Small(er) Wood suppliers?

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TheCraftyCarver

TheCraftyCarver

Member
Joined
May 27, 2021
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104
Location
Tennessee
Hey guys, not sure where to post this, but figured this was an ok place since it's for supplies for my shop.

Where are some good, affordable places to get wood that is in the 1/8-1/4" thick range? I'm not picky on width/lengths since I'll be cutting strips out, but I want quality flat cuts for the thickness.

I'm contemplating playing around with making compound blanks for pen and bottle toppers and my little bandsaw isn't up to snuff for quality re-sawing of my 1/4+ thick boards I already have. (I've done ALL the Alex Snodgrass set up tips, but it's only a tabletop saw and even tuned to its best, it still won't resaw super well).

My local woodcraft is not well stocked on 1/8"thick sizes and is super pricy. I know Bell Forest is great, but they are a bit pricy (& the shipping is PAINFUL for the tiny stuff I order- (6) 1/4x1.5x6 blanks set me back $14 in shipping last time🤦🏻‍♀️!), so I'm on the hunt for wood vendors.

I would really like to support smaller, family owned style business instead of the rockler/woodcraft types if/when I can (as long as pricing isn't too much different) and most of the vendor resources here focus on pen blank providers vs wood suppliers. Do you guys have any recommendations? Even small business that sell on amazon/eBay that you like are a good lead(I've been looking but it's hard to know who's good and who's an oversea seller who doesn't care).
Thanks!!
 
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I have plenty of wood .........walnut , maple , cherry , red cedar and a few others that can be resawed and run through my planer for thickness required . I could do a little of that for you. I sell here on IAP mostly pen blanks.Send me a PM if interested .
 
The Rockler close to me often has thin stock in their per lbs box. My guess is that the mill they get it from cuts for luthier supply. Thin stock is normally expensive because of the waste and extra labor to produce it.
 
Gary Beasley said:
If you have a decent table saw a thin rip jig can be quite handy.
www.rockler.com

Rockler Thin Rip Tablesaw Jig

Eliminate the danger of pushing narrow strips between the saw and fence!
www.rockler.com www.rockler.com
Click to expand...
No table saw yet… but I hear my FIL is looking to rehome his extra one (we just need to get it from Texas to TN! Lol!) but I'll keep this in mind. One day my baby grizzly bandsaw will get a bigger upgrade, but until then I only resaw down to 1/2.
 
PatrickR said:
The Rockler close to me often has thin stock in their per lbs box. My guess is that the mill they get it from cuts for luthier supply. Thin stock is normally expensive because of the waste and extra labor to produce it.
Click to expand...
I currently get a lot of my thin stock from my woodcraft "by the Lb" bin (we don't have a rockler nearby). It's mostly Purple Heart & maple with an occasional black palm or walnut, but it's rare. It's also inconsistent (in thicknesses & availability), so I have to dig around a lot.
 
wood128 said:
I have plenty of wood .........walnut , maple , cherry , red cedar and a few others that can be resawed and run through my planer for thickness required . I could do a little of that for you. I sell here on IAP mostly pen blanks.Send me a PM if interested .
Click to expand...
Thanks! I'll keep you in mind for sure! Love being able to support someone else's shop when I can ☺️
 
GREEN VALLEY WOOD PRODUCTS, LLC (goes by monitorseller on ebay) has a pretty good variety of thin stock, and I would say reasonable shipping/prices (shipping is baked-in and 'free').

Thin dimensioned lumber prices are pretty insane IMHO, getting a decent jobsite table saw will save you loads of money in the long-run.

www.ebay.com

12 BEAUTIFUL THIN KILN DRIED SANDED SUPER ASSORTMENT 12" X 3" X 1/4" LUMBER WOOD | eBay

We deal mainly in oak, maple, cherry, walnut, sycamore, sassafras, hickory, and poplar. Excellent clean and clear 1/4" thick pieces for use in many woodworking projects. See photos. Custom sizes also available.
www.ebay.com

search for 1/4 and 1/8. Not exactly easy to navigate, but they do have a lot of variety. Packs are probably the way to go.

www.gvwp.net

Wood | Green Valley Wood Products | Indiana

Green Valley Wood Products is one of the nations largest suppliers of hobby related wood. Bowl blanks, turning stock, thin lumber, figured lumber, green and kiln dried, burls, ambrosia.
www.gvwp.net www.gvwp.net
 
TheCraftyCarver said:
No table saw yet… but I hear my FIL is looking to rehome his extra one (we just need to get it from Texas to TN! Lol!) but I'll keep this in mind. One day my baby grizzly bandsaw will get a bigger upgrade, but until then I only resaw down to 1/2.
Click to expand...
Ocooch Hardwoods @ www.ocoochhardwoods.com They have thin stock as well as thicker material .The service is fast and reliable .
 
Cookswood has a selection of micro-lumber (pieces with thickness less than 1/2"), with free shipping for orders over $75 (sometimes less than that with special promotions). What I like about them is most pieces are pictured so you can pick what you are buying.
www.cookwoods.com

Micro Lumber

Fine exotic woods, domestic woods and rare hardwoods are our specialty! Wide selection of exotic wood at great prices. Our customer service is exceptional.
www.cookwoods.com
 
Gary Beasley said:
If you have a decent table saw a thin rip jig can be quite handy.
https://www.rockler.com/thin-rip-tablesaw-jig
Click to expand...
That Rockler thin rip jig has one limitation. It won't reach all the way to the blade on some jobsite table saws. I have seen the problem on Bosch and SawStop jobsite table saws, but it may apply to other jobsite table saws. On those saws, the Rockler thin rip jig comes up short about 3/8 to 1/2 inch, making it a "thick rip" jig for those saws. It fits fine on most other saws.

Before you buy a Rockler thin rip jig, measure from the blade side edge of the miter slot to the closest side of the blade on your table saw. If the distance is greater than 5-5/8 inches (5.625 inches = ~143 mm), then the Rockler thin rip jig won't reach all the way to the blade.

(It begs the question, "Why is the miter slot to blade distance on jobsite table saws greater than the same distance on contractor and cabinet saws?)

If the Rockler jig won't fit, you can buy other thin rip jigs, or most people make their own. There are so many great ways to make a thin rip jig. Some are as simple as clamping a board with a point at the end. Others are fancier with bearings and wheels. I wish I had made one and saved the money from the Rockler one, but I am happy with the Rockler one now that it fits my current table saw.
 
I dislike paying the high prices of perfectly dimensioned thin boards. All too often, thin dimensioned boards cup, bow, twist, and warp before they are used. I prefer to make my own thin boards from larger stock. I have tools that @TheCraftyCarver does not own, but sometimes it is easier to resort to simple, crude methods to make things work. Like everyone, sometimes my resawn boards do not come out perfectly, and sometimes the best way to fix them is with a hand sanding block and a little patience. Yeah, I have a planer, but sometimes planing very thin boards is problematic, even with a good sled.

TheCraftyCorner has a bandsaw that isn't perfect, and all bandsaws leave blade marks that need cleanup. What other tools and capabilities does TheCraftyCorner have now that might help?

I wonder whether we can help TheCraftyCorner make the boards she wants without investing in large power tools. I have used old-fashioned sanding blocks, hand planes, and random orbital sanders (and sometimes a belt sander) to flatten thin boards.

I wonder whether any of these simple methods would work for her, so she can get what she needs from locally sourced wood that she cuts to fit her needs, rather than paying high thin stock prices and shipping costs?
 
penicillin said:
I dislike paying the high prices of perfectly dimensioned thin boards. All too often, thin dimensioned boards cup, bow, twist, and warp before they are used. I prefer to make my own thin boards from larger stock. I have tools that @TheCraftyCarver does not own, but sometimes it is easier to resort to simple, crude methods to make things work. Like everyone, sometimes my resawn boards do not come out perfectly, and sometimes the best way to fix them is with a hand sanding block and a little patience. Yeah, I have a planer, but sometimes planing very thin boards is problematic, even with a good sled.

TheCraftyCorner has a bandsaw that isn't perfect, and all bandsaws leave blade marks that need cleanup. What other tools and capabilities does TheCraftyCorner have now that might help?

I wonder whether we can help TheCraftyCorner make the boards she wants without investing in large power tools. I have used old-fashioned sanding blocks, hand planes, and random orbital sanders (and sometimes a belt sander) to flatten thin boards.

I wonder whether any of these simple methods would work for her, so she can get what she needs from locally sourced wood that she cuts to fit her needs, rather than paying high thin stock prices and shipping costs?
Click to expand...
My tool collection is modest, it's so far what I need for playing around and this is what I have collected since December when I decided to jump into woodworking.

Cutting: grizzly bench top band saw that likes to wander no mater what I try, using the magnetic fence it came with has been a joke. A scroll saw from harbor freight (that hasnt been used since the bandsaw arrived) with assorted blades.

Sanding: a 1inch wide belt bench top sander. A random orbital sander and a vast selection of sheets of sand paper in many grits (from 80 up to 600). I also use a large kitchen floor tile if I need to "flat sand" something that I tape a sheet of sandpaper to. I don't do that often but it works on smaller projects.

Other: mini drill press with 2 inch travel, my lathe, a dual wheel bench grinder on a stand that I've converted to a soft buffing set up, and assorted hand tools like chisels, mallets, drill bits, a dremmel with lots of accessories, Shop vacs and a pancake air compressor I havnt pulled out of the box yet; though none of those help with resaw.

I'm thinking my next "most useful" tool will be one of those sander combos from harbor freight that has a large flat belt & a mini disk sander combo. I can sand things flat instead of trying to do it by hand on a piece of tile with sandpaper, and who doesn't love a disk sander? I might get a hand me down table saw from my FIL in the next year when they come visit and my husband wants to get a miter saw soon to make cutting up 2x4 easier (I refuse to use a circular saw and just cut all my 2x4 projects on my bandsaw for now but he doesn't feel confident doing that).

I'd like a bigger bandsaw one day, but I just got this one for Christmas (& it was an upgrade from the scroll saw I bought in late November) so I don't see that happening too soon. So, as you can see, my ability to resaw well is a bit limited, and I hack it as best I can, but I like accuracy/consistency but that isn't really something my current set up allows. Even a small planer would be overkill for most of my projects.
Any advice on using what I have to achieve better results are appreciated ☺️
 
Disc/belt sander combos are useful, but you end up with 2 mediocre tools. I suggest going with a larger disc-only sander or and oscillating spindle-belt sander and get one good tool.

I think a jobsite table saw is the best and most versatile tool for beginning woodworking. I have a dewalt DW745 and really like it. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to find and sell used. Depth of cut is a little limited, but you can dimension thin stock for penturning no problem.

I would suggest looking for a used 14" delta bandsaw or similar. I just saw one locally for $250. They are robust, heavy cast iron, with basically all of the parts available - which makes repairs/upgrades easy.
 
Gary Beasley said:
Your bandsaw blade may have damage or you simply may be trying to overdrive the cut. Have you read up on any of the articles on fine tuning a bandsaw?
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I watched the "Bandsaw clinic" by Alex Snodgrass on YouTube (it's amazing) & I've even chatted with him via Facebook live about fine tuning it as best I can. But it's also just a 9" or so (can't remember at the second) so there's not much you can do with such a fine blade. But I double check it's alinements each day I use it and make sure all guides are running as they should. I never considered resaw as a method id need when getting the saw, I just wanted east, fast cutting that didn't involve a scroll saw or handsawing. I inspected the blade last week and all teeth are still in proper position and the blade seems sound. I need to get a new one to have on hand, but the blade is still new. It has less than 6 months of age on it and probably less than 30 minutes of run time on it in that 6 months & still seems perfectly sharp.
 
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