Anyone brought wood from ebay ? any good

[markymark12]

Hi to everyone my first posting, I am quite new to woodworking and am in the throws of getting my workshop together. As such i have been busy looking through ebay for bits of kit. Whilst looking through i came across a few sellers offering timber, there was some very nice english walnut on one.
Where i am based it is almost unheard of and apart from square edge oak, ash, and all the other commercial timbers there is no supply of nice timber.
I was tempted but thought i would ask everyone hear if they had any dealings with anyone on ebay and what they thought of it???

Cheers Mark :?:

 

[JFC]

I don't myself as i like to pick my timber by hand . If there where large timbers that i could machine to the sizes i wanted then maybe but my thinking is any timber on ebay is the left overs that no one wants .

 

[markymark12]

Many thanks for your reply the pieces i saw he had listed were 6 foot long another set which looks very nice but with a lot of sap which he does point out is 4foot by 3 foot. Tempting??? He calls himself wadkin1
Anyone else have a comment

 

[Ratter]

I think you would be wise to budget for a higher wastage rate than normal. Usual things apply, know the value of what you are buying and assess the possible saving against the risk of it not being as good as stated.

Having said that, I bought some elm and sycamore last year and was pleased. It it wasn't as well planed as the seller implied but I have a P/T so I wasn't that bothered. My seller was mainly a furniture maker who had cleared some park trees for a council.

What JFC says is true, if you need to cut large components then maybe not such a good idea but if not and you can avoid any flaws, why not?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Marky

Welcome to the forum.

Have a look here at Chris's timber merchant map.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[oddsocks]

Mark - I would check the feedback of previous buyers on ebay , most seem to be happy with the quality.

You could also try the National Trust as a cheap source of wood if you are prepared to wait for it to dry. I always go to Ickworth House's annual wood fair and buy oak, ash, beech etc. most are in thicknesses 1/2 inch to 4+inches and boards 3-4m long (mixing units :? ). When I've calculated it its about 8-10 per cu ft

I just found the details for this year's event on the NT web site: If you go on the Saturday its jut the wood, on Sunday there are a lot of craft demos and sellers as well.
vent : Wood Sale & Fair
Venue : Ickworth House Park and Gardens (in Suffolk)
Date(s) : Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 October 2007
Description : Now in its eighteenth year! A weekend for everyone to enjoy as woodcraft professionals and enthusiasts come together to demonstrate and sell their crafts. This is a rare opportunity to buy quality wood from the Ickworth Estate. Wood includes native and exotic species, milled and in the round. Plenty of children’s activities available, along with homemade cakes, fudges and pickles for sale.
Time(s) : 10am- 4pm
Price(s) : Normal admission charges apply.
Contact : 01284 736128
[email protected]

 

[Sulli1]

Hi Mark,

I have been buying some beautiful oak from a supplier on ebay recently, his ebay shop is called Yorkshire Oak Supplies but he sells all different types of hardwood on there. The wood is good quality character grade and very reasonably priced. His ebay feedback is excellent too so it may be worth looking if you intend purchasing from ebay.

I hope this may help.

Jenny

 

[markymark12]

Many thanks to everyone replying, i may well try and get along to the sale, and will take a look at the map.
I may well have a go at the ebay lots he has some very timber.
I checked out his feedback and everyone seems more than happy.
Has anyone used Burr elm before in the solid, he has a huge piece which i was thinking of using for a coffee table top it has amazing colours, but i am a little concerned about problems with it with the heating and such in the house. It is sold as air dried for the last few years??????

Thank you to everyone once again for being so helpful.

Cheers Mark

 

[ByronBlack]

I can recommend Wadkin1 I recently bought an 8ft board (18" wide) of cedar from him - he actualyl chucked in another 4ft section for gratis, superb wood, and excellent ebayer, I will be buying more timber from him in the future. (No relation to me!!)

 

[markymark12]

That confirms it then many thanks to every one.

All i need to do now is hope i win it.

Anyone any thoughts on the burr elm?

 

[brianhabby]

Hi Mark

Like most things on Ebay, feedback is a great help but personal recommendation is good too and I can personally recommend a couple who sell small lots of hardwood on Ebay. Their Ebay username is tjg1949 and they trade as Gibson Hardwoods.

When I wanted some mahogany for a project (the tea trolly which is my avatar) I emailed them and they sorted some nice pieces and put it on Ebay just for me with a previously agreed 'Buy It Now' price so I could get it before anyone else. I was very pleased with both the wood and the delivery.

They are called Trev & Anne and they seem genuinely nice people.

Hope this is of some use

regards

Brian