Desopolis Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 I just recently got back into Austin, and I found a place called Fine Plywood and Lumber. They had a large selection of most woods, but I cant find a good figure piece. dont get me wrong, the curly maple stack had boards 12' long.. but none of it really looked as tight as say Godins latest commission job, or any of Draks stuff. they had other boards of interesting figure but I kinda needed that flame. and they had no quilt at all. They had a few figured woods, but nothing top worthy.. Im curious if you guys know a local place, or if you all buy the tops etc off the web Quote
westhemann Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 there is only mildly figured stuff for the most part around austin.i buy my maple at paxton,my alder and mahogany at that cabinet shop on goodrich,and all figured woods from www.gilmer.com once at paxton i found this piece http://westhemann.com/my%20music/pics/esp%...tures%20098.jpg but that is by far not common...they do have alot of veneers though. Quote
manquesa Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) When I lived in the Dallas area I went to the local WoodCraft (i'm sure Austin has one) to get some nice figured Veneer to use for my current bass build (walnut burl). They also have a good variety of most of the exotic hardwoods there though the selections are all pretty small in size. I found several pieces that were big enough for a guitar sized fingerboard, but not big enough for a bass fingerboard, and most of the boards were warped. Now I live in Killeen (right between Austin and Waco) and there ain't much options here locally at all, not that i'm aware of anyway. All the wood I plan on using for any future builds for now will be bought online, either Ebay, or gallerhardwoods.com, or joewoodworker.com (great source for veneers), or rockler.com, or whatever else I may come across. Edited January 12, 2007 by manquesa Quote
scottyd Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 Here in Waco we got nothing, the only wood Ive been able to buy locally for a project was some poplar I used for a body core on a bass, got it at home depot. Ive gotten alot of cocobolo, purpleheart, walnut, paduak, ect from Rockler.com. All figured wood comes from mostly ebay. Quote
JohnRossitter Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 When I lived in the Dallas area I went to the local WoodCraft (i'm sure Austin has one) to get some nice figured Veneer to use for my current bass build (walnut burl). They also have a good variety of most of the exotic hardwoods there though the selections are all pretty small in size. I found several pieces that were big enough for a guitar sized fingerboard, but not big enough for a bass fingerboard, and most of the boards were warped. Now I live in Killeen (right between Austin and Waco) and there ain't much options here locally at all, not that i'm aware of anyway. All the wood I plan on using for any future builds for now will be bought online, either Ebay, or gallerhardwoods.com, or joewoodworker.com (great source for veneers), or rockler.com, or whatever else I may come across. I go to wood world over on i75 & 635 behind the TI plant Quote
manquesa Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 When I lived in the Dallas area I went to the local WoodCraft (i'm sure Austin has one) to get some nice figured Veneer to use for my current bass build (walnut burl). They also have a good variety of most of the exotic hardwoods there though the selections are all pretty small in size. I found several pieces that were big enough for a guitar sized fingerboard, but not big enough for a bass fingerboard, and most of the boards were warped. Now I live in Killeen (right between Austin and Waco) and there ain't much options here locally at all, not that i'm aware of anyway. All the wood I plan on using for any future builds for now will be bought online, either Ebay, or gallerhardwoods.com, or joewoodworker.com (great source for veneers), or rockler.com, or whatever else I may come across. I go to wood world over on i75 & 635 behind the TI plant No way! I lived just a few blocks down the street from there in Richardson, just off of Beltline Rd. I never knew that was there. May have to check it out next time i'm in the area. Quote
johnsilver Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 I use Houston Hardwoods. It is as Wes describes - good for body and neck wood in lots of varieties. Not good for figured woods although they have a modest supply of curly or birdseye maple, but the figure isn't special. Quote
Desopolis Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Posted January 13, 2007 I use Houston Hardwoods. It is as Wes describes - good for body and neck wood in lots of varieties. Not good for figured woods although they have a modest supply of curly or birdseye maple, but the figure isn't special. thats how it is by me, TONS of body and other exotic woods, but not a whole lot of figure.. I guess its a specialty shop from now on then, I just thought it would be super easy if I could physically see the board prior.. Quote
westhemann Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 www.gilmer.com they have all of the woods laid out on the net in pics...you pick the EXACT board you want...good quality photos too Quote
Jon Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 I thought Paxton closed down 8 years ago? I buy from Hogan's Hardwoods or online. Quote
westhemann Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 same store...different name.even the same people working there when you are old you still call things by what they used to be. Quote
MiKro Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 I live in Dallas, and while Wood world has same nice wood (note to John R and ManQ) his is over priced. I use Austin Hardwoods on Matthis street just off Royal lane in north west Dallas. I also use Gilmer wood as well, Gilmer.com MK Quote
fookgub Posted February 29, 2008 Report Posted February 29, 2008 (edited) I went on a little adventure today, so I thought I'd post what I discovered. Hopefully this will be of some use to the folks in and around Austin. Here are the places to buy lumber in Austin that I know of: Brazos Forest Products - 600 Industrial Blvd Formerly Hogan Hardwoods, and Paxton before that. Paxton was once located at 3907 S. Industrial Dr. (note: S. Industrial and Industrial are different streets), but it moved years ago. They have a small storefront up front for hobbyists and other people wanting non-commercial quantities. Virtually no exotics, but they have a decent little selection of domestic hardwoods. Bluelinx Hardwoods - 4209 S. Industrial Formerly Austin Hardwood at 2119 Goodrich Ln., they were bought, renamed, and moved last November. They have a nice, but fairly small, selection of exotics. Most are surfaced on both sides and about 1" thick. Good for neck stock, but I would look elsewhere for body blanks. They have a fairly large warehouse with a lot of domestic wood, but I didn't take a close look. Seems like you would need help to get to most of it... they stack it pretty high. I bought a nice looking piece of jatoba there today. They didn't seem at all annoyed that I came in looking for a single board (though they weren't very busy) -- the salesman's name was Mike, and he was very friendly. Fine Lumber - 9407 Brown Ln. Seems to be the most well-known lumber yard around Austin for hardwoods. They have a good and easily accessible selection of many woods. 2" boards of soft maple, poplar, and mahogany for body blanks are easy to find. They have alder, too, but finding a wide enough board for two-piece bodies can be tough. They usually have some wenge, bubinga, purpleheart, etc., but the selection seems to be sort of random as far as quantity, size, and species. They have lots of 1" mahogany and maple (both curly and not). You have to dig for a piece suitable for necks, but it can be done. I usually show up looking for one or two boards. Sometimes they're real nice (one guy in particular, Jason, has been quite helpful), and other times they seem like they would rather not waste their time with me. I guess it depends on who's working and how busy they are. Anyway, hope this is useful for someone. I'd be interested to know if there are any other places (besides Woodcraft, that is) to buy hardwood in Austin. Edited February 29, 2008 by fookgub Quote
fryovanni Posted March 1, 2008 Report Posted March 1, 2008 Finding "gems" in a normal yard takes time and patience (they are not common), but when you do find them at a "lumber" price you will get a heck of a deal. That is all treasure hunting though. You definately want to avoid paying shipping for body wood if you can avoid it. Hand selecting neck wood is a huge plus, saves on shipping and cost of the material (a smart fella would stock up on neck wood and let several guitars worth of neck stock age in your shop). Gilmer, Gallery Hardwoods, 3-Dhardwoods.com (top notch Maples), Goby Walnut (new management now, we will have to see how well they do), are all very good. You will do well to ask Marc (Gilmer),Larry (Gallery), Chuck (3-D) to help you with your selection, they are all top notch, knowledgable professionals(well worth a couple extra bucks, to get well selected wood from these guys). You pretty much have to have the wood shipped from these guys, unless you Texans want to visit Oregon and Washington . Peace,Rich Quote
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 1, 2008 Report Posted March 1, 2008 +1 to everything rich said. I order most of my wood from gilmer, sometimes it can be a bit pricey (depending on the wood) but it's always high quality. Quote
Bassisgreat Posted March 1, 2008 Report Posted March 1, 2008 TEXAS GET TOGETHER IN DALLAS!!! /just sayin' that's all. Quote
Desopolis Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Posted March 3, 2008 (edited) TEXAS GET TOGETHER IN DALLAS!!! /just sayin' that's all. Im moving up there in June.. SADNESS!!! Im loosing my shop space to move into a downtown apartment with my GF. I dont want to loose all the stuff, but cant keep it anywhere. I dont know who all lives in Dallas, but it would be great to find a fellow hobbyist who would be willing to share some garage space or tool time(mainly big stuff like table saw, jointer, bandsaw) I could use my router wherever as well as sand ETC at my own apartment, as well as hold all my lumber and works in progress. I would be willing to bring and share my 14" closed base 2hp Bandsaw(can have a block insert to raise it, so would be a GREAT resaw capable bandsaw) my 5HP table saw(steel top with a table router pannel attached) my little 7" Jointer and a decent older Delta 13" drill press. I would chip in for saw blades and whatnot, and be willing to pay for using the space. And it would be whenever the space was available. Plus is would be great to find someone else whos into this... EDIT: I have alot of other weird tools, and clamps, sanders, sander-press attachments etc.. the norm I guess. Edited March 3, 2008 by Desopolis Quote
MiKro Posted March 3, 2008 Report Posted March 3, 2008 (edited) TEXAS GET TOGETHER IN DALLAS!!! /just sayin' that's all. Im moving up there in June.. SADNESS!!! Im loosing my shop space to move into a downtown apartment with my GF. I dont want to loose all the stuff, but cant keep it anywhere. I dont know who all lives in Dallas, but it would be great to find a fellow hobbyist who would be willing to share some garage space or tool time(mainly big stuff like table saw, jointer, bandsaw) I could use my router wherever as well as sand ETC at my own apartment, as well as hold all my lumber and works in progress. I would be willing to bring and share my 14" closed base 2hp Bandsaw(can have a block insert to raise it, so would be a GREAT resaw capable bandsaw) my 5HP table saw(steel top with a table router pannel attached) my little 7" Jointer and a decent older Delta 13" drill press. I would chip in for saw blades and whatnot, and be willing to pay for using the space. And it would be whenever the space was available. Plus is would be great to find someone else whos into this... EDIT: I have alot of other weird tools, and clamps, sanders, sander-press attachments etc.. the norm I guess. I live in Dallas but don't have room for more tools, but have what I need to do the job (link to my shop). When you get here contact me using my email or PM me. YOu may also want to contact Jon, he lives in Ft Worth but would have room for most of your tools in his new shop. Mike Edited March 3, 2008 by MiKro Quote
Jon Posted March 3, 2008 Report Posted March 3, 2008 I definitely have the room for the tools. PM me if you want to work something out. Quote
westhemann Posted March 3, 2008 Report Posted March 3, 2008 All you Dallas folk should move to the country east of Austin...I make all of the noise,dust,and scrap piles I want,anytime of day or night,and have not heard a complaint yet... I can also start bonfires,make gasoline bombs,or throw grenades....if I wanted. Just sayin'that's all. Quote
Bassisgreat Posted March 3, 2008 Report Posted March 3, 2008 All you Dallas folk should move to the country east of Austin...I make all of the noise,dust,and scrap piles I want,anytime of day or night,and have not heard a complaint yet... I can also start bonfires,make gasoline bombs,or throw grenades....if I wanted. Just sayin'that's all. Your ideas intrigue me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. Quote
westhemann Posted March 3, 2008 Report Posted March 3, 2008 The subscription price of my newsletter is one naughty pic of your old lady or sister in camo panties... Just a joke.....hehe Quote
Desopolis Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Posted March 3, 2008 (edited) just a note, the country east of austin has 3 things.. Wes, Cows, and dead grass.. so keep that in mind when planning a move.. Edited March 3, 2008 by Desopolis Quote
Bassisgreat Posted March 4, 2008 Report Posted March 4, 2008 Hmmm, dead grass + blowing stuff up... Sounds like I'd get myself into too much trouble anyhow. I don't want to be in the news for burning 30 square miles of flatland. Quote
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