I was amized at local Woodcraft sale

[JR1]

When I found some nice 4/4 sitka spruce 4—8" wide and 8—10' long was $32.90/bdft . When did it go up so much or is this just totally out of line?

[outfitter]

Well, in my local Woodcraft in Columbus, they changed their process and are selling lumber by the piece. So in that example you shared, the price would be for the entire board. Hope this takes the edge off and limits the fear of lumber inflation.

[JR1]

The piece I was looking at was 7.5 bdft so 246.75.

[Ruler2112]

Unless it's something I can only get there or they're having an unusually good sale, I no longer shop at Woodcraft because *everything* seems to be way overpriced. Examples:

Bought my lathe on Amazon for $580 shipped to my door in less than a week. Woodcraft was $800 plus tax and needed 6-8 weeks for shipping.

Cans of shellac at Menards & Home Depot both are about $14-15 for a quart. Woodcraft is over $20 for the same thing, plus the date codes on the cans show that they're all 2+ years old!

After the coupon they e-mailed me on top of the sale they had going, a live center for the lathe was the same price as Craft Supply. Of course, they wouldn't allow the coupon to stack with the sale and so I left empty handed, intending to order it. Couple weeks later, they came out with a better coupon; I was in the area, so stopped in again and got it for the same price as CS.

A set of 8 chuck screws that were $5 shipped from Home Depot cost $14 at Woodcraft. Yes, they had them in stock, but they wanted almost $2 for each half inch screw!!!


So thanks, but no thanks. I've obviously shopped there in the past, but like a lot of people, I need to make my money stretch as much as possible. Woodcraft does not allow me to do this and therefore gets less of my business. Yes, they are the only woodworking store in the area and I want to support them, but they need to realize that money is tight for most people and that the internet means that people can freely get information and order something from across the country in less time than it takes to drive to the store.

[JR1]

I have the same problem. Sometimes they have a real bargain but it's often something that I already own or don't need. I generally look at their wood as some times they have things that aren't otherwise available and sometimes have very good prices. I'm lucky as I have a couple lumberyards and a WW store. I went in as I needed a piece of BB ply and with their 15% off they were cheaper than the lumberyard or Lowes; but the wholesale guys I occasionally deal with are about 60% of the price (but I have to buy a pallet). WC often has exotic turning blanks on special and I buy them to resaw for edging.

[Kudzu]

I seem to remember reading recently that clear Sitka Spruce had skyrocketed in price. FWIW.

[loosetoe]

Well....
Gilmer Wood Sitka Spruce

The "Sets" are > $100 a bf
The billets are about $40 a bf.

What do you remember it costing?

[JR1]

A friend was making a plane—it could have been a Rutan plane; it was mid '80s. I remember that the sitka spruce for the plane was running $2.40/bdft (if I remember right) for aircraft grade and he needed 340 bdft. He actually wound up buying 400 bdft as it was special order.

The wood you link to is for instruments and a friend who is a luther complains that they always get screwed or wood price.

[loosetoe]

JR1 said:

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The wood you link to is for instruments and a friend who is a luther complains that they always get screwed or wood price.

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Agreed, but it was the only frame of reference that i could find online among the sources i normally peruse.

[ianab]

Can't even find a price for that stuff locally. I suspect that most of the old growth stuff is now gone, and it's getting a bit rare. It can grow pretty quick in the right conditions, but even then you might be 100+ years to get a tree with nice wide and clear boards.

It grows here in NZ, but not as a commercial species. Coastal temperate rain forest sort of climate. There are some pretty big ones in the local park though... Wonder if they would miss one

The luthiers etc want "old growth" with the tight growth rings and straight grain. Can't get that from fast growing second growth with rings 1/4" apart. Needs a ~500 year old, and there isn't many left.