An invaluable lesson

[tomthumbtom8]

Yep an invaluable lesson.
after changing a design by the wife of my coffee table I have found my self short of Elm.

so I have rang all my local wood suppliers for one length 3x2 by 1 meter I have had one quote for £187.00. The original sawmill is playing silly buggers with me.

My time is now running out this coffee table was to be a gift for my son's Christmas.

so to all onlookers that are reading this post don't listen to the wife and always order extra material.
so now I'm left with a problem I don't know how to fix. may be tomorrow will be a better day is searching for the material I need or even a solution.

 

[MikeG.]

.....always order extra material.......

That is fundamental to all good wooodworking. It's also a good way of building up stock. If you stick to 2 or three types of timber only, and you order say 25% more than you think you'll need each time, A/ you'll always have enough for the project in hand and B/ you soon won't need to be buying timber project-by-project.

 

[tomthumbtom8]

Good advice thank you Mike

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I wonder if anyone here might be able to help you out - it being Christmas (nearly). I would, if I had any elm, and lived in the UK, etc.

No, I would! Really! I promise. Honest.
:ho2 :deer

 

[marcros]

You could try British hardwoods in Keighley. I found them to be fair with pricing and if the delivery kills the deal, I may be able to get over that way in the next week or two. I had elm from there a few months ago.

The issue that I have found with the bits of elm that I have used is that there is quite a colour difference between trees.

eBay may also be worth a look for a single small piece.

 

[TFrench]

so to all onlookers that are reading this post don't listen to the wife

I was with you on all points until this :lol:

 

[tomthumbtom8]

I'm going to Southampton at the weekend son's birthday
I'm wondering if there is any good wood suppliers in Southampton


Wondering if I would get by using White Oak. But the only thing is it will change colour to much I think

 

[MikeG.]

No, no, no.....Oak and elm look nothing like each other and there is no way of hiding that.

 

[toolsntat]

Have you given Mike a shout ?
http://www.mactimbers.com/
He might have bit.
Cheers Andy

 

[TheTiddles]

I'm going to Southampton at the weekend son's birthday
I'm wondering if there is any good wood suppliers in Southampton


Wondering if I would get by using White Oak. But the only thing is it will change colour to much I think

Goulden hardwoods near Andover has elm, but it won't be very dry.

When you say 3x2 x1m, is that 3"x2"x1m?

A picture of what you're making could yield more suggestions

Aidan

 

[tomthumbtom8]

This is a image of what I'm working on

The wood is needed for bottom rail and yes 3"x2" by 1 meter

I will ring MAC tomorrow fingers crossed

 

[MARK.B.]

Sorry can't help with the elm but perhaps a rail made from a contrasting coloured wood might work,if it does then you could always say it was part of the plan :roll: .

 

[tomthumbtom8]

I've been think of solutions all day from Oak veneered with elm. to using two lengths of black tube morticed in to the legs. Even using the top rails for the bottom and replacing the top rails with Oak as these are not as visible and also using oak splines on the mitered joints to tie the two different wood types together but this is not a solutions I really want to use.

 

[MikeG.]

ttt8.....you're making a serious piece of furniture. Make it right. That means waiting for the new piece of elm. If it needs to be on display for christmas or whatever, then finish everything else and put it on display, with the caveat that it needs to go back into the workshop afterwards. Don't stuff up a nice piece of furniture because of an artificial deadline.

By the way, there's no good structural reason to have two stretchers. If you've got enough wood for one stretcher, then that would work perfectly well alone, unless there is something spectacular about the design of the double stretcher......

 

[tomthumbtom8]

Mike The double stretcher is only for the black bar but that's not going to happen as you say wait for the material I need I'm sure I will get some over the next week or two and like you say I could always bring it back into the work shop after Christmas when I get the wood I need.

 

[Trevanion]

I know you don't see much Elm anymore commercially on account of the disease, but £187 for what's essentially an offcut size seems seriously wrong!

You should try calling some local cabinet makers, furniture makers, and joiners, you never know what they might have in the offcut rack or "Oh, I know a fella that's got a barn full of Elm he cut down in the 70's, I'll give you his number" etc, etc...

 

[ColeyS1]

Ummmm.............

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[tomthumbtom8]

That a good idea thank you

 

[ColeyS1]

The two inches thick might be pushing it. I think I've seen some somewhere. I'll have a rummage tomorrow but think it may have only been around 1.5 inches....I think

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[ColeyS1]

It was 3 pieces of oak.

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