# Thin wood?



## drillbit (22 Jun 2011)

Please forgive if this is a really stupid question. I'm still a total novice.

My local choice for timber is a bit limited - Travis Perkins or the DIY stores, but all the timber I have seen on sale is at least 14mm thick, which is a bit too thick for making delicate boxes. The only time I have seen thinner stock is either t&g or really thin strips which would take loads to make up into a decent width.

Is it possible to buy thinner stock for making smaller items? Does anyone out there make small boxes or dolls houses or whatever, and have any tips on how to go about sourcing?

I have a bandsaw (no thicknesser), but my efforts at resawing have so far been disastrous, so it would be great if I could buy it already thin.


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## 9fingers (22 Jun 2011)

I'm guess that you dont what a huge quantity so unless you can find a sympathetic timber merchant, buying thin stock will be a problem.

Maybe teaming up with a local woodworker who has a thicknesser would be the best approach. I'd do it but I'm nearly 2hrs away from you so there must be someone nearer.

Not sure if this site has a members map? Another UK wood forum has one that you might be able to find.

Bob


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## Jamesc (22 Jun 2011)

One thought, try model shops, they sell thin (sometimes very thin) timber sections. The local one to me certainly does walnut as well as the usual bland bass wood.

James


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## RogerBoyle (22 Jun 2011)

What band-saw do you have ????
Has it been set up correctly ???
Have you allowed for blade drift ??
Are you using a good blade ????
This is the 5th one of these that i cut this morning for a bit of inlay ( you can see the rest laying flat) from my off cuts bin
It's European Oak


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## Jensmith (22 Jun 2011)

What wood are you looking for?

I know various places that sell walnut, mahogany, spruce, obeche in thin sections but here we're talking about the 1mm to 9mm range.

Could you use veneered plywood? ie veneer it yourself...

Always Hobbies http://www.alwayshobbies.com/ sell both small scale wood, plywood and some veneere.

I do dolls house related stuff so what were you hoping to make?


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## spg (22 Jun 2011)

Drillbit, 

I'm only 15 miles away and you are more than welcome to come and use my planner/thicknesser. I quite often slice up 1" oak boards on my table saw and reduce them to 3-5mm.

HTH
Steve


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## Tony Spear (22 Jun 2011)

The only two can think of are a bit of a thrash down the M40/A34:

W.G.Powell, Cowley Road, Oxford

Adhectic Ltd, Radley Road Industrial Estete, Abingdon

Both of them have full machining facilities and will finish to size, but whether they'll resaw before thicknessing I'm not sure.

If they won't do that, you'll end up paying for thicknessing from standard stock sizes (typically one inch for hardwoods).


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## drillbit (22 Jun 2011)

Wow. Thanks for fantastic replies everyone. I will definitely investigate all links.

@Tony - I visit Oxford quite often, so WG Powell could be a great option.

@Steve - I would seriously like to take you up on your offer. Whereabouts in Stratford are you? I will PM.

@Roger - I have a Record BS250. Have to admit, I am really not very experienced, so I find that the blade drifts when I try to resaw anything more than a few cm wide, which limits me. I also have struggled to get two pieces the same thickness, hence the thought of just buying it the right thickness.

@Jensmith - right now I was looking to make small boxes - like cigar boxes. But dolls furniture is soon going to be on the agenda..my daughter is 2 and just beginning to discover Sylvainian families!


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## RogerBoyle (22 Jun 2011)

This might help you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JowHmdihl-Q

Your band saw is certainly capable of ripping down stock to a thickness that you need
Tune it up as per the video with a good blade and i think it may surprise you ..

If you don't not have a planer thicknesser you can use a router to dimension wood

Roger


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## jasonB (22 Jun 2011)

Timberline do a range of "box making wood" and SLH have some project packs which would be suitable though its not all listed on their site

http://www.exotichardwoods.co.uk/Woods_ ... xmaker.asp

http://www.slhardwoods.co.uk/Products.aspx?Group=1147

Jason


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## danielddr (22 Jun 2011)

James Binning from Deep in Wood (www.deepinwood.co.uk) is a very helpful chap when it comes to wood supplies in and around Oxfordshire. He'd probably be able to assist you in milling stock to your requirements. Give him an Email and let him know what you're after.

Cheers,

Daniel


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## motownmartin (22 Jun 2011)

Hi Drillbit, how about trying http://www.timbercut4u.co.uk obviously you will have to pay top price for your timber but I would imagine that it would be no more than the DIY sheds.


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## Tony Spear (23 Jun 2011)

danielddr":1be53f4a said:


> James Binning from Deep in Wood (http://www.deepinwood.co.uk) is a very helpful chap when it comes to wood supplies in and around Oxfordshire. He'd probably be able to assist you in milling stock to your requirements. Give him an Email and let him know what you're after.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Daniel



Blimey, how could I forget about that one? :roll:


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## bugbear (23 Jun 2011)

RogerBoyle":1vw93pke said:


> If you don't not have a planer thicknesser you can use a router to dimension wood
> 
> Roger



Or hand planes, perhaps. A suitably chosen set of handplanes is very effective.

BugBear


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## drillbit (23 Jun 2011)

Thanks to all for more replies - all really helpful. Got loads out of this thread.

Daniel thanks for the tip about James. I have sent him a mail about thinner stock, and will be interesting to see what he replies. Cheers. 

Jason - thanks for those sites. I thought I had googled every timber supplier in the UK, but these are perfect! Especially slhardwoods - their project packs look great as well - something for me to play with, but cheap enough to mean the wife won't nag me about the cost!


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## Frank House (23 Jun 2011)

If you do saw your own, the routine is plane a face, saw, plane the large block again, saw ...

That way you will always have one flat face on each slice. What comes next can vary.

If it is already flat, lay it on a piece of ply or something with a thin strip glued across, now you can hand plane it. If you must use machinery, glue or tape it (double sided tape) to a flat carrier block thick enough to handle easily and pass that through a planer (come to think of it, that also makes hand planing easier). Use a reversible or weak glue  .

If it curves after sawing, it can be softened with a heat gun and flattened. I recently did this with a strip of African Blackwood (very hard and brittle) which almost formed a circle when cut on the bandsaw, most timbers will be easier than that. It does work, just get the timber hot enough and it will soften quite abruptly, almost always before it scorches.


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