Online Lumber Purchases

[kmmcrafts]

As many of you know I've acquired a fair amount of lumber, some people mentioned I should sell some of it online. I've never bought lumber online other than some very thin specialty exotics that was only 1/32" thick and only about 4" wide by maybe 15" long. 

My question is does anyone buy / sell rough cut lumber, and if so how large are the pieces and how does it come shipped? I'll likely just post this stuff I have on marketplace as it is. I would consider selling some online but my thoughts are most people aren't going to want rough cut and if they do it'd have to be long enough to be safe going through the planer. Not many would probably by rough cut since not everyone has a planer. I'm not all that interested in sizing / planning etc. Also if I was to plane and size it I would be concerned with cupping etc. during transport from one climate to another etc. 

[Scrappile]

Check out a place like Ocooch. to see their sizes,,,most I see are 24" or 36" lengths. also check USPS, UPS and FeDex and see what lengths are afforable to ship.

[Tom-in-Ashland]

I have purchased from Ocooch and quality was excellent. One problem I did encounter was humidity difference between where it is milled and my location was different so as is acclimatized to my environment in sometimes cured slightly, but seldom enough that it was not usable.

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, Tom-in-Ashland said:

I have purchased from Ocooch and quality was excellent. One problem I did encounter was humidity difference between where it is milled and my location was different so as is acclimatized to my environment in sometimes cured slightly, but seldom enough that it was not usable.

Thanks for the info, does it come sealed in plastic or just packaged in a box and sent in the mail? 

The one time I ordered those real thin boards the boards were wrapped / sealed in plastic to help prevent them from cupping etc.  This is why I have never really tried to sell some of the lumber I get because I'm not all that interested is spending hours sealing up wood etc.. If I can just cut some 24" pieces and throw them in a box & mail them out I might consider. But then I worry about the changes the wood might make going through the mailing system and the different areas of the world with different climates.. by the time the customer gets it it may not be usable and then I eat the cost of the whole deal..

[BadBob]

I don't have a lumber dealer near me for hardwoods. A couple of years ago, I did a lot of research into having lumber shipped to me. One of the companies I spoke with pointed out that S2S boards were cheaper shipped to me because the surfacing process removed a considerable weight. This would allow more wood to fit in the maximum size package they could ship without shipping as freight.

Another thing I discovered was that while most of the companies used board feet for their measurement, some of them used the finished size of the wood. If Ocooch Hardwoods, for example, says it is 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick, that is what you get.

Each time I purchase wood, I price it out, considering the total cost per foot to get it to my door. So far, the S4S boards from my local big box store have been cheaper. Not by much, but still cheaper. In rough lumber, at least 25% is waste, while there is zero waste in the poplar boards for my local big box stores.  The whole board is 100% usable.

[kmmcrafts]

31 minutes ago, BadBob said:

I don't have a lumber dealer near me for hardwoods. A couple of years ago, I did a lot of research into having lumber shipped to me. One of the companies I spoke with pointed out that S2S boards were cheaper shipped to me because the surfacing process removed a considerable weight. This would allow more wood to fit in the maximum size package they could ship without shipping as freight.

Another thing I discovered was that while most of the companies used board feet for their measurement, some of them used the finished size of the wood. If Ocooch Hardwoods, for example, says it is 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick, that is what you get.

Each time I purchase wood, I price it out, considering the total cost per foot to get it to my door. So far, the S4S boards from my local big box store have been cheaper. Not by much, but still cheaper. In rough lumber, at least 25% is waste, while there is zero waste in the poplar boards for my local big box stores.  The whole board is 100% usable.

Thank you!! This is great info to consider. 

I know I personally don't buy rough cut lumber.. IF I'm buying it I'm going to get lumber that's ready to use with the exception of if I need stuff that is less than 3/4" because I don't use a lot of solid wood that is smaller than 3/4.. so if I need smaller then I resaw and mill it to the size I need. 

That would be a lot of hassle for me to size up all the lumber in order to sell it online.. and what you said is exactly what I had thought.. I feel I'd have to mill it to size or sell it for almost nothing. Probably a whole lot quicker and way less hassle to sell the whole rough cut load locally to one person is what I'm thinking. I doubt I'd sell the stuff I don't have room for very fast anyway. I'm busy enough selling the craft items.. This wood might be easier to sell if I was interested in being a wood dealer or something. 

[BadBob]

Sometimes cheap isn't.

I bought a stack of 1x2 pine boards for a 75% discount a few years ago, thinking I was getting a bargain. Once I cut out all the knots, pitch pockets, checks, and other defects, it turned out that I would have been better off if I had bought the premium pine boards. The only way this would have been a good deal was if I got the boards for free, and this is not counting the work involved.

Edited April 3, 2023 by BadBob

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, BadBob said:

Sometimes cheap isn't.

I bought a stack of 1x2 pine boards for a 75% discount a few years ago, thinking I was getting a bargain. Once I cut out all the knots, pitch pockets, checks, and other defects, it turned out that I would have been better off if I had bought the premium pine boards. The only way this would have been a good deal was if I got the boards for free, and this is not counting the work involved.

Exactly, This has always been my experience with the free rough cut lumber that I get.. No way I would take lower priced wood ( Oak, or poplar for instance ) free like I do with this Walnut.. reason being, the lumber at my local lumber yard is planned and ready to use.. I don't know how other sawmills are around the country but my local ones have a dirt / dusty driveway and also where the lumber gets placed while waiting on the trucks to come pick it up. The log trucks come barreling in and the trucks coming to pick up the lumber as well. They stir up big clouds of dust.. that dust lands all over the rough cut timber and since it's rough cut you can never get the dust and grit out of it.. I've washed it off with a garden hose and a stiff brush and it still tears through my planner knives. Normally I can go a full year on planner knives but if I plane this rough cut stuff I'm lucky to get 50 boards through it without significantly damaging the knives to the point the planner won't hardly work. When my knives are starting to get dull on regular lumber I try to run as many rough cut boards through just enough to get them half way smooth so when I do need to clean up a board nicely later on it's not ruining a good set of knives. 

Also most times the lumber is fresh cut and really can't be used for a couple years so there is work involved in stickering ( stacking with air gaps between layers so air drying happens evenly) so I take up storage space out of the weather for two years before I can use it. In this case of Walnut I got it had been sitting in the lumber yard for 1 year so I probably will be able to use it mid summer this year. 

Like I said, I doubt people would really want to "buy and pay shipping" cost etc for this lumber unless I was to plane it down etc.. and that wear on my equipment and my time fussing with it I just don't think it's worth the effort for what very marginal profit if any I would make. 

Lots of folks say I suck on my post about the free Walnut lumber but they don't realize I really only saved this wood from turning into wood chips or campfire / wood burner firewood.. It's too nice for that but not too nice a deal that everyone makes it out to be. 

I do like getting it fresh cut from the mill better IF I have storage area to sticker it and air dry for a couple years because if i get it fresh off the mill it hasn't had dust collection time sitting out in the yard... however getting it fresh off the mill I have to stand there all day and pick the pieces out from the conveyor belt that is headed to the wood chipper and sort it off those belts with all the stuff that is really junk. That is a job in itself too and time away from actually scroll sawing or whatever, so like you say.. free isn't always worth it.   

[new2woodwrk]

I have purchased hardwood samples - they came in a box and were less than 3 ft long.

I have however, purchased plywood online and it came on a truck with a lift and forklift to remove.

Just before I found my local mill, I looked into purchasing lumber online from mills. The price was reasonable as long as I was willing to wait for a full load to go to shipment. They minimized shipping costs by loading a full flat bed so shipping was very reasonable - as I remember it was less than $50 for 160 board ft (12x16 boards planed)

If I remember correctly these were mills around the Virginia area - it's been awhile and I no longer have the links - sorry

[Millwab]

Kevin, is there a mill close by that would do the surfacing for you?  If there is and their charge is reasonable it may be an option for you. 

[Denny Knappen]

I purchase most wood from Ocooch Hardwoods.  The wood is wrapped in plastic.  In all these years never a complaint.