bow, or stern, or both.

 

Chuck

[John Allen]

Chuck,

 

Again thank you for your advice, I appreciate your input, you obviously having a wealth of knowledge in the construction of ships since you are a scratch builder. I doubt I will attain the experience to rise above the model kit.

 

That being said I have a plan and purpose for the way I ordered the wood, and what it will be used for.

 

Thanks for your input, again any advice is appreciated.

 

John

[Chuck Seiler]

John,

   

    It's a small step from kit building to kit bashing and just a little stroll from there to scratch building.  You may not be ready to scratch build another VICTORY in a few years, but perhaps a schooner.  Some day the scratch bug will get ya.  I couldn't do it without my trusty Byrnes Saw, but other than that, my  exotic equipment include a dremel and an exacto knife.

 

    I look forward to your build log.

 

Chuck 

[Walter Biles]

John,

 

I recently found National Balsa, Ph#(413) 277-8500.

His (Eric) address is 60 East Street, Suite C, Ware, MA 01082.

 

Their online address is www.nationalbalsa.com . I believe it is a mom and pop business, and they have an office there. They will cut any of the woods that they can get access to, to 12" to 48" length, and up to 12" width. Special orders are possible. They also do strips, I believe. I ordered 7 lbs of basswood from them on the 29th of April, and got it about the 10th of May. Their shipping on the 7 lbs. in a 4"x4"x36" box was only $9.99 for UPS Ground. The whole cost came to $60+ including shipping. That was 25 sheets of 4"x36" in 1/8" and 1/16". For the quantity that I got, I thought it was a good price. They sent me a list of other woods that they handle, but I lost the list. They are on Eastern Time zone, USA

Edited June 21, 2013 by Walter Biles

[Pete38]

Here is the link to National Balsa

 

http://www.nationalbalsa.com/

[Walter Biles]

Thank you Pete 38

 

I had dug out the box to find it so I could edit it in.

Walt Biles

[John Allen]

Pete & Walter,

 

Thanks for the info, am saving the above for future reference.

 

John