jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) (09/06/84)
[] I received truly a tremendous response. (Yes, Virginia. There >is< hardwood in Portland, Oregon.) By far the best known is Woodcrafters, but I also got wind of some smaller, less known places. Here they are, in rough order of the number of recommendations, along with some of the comments: 1) Woodcrafters 212 NE 6th Portland, OR 231-0226 "Lots of selection - a bit expensive." "...They have a good selection, but you will find it rather spendy. Occasionally they have some cheap stuff- I bought all the oak flooring for my house there and paid about 1/3 of what others were asking." "...they have retail business hours and quite a varity of common and exotic hardwoods (most 2S2)... if you you buy commercial quanities (100 b-ft +), you pay wholesale prices." "...if you want some real exotic wood or tools or books that you can't find anywhere... They have literaly hundereds of different kinds of hardwood and lots of other stuff but the price is quite high. They also have a lot of knowledge of woodworking so they are helpful with questions." "...High prices, high quality, a world of wood from which to choose, good place to find that one perfect piece that is worth an arm and a leg." "...They cater to the home woodworker and are more expensive than Emerson. They have lots of interesting stuff including tools, exotic wood and probably classes." "I have a friend who bought some Zebra wood there a few years back, and he said they carry all kinds of unusual wood. They may be a liitle spendy, but at least they probably carry something you can use." "...They've got quite a number of different woods, both usual and unusual. I don't know what their prices are like in relation to what you're used to, but they don't seem to be terribly out of line. The only thing I don't like about them, is that they think that 'specie' is the singular of 'species' (one of my pet peeves about misuse of language)." "Purpleheart, koa, ironwood, teak, rosewood, walnut, oak.... you want it, they got it. Also hand & power tools, books, and knowledgable personnel. Expensive, but what 'ya gonna do?" "...Go down there as soon as possible -- they have hundreds of woods, some I'd never heard of before, all out on display for you to pick and choose." "They are not inexpensive, but they do have a good variety of exotic hardwoods; anything from cocobola (sp?) to zebrawood." "Widest variety, Highest prices, no delivery, no minimum, lots of odd stuff" "They have a wide selection of woods, plus they are good people. The prices from from high to O-My-God." "...very good selection and were helpful and knowledgeable about woodworking" "My husband... heads the Wood Department at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts (OSAC) and he suggested you try Woodcrafters..." "Prices seem reasonable (i.e. allowing for the fact that this *is* hardwood we're talking about), the selection is quite a wide range of everyday and exotic hardwoods, and advice is plentyful and free. I believe they also conduct classes." "They have a very wide selection of wood and finishes, although I wouldn't call their prices fantastic. You can get small amounts of almost anything (ironwood, exotic african stuff) and large amounts of 'normal' stuff: oak, maple, walnut, etc. One problem: all the wood is rough-cut, and in unfinished sizes. If you don't have a large diameter table saw and a jointer/planer you may have some trouble." 2) Hardwood World 12760 SW Pacific Hwy Tigard, OR 620-1535 "They share a builing with Huggy Bear's cabinets on the south side of Pacific Hwy (99W) at about Walnut St." "...is the closest for me so I tend to stop in there when I "need a board"." "Retail-Wholesale... similar to Woodcrafters." "This place has quite a large selection of different hardwoods in a show-room atmosphere and they are happy to let you pick through the wood to find just what you want as long as you don't mess up the piles. The prices here are pretty good." "They are not as big, and don't have as big a stock. I have only been in a couple of times to pick up small pieces, but for Honduras mahogany their price was better than Woodcrafters." "I think that it would suit your needs (they have walnut, oak, cherry, and exotic woods). They are on Pacific Highway, roughly across the street from the Wendy's (I think)." 3) Emerson Hardwood Co 2279 NW Front Portland, OR 227-6414 "Commercial all the way..." "I have never been in the emerson, but have heard good things about them." "If I want a large quantity of some of the more common hardwoods, I think the best place... It's on Front Street in N.W. Portland and it's kind of like a hardwood lumber yard where the wood is coverd but in open-ended barns so the moisture content is a little higher but you will probably get the best prices here." "...along the Willamette in northwest portland. These guys had a large warehouse with all kinds of wood (mostly unplaned 6/4, 5/4, 8/4, etc) in a large selection of varieties..." "Wholesaler but will tolerate small purchase, limited selection, discount for large quantities, low prices, extra charge if you select your pieces..." "They appear to be a wholesale outfit that tolerates individuals." 4) Hardwood Industries Inc. 18349 SW Boones Ferry Rd Portland, OR 684-0450 "Retail-Wholesale... (but I don't know anyone who has done business here)" "Wider variety, higher prices, can hand pick off the pile, no delivery, no minimum, all their surfaced wood is abrasive planed-less tearout, but it leaves abrasive particles in the wood that can dull your tools." 5) Bristol Hardwoods 711 SE Stark Portland, OR 232-0243 "Run by a boatbuilder and his wife, helpful, good for local woods, have some unusual pieces, good prices." "There is another place which is reputed to have better prices than Woodcrafters: Bristol Hardwoods." 6) Lumber Products 2116 NW 20th 223-8171 "...wholesale, $50min, will deliver almost any size order, very good prices, no selecting (you take it as it comes off of the pile), most of the common hardwoods (oak, walnut, etc) and plywoods..." 7) Mr. Plywood -- Gladstone and Beaverton -- oak. 8) Other helpful hints received: "If you're willing to take a drive, you might try a mill down in the Stayton/Detroit area on the Santiam pass road between Salem and Redmond. They don't have the species selection Woodcrafters does, but they are cheap, and they do have some nice big chunks (table sized slabs, etc.). They have mostly stuff like alder, oak, curly maple, and walnut." "Try Miles Gilmer @ Gilmer Wood Co. I've never been there, but they had an article on him in the Oregonian last May. He stocks the real exotic stuff - snakewood, padouck, ekki, jelutong, pau d'arco, and kwila were mentioned in the article. He probably does not have the simple stuff." "Try contacting PARR Lumber -- if they don't carry it, they may be able to help you find out who does." "Look in the Northwest Magazine (Sunday Oregonian) that came sunday before last (19th). See an article called "The Lure of Fine Wood". There are several local woodworkers listed, and you might get in touch with them." "Check at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts. They have woodworking classes (and instructors) and might be of help." "I have had good results obtaining quality wood by mail order from: The Woodworkers' Store 21801 Industrial Boulevard, Rogers, Minnesota 55374, (612) 428-4101 They offer many veneers and hardwood lumber in the following: Birch, Hard Maple, Walnut, Cherry, White Oak, and Honduras Mahogany. Thicknesses of 1/2, 3/4, and 1 3/4; widths of 1 3/4, 2 3/4, 3 3/4, 4 3/4 and 5 3/4 (read above also as .5, .75 and 1.75; 1.75, 2.75, 3.75, 4.75 and 5.75). Lengths cut to your spec. from 6" to 60". Their catalog is a gold mine of neat stuff for wood projects. I am a raving fan of their square recess screws - I'll never use a standard slotted head screw again if I can help it." "In Seattle, there is Blackstock lumber, a big old place down on the waterfront which was always the place to go to get wood that I couldn't find anywhere else... Hardwood lumber is generally sold 2 ways; finished both sides & edges to standard dimensions on a $/lin ft basis, or finished both sides & 1 edge ripped straight on a $/bd ft basis. The latter is significantly cheaper, and usually o.k." ""...in the building I work in downtown someone has a shingle up which says: "Stan the Hardwood Peddlar". The building is at 711 SW Alder, downtown. I don't know what his deal is." Many thanks to the dozens of folks who responded: John Theus, Randy Dietrich, Pat Franz, Steve Glaser, Aaron Friend, tekigm!petes, tektronix!tekchips! barsoom!chips, tekchips!fosterm, Wayne Downer, Ralph Durtschi, Jim Bigelow, John Richartz, Henry Alward, Barbara Ports, Steve Coan, Paul Hoefling, Jay Lessert, Jeff Mizener, tekgvs!paulba, tekchips!wm, tektronix! dadlab!laura, tekigm!kenf, Ken Hillen, Mike Lancaster, Steve Schultheis, tektronix!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!stanford, tekchips!toma, Beth Bonness, tekig!johnr, Chris Paulhus, tektronix!uw-beaver!fluke!dms, Steven McGeady, et. al. who called. My appologies if I missed your name somehow. -- :::::: Jan Steinman Box 1000, MS 61-161 (w)503/685-2843 :::::: :::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans Wilsonville, OR 97070 (h)503/657-7703 ::::::