Curly Maple

[JamesDad]

For anyone who lives in the Atlanta GA metro area Suwanee Lumber Co. has curly maple on sale for $1.25 per board foot.

[tohellwithuga]

I'm a n00b at this, so please forgive my ignorance...

Do they let you pick through the wood to find what you want? What kind of selection do they have? I don't have a planer/jointer (yet), is the wood already milled?

Finally, is this a price too good to miss? What's the regular price? I have been wanting to expand my wood collection (beyond borg junk), but I just don't know a lot about this.

BTW, thanks for the heads up, JamesDad!

[ragswl4]

Price Comparison

I live in CA and curly maple is not available locally. I pay $6-$7 per board ft, planed on two sides (not a very good planing by the way). If that wood was available here for $1.25 per board ft, I would be in my truck on the way there right now. The local BORG charges $7.50 per board ft for red oak, surfaced on 4 sides (S4S).

Look at internetlumber.com for some price comparisons on various types of wood for an idea of costs.

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks, ragswl4! Lol, I finally know what S4S means now

[Jeffrey Schronce]

That is a great deal even if it is medium figure. It's almost too good to be true!

[tohellwithuga]

I just called, and they said it's surfaced to 3/4", or they could surface it to 13/16" if an order was placed. They said it would be fine to go through it and pick what I wanted. They said they have a lot of it, and the sale goes until April 1st.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I would buy as much of this stuff as I possibly could! Think hundreds of board feet, again assuming it is decent figure. Heck, forget figure, assuming it is decently clear buy it up.

[tohellwithuga]

Any suggestions as far as what to look for, or what to avoid? I have no experience picking wood (other than general straightness, cracks, etc.), so any advise is greatly appreciated.

(I will also see if I can find some good info online tonight)

[Ken Massingale]

I'm thinking about a trip down I-85! I'd like to see a sample tho.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Any suggestions as far as what to look for, or what to avoid? I have no experience picking wood (other than general straightness, cracks, etc.), so any advise is greatly appreciated.

(I will also see if I can find some good info online tonight)

Take along a pint of mineral spirits (paint thinner avail at HD, Lowes, Ace, etc) and a rag. Use the mineral spirits to lightly wet the surface. This will show you the figure of the wood. Obvioulsy, look for the clearest (ie white with little to no brown streaks), least amount of knots and other defects. When you wipe of the mineral spirits you can tell by the smile on your face how figured the wood is. Like I said, even for plain hard maple with no figure, $1.25 is a good deal is it is clear. I assume you don't have a moisture meter. You will want to determine moisture, though I would guess that it should be dry if they have S4S or S3S or whatever. Ask them when you get there if they air dried or kiln dried. Ask if they have checked moisture. Still doesn't matter, I'd get it anyway and dry it if needed at that price! Moisture content will determine how you stack the wood, so make sure you get that figured out.
Please do everyone a favor and post photos of some of the curly maple with mineral spirits applied so we can see figure. I may pay Ken to pick up and store for me!

[Ken Massingale]

Any suggestions as far as what to look for, or what to avoid? I have no experience picking wood (other than general straightness, cracks, etc.), so any advise is greatly appreciated.

(I will also see if I can find some good info online tonight)

You have the right idea, straight, flat and sound. Look for the best and/or most figure. Take a spray bottle of water or denatured alcohol and wet small areas to highlight the figure.
Please post a pic or so after you get some.

[LarryG]

Water will work just as well as MS, and isn't volatile. Also take a small block plane (to plane a small area of a rough-sawn surface smooth), a wire brush (to clean off dirt), and maybe a flashlight (in case the wood is stacked in a dark shed).

And yes ... as they say over on RBR, this thread is useless without pics!

[John Hunter]

Sure wish I could find a deal like that in my area!

[bthere]

I haven't used them before, but my plan for now is to swing by there this Saturday. I need some cherry right now. And you can always use a little maple.

[jackellis]

I'd buy all I could get and/or store. At $1.25/bd ft it's about the price of Big Box hardwood ply.

S4S poplar is about $2.60 a board foot at the most economical place around here. Maple runs $4 and up. I bought some 6/4 ash for $2 and some black walnut for prices ranging from $2 to 5 and consider myself very fortunate.