Sourcing wood online

**celtolin** · Aug-19-2011, 11:36am

Sorry if this has already been discussed, I did a quick search but came up empty.

For all of the builders here: do you ever order wood online for a build? If so, any places recommended?

Thanks in advance.

**billhay4** · Aug-19-2011, 11:54am

Bruce Harvie, Orcas Island Tonewoods, is a great place to start.
Bill

**Spruce** · Aug-19-2011, 12:49pm

I'd stick with your many Canadian tonewood suppliers, celtolin...
Our shipping costs to Canada have gone up dramatically in the past few years, and you won't have to deal with the customs folks, who can be a real PITA on both sides of the border...

Bow River is good...
Timbre Tonewoods...
Grandpa's Workshop...

A&M WOOD SPECIALTY, Inc.
PO Box 3204, 358 Eagle Street N.
Cambridge, Ontario

Just google "tonewoods Canada" and you'll come up with all kinds of options...

**TDMpicker** · Aug-19-2011, 2:20pm

Old Standard Wood - Fulton MO. is an excellent supplier.

http://www.adirondackspruce.com/

**Rick Lindstrom** · Aug-19-2011, 5:08pm

I second Old Standard- good and very responsive folks to work with and excellent products. I'm thinking Spruce at Orcas Islands Tonewoods is probably excellent too although I've never dealt with him. Only one scratchbuild under my belt at this point

Rick

**Jim Hilburn** · Aug-19-2011, 5:48pm

A couple you don't hear about too often:
Mapleleaf Hardwoods www.curlymaple.com
This is where almost all of my neck wood has come from. I found them on ebay years ago and they keep coming up with the good stuff, often seasoned wood. Fun just to peruse the site.
Northwest Timber www.nwtimber.com
A great source for quilted maple... if you got the scratch. But I've been watching some ebay auctions on really primo quilt and while you may luck out there, the competition is fierce so unless Bruce has what your looking for you might as well bite the bullit at NW.
To be honest I've never really gotten a good source for sugar maple. If anyone wants to share...

**Rob Grant** · Aug-19-2011, 8:34pm

Try some of your local timber merchants ( North America: "lumber yards"). You'd be surprised by what turns up in their stacks.

I once paid less for a four meter plank of quarter sawn Western Red Cedar (200mmX50mm) then I would have buying, through the mail, a single top plate set of the same gear. After several years, I'm still living off the remains of that plank.

**celtolin** · Aug-19-2011, 9:22pm

Thanks for the replies everyone! These are some great sites...I think I enjoy looking at un-built mandolins as much as finished ones...is that normal?

I'm still a ways off from a build but it's never too early to start planning...I think I will make a trip to the lumber yard this weekend to see what scraps I can come across now that I've got the inspiration.

**crazymandolinist** · Aug-19-2011, 11:22pm

High Mountain Tonewood in BC has good spruce I hear, as well as guitar sized fret wire, bone nuts, bindings and purfling, etc. Never ordered from them but I have every intention of doing so soon.

Notable Woods in Washington has awesome stuff. Spruce, maple, walnut, koa, laurel. Great stuff. It will be a bit more difficult to get stuff across the border in a cost effective manner. Perhaps PM Canadian builders and ask what they end up doing?

Good luck!

**StevenS** · Aug-20-2011, 1:19am

Amazing quality from these guys --

http://www.hvgb.net/~tonewood/mandol...m#Red%20Spruce

Steve

**Jim Baker** · Aug-20-2011, 6:02am

If you are looking for big leaf maple and sitka or engleman then this place in Alberta has good prices and good quality.

http://www.grandpasworkshop.com/index.html

**Jim Baker** · Aug-20-2011, 6:06am

www.bowriverwoods.com/

www.cvtonewood.com/

www.coneguitar.com/tonewood.html

http://www.hvgb.net/~tonewood/

Several more Canadian suppliers

**sunburst** · Aug-20-2011, 9:12am

Originally Posted by Jim Hilburn

To be honest I've never really gotten a good source for sugar maple. If anyone wants to share...

Most of mine has come from hardwood lumber suppliers. I was calling around asking for what I wanted, two companies (now both defunct, unfortunately) took my number and actually called back when they had what I wanted! I'm still using the stuff I got from them, and I've grabbed any other that I've found along the way to maintain a supply, but I don't know a reliable source for quartered sugar maple backs (my preference) other than Old Standard.
For neck and side wood, I'm close enough to Dunlap Woodcraft to make an occasional pilgrimage and look through their excellent stock. I've also gotten some good sugar maple from Randy Lucas.

**Rolfe** · Aug-20-2011, 10:03am

Hey John,
For excellent sugar maple, I use Robert Crosby at Battenkill Wood Products in Vermont, 802-375-9965. He has some eye-catching air-dried maple. No website, so you have to phone him.

**Jim Hilburn** · Aug-20-2011, 10:38am

I'd love to go on a wood expedition and stop to see luthiers along the way. But it's always just a fantasy, never able to make it happen.
I considered going to Old standard from Winfield since I was that much closer but after 9-10 days of Walnut Valley it just never has happened. And now with the new dog not likely this time either.

**sunburst** · Aug-20-2011, 10:44am

Thanks for that, Rolfe.
I neglected to mention the stack of sugar maple backs I bought at the ASIA auction a few years ago, donated by Rolfe Gerhardt. One of them can be seen here.

**thistle3585** · Aug-22-2011, 1:06pm

John,
Randy is a local for me and he has an incredible stash of wood. In addition to building his own guitars, he sells a lot of tops to Martin. I go out to his place from time to time and sort through his seconds and shorts which he offers for great deals when taking some quantity. He doesn't like to sell small amounts unless its really spectacular. Unfortunately, I've started collecting more than I'm building. I think I walked out of his shop with about 30 Adi spruce guitar tops last month that were the cast offs from a Martin run.

**sunburst** · Aug-22-2011, 2:43pm

Yes Andrew, Randy is a class guy.
I needed some material for mandolin ribs (sides), so he send me a pile of reject curly maple guitar sides along with the wood I was ordering for neck stock, no charge. I'll be cutting mandolin sides out of that stash for a long time!