Where To Buy Wood for Woodworking

Don't you love it when everything in your workshop runs smoothly? Regrettably, this will not happen if you do not have the right wood. This is particularly true if you do not know where to purchase wood for woodworking. 

High-end store prices, transportation, and lumber preparation expenses can bite quite a huge chunk off your profits. For this reason, it's best to be prudent about where you source your raw material. 

In this piece, I explore some of the best places to buy wood for woodworking to keep your workshop running sustainably. 

Here they are:

The Local Sawmill

When procuring wood for woodworking, your local sawmill is the most popular place to consider. Once it is close by, hence reducing transportation costs. The second and best reason you should consider buying wood from your local sawmill is that they usually have the best quality wood. 

Besides, the wood here is much cheaper than in other stores. Depending on its intended purpose, the miller helps you prepare the wood adequately. 

The only disadvantage is that not all woodworkers can buy wood from the sawmill, regardless of how close it is. You might require joining associations and clubs or partnering with your fellow woodworkers for "group buys."

Lumberyards 

Due to sawmill restrictions, most people buy wood for woodworking from lumber yards. The main reason for buying wood from a lumberyard is they do not have as many requirements as sawmills. Here, you can purchase as little or as much as you need. 

Nevertheless, lumber yards can prove confusing since you will come across different wood types, like rough, quarter-sawn, untreated, and pressure-treated options, but no product guide. So, before you visit your local lumberyard, do your homework and know the type of wood you need. 

Retail Store 

Yes, you can find wood for woodworking at a retail store. This is the perfect, less confusing option. These stores give comprehensive product descriptions which help you make the correct choice. 

Unfortunately, they do not have numerous wood types like sawmills and lumber yards, so you might need help finding what you're looking for. That said, this could be good since if you are new to woodworking, you won’t be overwhelmed by the available options. 

This is an excellent place for the ordinary wood types of woods, but for the rare ones, like exotic hardwoods, you'll have to visit the lumberyard or sawmill. 

Hardware Store

For domestic woods, visiting your local hardware might be a good idea. Like retail stores, hardware stores don't stock up piles of exotic and rare woods, but you will find the usual types with excellent product descriptions. 

This is the place to go if you're looking for popular wood types like cedar and maple. Besides, the prices are reasonable when you find the woods you want. Fortunately, some hardware stores will also offer you transportation services at affordable rates. 

Home Depot 

This one is not an obvious option, but it is great if you are looking for generous discounts! Besides wood and generous discounts, they also offer cutting services, so if you need your merchandise cut, this is the place to go. 

However, their deals do come with a few conditions. For example, do not take wood curbside pickup since you might return to your workshop with poor-quality wood. Make sure you select your pieces. 

Yellow Pages 

You might not know this, but Yellow Pages are still functional. Be sure to check them out. When researching where to buy wood for woodworking, I found numerous wood retailers put up ads for their products on the yellow pages. 

What's more, you will find hundreds of thousands, if not millions retailing wood peer-to-peer on this platform. All you have to do is reach out to the seller and make a deal. 

Nonetheless, be careful; recently, this platform has had issues with criminals like scammers, so proceed with caution. 

Hardwood Stores

Hardwood stores are rare, but if you are lucky enough to have one in your area, it's another place you can buy wood for woodworking. While these stores only have hardwood, they try as much as possible to have as many types of hardwoods as possible. 

For example, you can find a hardwood store that only sells exotic hardwoods. This is beneficial when working with such rare pieces, and if you need other hardwoods, you can always find them in another hardware store. 

Home Improvement Stores 

Oftentimes, you will find your local home improvement store stocked with a huge pile of different woods, but the species might be few. However, you can be sure that you'll find oakwood, pinewood, and other popular types of wood in these stores. 

The wood here is available in standard lengths and sizes of 8 to 15 feet, depending on the type of wood. Nonetheless, be aware that the prices here aren’t that affordable compared to other stores. 

Fine Woodworking Shop

These shops stock less wood than sawmills, lumberyards, or hardware stores. Nevertheless, they have one crucial upside over other wood sellers since they usually have wood species you hardly ever find at your local stores. 

To that end, they are a superior hunting ground when searching for rare hardwoods like white and red oak. Not only that, but you will also find great stuff about these exotic hardwood species. 

Exotic Wood Store 

These stores are your best bet if you're looking for exotic wood species. They don't have any other wood types, only exotics. So, don't go there if you aren't looking for exotics. The main benefit of these stores is that they can aid you in finding the right specifications you're searching for, whether a particular shade or texture. 

Retail Shop Shipping Crates 

Similar to pallets, these shops are an inexpensive source of timber. They often sell these pieces at an affordable price or throw them away if they weaken. For this reason, this is a huge opportunity to get cheap and quality supplies if your workshop needs construction-grade plywood or lumber.

Request to see the manager and ask whether they want to throw away anything and purchase it at a generous discount. On the other hand, you can check if they are selling a few wood pieces for your next workpiece. 

Cut-offs from Factories that Use Wood

This is a good last result when looking for affordable wood. Many businesses and factories that use wood make different items. They dispose of the leftover lumber when they finish working on their creation. 

Still Not Sure Where to Buy Wood for Woodworking?

The list of options is endless, but I have narrowed it down to these 12. Besides, you can even purchase trees, chop them down and cut them down yourself after you get a permit. 

Nevertheless, lumberyards, sawmills, and hardware stores are some of the best places where you can buy wood for woodworking.

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