Road trip to Longview, Tx Wood?

[waters]

Leaving tomorrow on a road trip to Longview Texas from California. I'll be bypassing Dallas to the north. can anyone recommend any wood suppliers along the way? Would be interested in stuff we don't normally see on the left coast. What would I expect to pay for Cypress per board foot?
Thanks for any suggestions!

[Steve N]

Look for Mesquite

[Robert Adams]

Not many places carry cypress the ones that do just have the hybrid crap that's softer than pine. Last time I bought any it was around 2.50bf from brazos hardwoods. If you want decent old cypress you will have to make a trip to southern Louisiana.

Mesquite like mentioned. It's pricey though. Also I think most of the mesquite on the local market is stolen. Lots of mesquite trees poached from people's land. My friend had 6 large trees stolen off his property just off the entry road. They cut the chain on the gate to get in. Pretty common here. Hard to track logs especially when you don't know it's gone for weeks.

Don't know what's in Dallas for lumber but in Fort Worth we have 4 or so commercial suppliers. Sweeney is who I usually order from but fort worth plywood has been getting my attention lately as they are carrying lumber now at some decent prices. They also have a much larger supply of plywood than the hardwood dealers do.

Mesquite and boisdarc however it's spelled. Better known as horse apple trees are the only different woods you would find. Mesquite is available not sure who has the other. There are guys growing bo dark trees for the fruit? To make fuel out of so a supply of trees might not be too far off. I do see them in the neighborhood here too.

[Steve N]

Bodark AKA .. Osage Orange, Bois d'Arc, Horse Apple or Hedge Apple. Texans seen to want to claim this tree, but under all of it's aliases it is a pretty common wood throughout the US.

Generally just known as Osage Orange here and here too

[Robert Adams]

Steve N said:

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Bodark AKA .. Osage Orange, Bois d'Arc, Horse Apple or Hedge Apple. Texans seen to want to claim this tree, but under all of it's aliases it is a pretty common wood throughout the US.

Generally just known as Osage Orange here and here too

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True but it is quite hard to find as lumber. Most are just cut down and usually end up in a hole in the ground with a blower going and they burn at very high temps with no smoke and nothing left but ashes.

Most of the mesquite here starts just to the west of Fort Worth and keeps going and to the south and south west. Generally the drier areas as Around Arlington and east there is much less of it as there is more rainfall and other trees grow. Though it's more of a bush most of the time it's an invasive species with a bounty on its head and roots that can go as deep as 100' and really nasty thorns.
It's best use imo is in the grill and smoker. Course most of the bagged mesquite charcoal and wood chunks come from Mexico as they have allot more of it.

[Pink Floyd]

Steve N said:

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Texans seen to want to claim this tree, but under all of it's aliases it is a pretty common wood throughout the US.

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Osage Orange is common in many states now because the fruit (horse apples) was shipped by wagonloads to the midwest to be planted for hedge rows before the invention of barbed wire.

The tree, however, is indigenous to a small area of Fannin County, Texas which is why it's claimed by us Texans.

A book by Fred Tarpley, "Wood Eternal - The Story of Osage Orange" is the best authority I know on the history of this very interesting tree.

As for the OP's question on wood sources near Longview, I'm not aware of any good ones. The best source would be M&G Sawmill at Huntsville but that's a 3+ hour drive from Longview. M&G has Cypress, Mesquite, occassionally OO and most other woods native to Texas.

Wilcox Lumber in Rusk has beau coup ERC along with Cypress and Mesquite but it's 2+ hours from Longview.

[Waterloo]

If you were going further south there is a Cypress dealer near Austin. Jimmy's Cypress

[waters]

Thanks everyone for your input! I'll see what I can find in my limited time.

[MikeSmith]

I should take a picture of my truck and its numerous mesquite tree/shrub scratches. All mesquite on my sister's ranch needs to die!

[Steve N]

MikeSmith said:

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I should take a picture of my truck and its numerous mesquite tree/shrub scratches. All mesquite on my sister's ranch needs to die!

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I hear it is an irritant to many land owners, but as lumber it can be Plain Jane, to one of the most beatiful woods on earth I like it when it is filled with pitch pockets, gum, streaks, and pith. You can often get that near burls, and crotches. Awesome for boxes