# What price for Iroko? = is this a rip off?



## La Gib (16 Oct 2010)

Hi Guys.

I need some Iroko for a table that I am building for a friend. I've had a price for some iroko which is a bit high.

4 number 2.1 meter lengths of 4 x 1 prepared = total 8.4 m

9 number 2.1 meter lengths of 3 x 1 prepared = total 18.9 m

2 number 2.1 meter lengths of 3 xi 3 prepared = total 4.2 hm

The finished sizes will be slightly smaller taking planing into account. 

£250.00 + vat = silly money.

I need a better idea of what people expect to pay for iroko. I am going to try some other timber yards on Monday.

I'll start with the company in wycombe. I live in the Uxbridge area.

Cheers Alan


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## TheTiddles (16 Oct 2010)

For PAR you might not be too far off a reasonable price there, the cost of machining the wood flat and square tends to really shoot the price up. For a good general idea SL Hardwoods have a good listing of prices for materials

Aidan


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## big soft moose (16 Oct 2010)

I make that £68.50 per cu ft , which is high but not extortionate for PAR ( probably that figure is a bit high as it doesnt allow for any wastage)

sawn iroko looks to be about £27 per cuft , but PAR is always a lot higher

IIRC jase - JFC - is or was doing a big project in iroko , and he lives near london somewhere so you might want to shoot him a pm for advice - he doesnt come to these parts much , but is easily contactable on the other side ( tho that said he'll almost certainly be buying it sawn)


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## Karl (16 Oct 2010)

If you're buying PAR, make sure that you're happy with how the timber will be prepped, and whether you'll be getting sapwood in there too.

I bought a bit of PAR oak earlier in the year, and sent half of it back, the quality of the timber was that bad. The rest of it wasn't prepped very well - bow/cup/twist. Had to do more work on it to get it in a reasonable condition.

Wouldn't bother buying PAR again personally, but if you don't have the ability to prep it yourself, you may have no choice.

Cheers

Karl


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## big soft moose (16 Oct 2010)

Karl":qvq3t5s4 said:


> but if you don't have the ability to prep it yourself, you may have no choice.



i suppose another option might be to pay a bigger firm to do the prep from sawn for you - normally i'd say ask around local members on here but iroko dust is fookin horrible stuff, so you arent likely to find someone who's going to fill their 'shop with clouds of it just for a few beer vouchers.


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## Doug B (16 Oct 2010)

big soft moose":32j4w9f0 said:


> ( tho that said he'll almost certainly be buying it sawn)




you obviously don`t know Mr PAR very well, Pete :lol: :lol:


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## big soft moose (16 Oct 2010)

Doug B":2cieowxn said:


> big soft moose":2cieowxn said:
> 
> 
> > ( tho that said he'll almost certainly be buying it sawn)
> ...



well i assumed that was why proffesionals lhad all the big machinery - but i'm open to correction, as i dont know him at all - i just remembered reading his thread about the iroko conservatory.

(personally I only ever buy sawn , because i'm a tight buttocks - if i want ready finished i normally buy furniture off the 'bay and strip it down, but that said i dont use iroko much because i'm alergic to the dust)


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## Dodge (16 Oct 2010)

SL Hardwoods get my vote for Iroko - I have bought quite a bit off them over the years and have never had any problems with the quality of the timber received.

Dodge


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## Phil Sewell (16 Oct 2010)

I was quoted around £20 per cube plus vat for iroko at Whitmores recently. I don't know how much they charge for machining.
P.


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## big soft moose (16 Oct 2010)

Its a shame the corby wood mine isnt operating anymore, cos that would have definitely been your best bet

you might want to drop tom - (wizer) a pm, because he was talking about selling a lot of his wood before he moved house, and i know he had some corby iroko originally.


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## jasonB (17 Oct 2010)

Don't sound too bad for small amounts, quick look at SLH would give you £170 for sawn material with no waste so add a min of 10% say £190. Thats £60 for machining which is not unreasonable.

Waste is the big variable, if your supplier only has 3.0m lengths in stock then he will charge you for the 900mm cut off the end, if he has 4.2m in stock then have you allowed for a saw cut and cleaning up the ends?

Jason


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## JonnyD (17 Oct 2010)

jasonB":402nbuv3 said:


> Don't sound too bad for small amounts, quick look at SLH would give you £170 for sawn material with no waste so add a min of 10% say £190. Thats £60 for machining which is not unreasonable.
> 
> Waste is the big variable, if your supplier only has 3.0m lengths in stock then he will charge you for the 900mm cut off the end, if he has 4.2m in stock then have you allowed for a saw cut and cleaning up the ends?
> 
> Jason


 
I make the order about 3.85 cubic ft which is allowing a 30% wastage allowance SL hardwoods must be rip off merchants as my yards price would be about £85 plus vat for that lot.

cheers

jon


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## Mattty (17 Oct 2010)

La Gib":7aei3p3i said:


> Hi Guys.
> 
> I need some Iroko for a table that I am building for a friend. I've had a price for some iroko which is a bit high.
> 
> ...



Alan, Maybe use a more sustainable timber such as European Oak?

From Cites- Iroko
Wood type Hardwood
Introduction Formerly known as Milicia excelsa Benth. and Hook f.and Milicia regia
A. Chev.
Environmental
Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as LR – Lower Risk
(near threatened): close to being classed as Vulnerable. Also meets CITES
Appendix II criteria


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## katellwood (17 Oct 2010)

Am I wrong here but if I remember correctly PAR stands for "planed all round" i.e. just put through a thicknesser. 

What is needed here is PSE (planed square edge) which is where its straightened then squared before put through the thicknesser or in other words faced and edged then finished to prerequsite sizes

Correct me if I'm wrong


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## woodbutcher (17 Oct 2010)

you should also ask for finished size and not par most hard woods are prepped to finished size!

woodbutcher
(richard)


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## jasonB (17 Oct 2010)

It will propbably go straight through a 4 sider, hopefully passed over a surface planer first.

Just putting it through a thicknesser will only take care of two faces, by PAR I assume the OP means all 4 sides prepared

Jason


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## promhandicam (17 Oct 2010)

La Gib":3w2m4vz7 said:


> Hi Guys.
> 
> I need some Iroko for a table that I am building for a friend. I've had a price for some iroko which is a bit high.
> 
> ...



Try Kevin at http://www.surreytimbers.co.uk/. This is the company that JFC and others including myself have used recently and have been happy with. You can pick your own boards and Kevin now has a planer thicknesser for preparing timber too if required.

Steve


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## La Gib (18 Oct 2010)

Hi all

Thanks for all you replies.

Having read all the posts I will get a price for sawn timber. My main concern was cupping and twisting. With sawn timber it does give me a greater chance of getting the timber straight. I was trying to avoid the machining of the timber as I have heard the pitfalls. I have recently up dated my extractor system and have the Axminster combination machine to help prepare the stock. If I wear a mask as well I should be fine.

I will let you all know once I have some more prices.

Cheers Alan


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## La Gib (18 Oct 2010)

Using SL hardwoods calculator for sawn timber I'm down to £202.72 including Vat. Getting better


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## promhandicam (18 Oct 2010)

La Gib":1vqn5y1b said:


> . . . I have recently up dated my extractor system and have the Axminster combination machine to help prepare the stock.



If you have a properly set up planer thicknesser then it is a no brainer - buy sawn timber and prep it yourself.


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## BradNaylor (18 Oct 2010)

> Is this a rip-off?




I wouldn't have said so. A 'rip-off' suggests misrepresentation or other fraudulent behaviour. Simply being more expensive than a competitor does not a 'rip-off' make.

In a free-market economy one would hope and expect to find different prices. To find otherwise would be evidence of a cartel at work.

It is the job of the customer to ensure he gets the best value for money by shopping around. It is the job of the supplier to make the biggest profits he can.

Sorry to be pedantic but it does bug me somewhat when people refer to one asking price being higher than another as being a 'rip-off'. It isn't - it's all part of the natural order of things in a market economy.


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## La Gib (18 Oct 2010)

You know, now that you mention it Rip off was the wrong term to use. I use the timber yard often and they are normally very good value. Using that term done them a disservice.

Also I think I know why it is expensive. It is farmed out to another supplier. Interesting thing was when I asked for a sawn price I was told it would be the same.

So there we go same price for sawn as for par

I have got the price down to £150 or so now dor sawn


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## La Gib (18 Oct 2010)

As said above I have got the price down to £150 approx but I would like to add, not with the same company.

Cheers alan


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