Turning Blanks

[wood-chips]

Anyone ever order/shop from:

    Craft Supplies USA - woodturnerscatalog.com ?

Looks like they have a good selection and prices.

[Arlin Eastman]

I have bought from them before on a few things, however, this place is a whole lot cheaper for American woods.

http://www.turningblanks.net/

[AHill]

CSUSA is a staple for wood turners.  For the most part, their blanks are very good quality and less expensive than Woodcraft and Rockler.  If you have a bandsaw, consider purchasing a bowl blank and cutting it into pen blanks, or purchase a longer spindle turning blank (1x1x12) and cutting it in half or thirds.  I've taken a box elder burl bowl blank, sliced off two sides and turned those into pen blanks, leaving me a slightly smaller bowl blank, but the pen blanks end up being dirt cheap compared to buying them as pen blanks. 

The best source for acrylic blanks is WoodturningZ, IMO.  They make their own blanks and have a much greater selection of blanks than most any other place I've seen.

There are other good sources for turning blanks that may be less expensive.  These guys also sell pen kits and other pen turning equipment.

http://www.woodturningz.com/

http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/

https://www.woodnwhimsies.com/

[Arlin Eastman]

I also like

http://www.woodturningz.com/


https://www.woodnwhimsies.com/ 

Who makes their own inlays and if you want some made they will do it for you.  These are fantastic folks and I have them (Tim and his wife Tracy) send me their monthly news letter and it is a great read and see the new stuff that is coming out to.

Now Arizona Silhouette I think used to be a great place to buy stuff until Barry Gross bought them out and turned it into a Business not a Mom and Pop place that liked people and go out of their way to help. 


Also like Allan said if you can afford some boards of the woods you like best then it would help and cost less to get them instead of individually at a business.

[Sawdustd]

I buy, a LOT, from Packard Woodworks in NC --- www.packardwoodworks.com.  Great folks to deal with, good prices and same day shipping.

[iclark]

Anyone ever order/shop from:

    Craft Supplies USA - woodturnerscatalog.com ?

Looks like they have a good selection and prices.

As others have said, Craft Supplies is a good company. Their blanks can be a bit pricey when they are not on sale.

The Got Wood? guys are good, but you may get some spalted wood when you are not expecting it. That is a good thing for some folks, less so for others.

I met some interesting smaller suppliers at last year's AAW symposium, but I am away from home and am blanking on their names at the moment. Some of them are primarily local suppliers.

Roughly where are you located?

[wood-chips]

Roughly where are you located?

I'm norther Nevada near Lake Tahoe.

Pretty much everything wood turning supplies I order.
There is a really good store in Reno, MasterCraft that has a great supply for flat work.
However, there isn't much retail in my area and what is nearby would cost more in gas than shipping right to home.

[hairy]

Here's my go to wood source online.

 
http://www.gvwp.net/

[iclark]

These folks made a good impression at AAW Atlanta last year, but I have not ordered from them yet.
http://www.2treeboyz.com/

A very young family business that seems like they want to provide custom services.

Unfortunately, I don't have any contacts that are closer to you.

One thing that has worked for many turners is to get in touch with one or more tree trimming businesses in your area. If they have to pay to dispose of the wood (rather than selling it to firewood services), they will often tell you where they are working and let you come grab some log sections.