Beech wood

[slemishwoodcrafts]

I'm needing to buy a piece of beech to make a sink cover for a relative. I only really need a piece 18" square by 3/4" thick. I am planning on buying one slab of beech and using the rest to make some smaller items. So far the cheapest I have been quoted for a slab of beech measuring 8ft long by 20" wide and 1" thick £25. Does this seem a fair price? It has been years since I've bought any hard wood so unsure of good/bad prices

 

[sunnybob]

its good by my standards here. Doesnt sound too far out to me, but you need another irish reader to answer to get a fair comparison, every country has its own pricing system.

 

[Baldhead]

That is over a cubic foot (if my calculations are right) which is a fair price.

Stew

 

[delboy47]

If I could buy beech at £25 for just over a cubic foot I would snatch their hand off. That seems like a very good price to me.

 

[Harbo]

That's a reasonable price for 1.1cuft

Rod

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

Decent. Looks like I have found a new hardwood supplier

 

[RobinBHM]

Watch out for stick marks, a common problem in beech

 

[custard]

Make sure this project doesn't bite you. Damp and shaded environment on one side, drying sunlight from the kitchen window on the other side. Unfortunately that's a recipe for a twisted and warped sink cover. Especially as Beech doesn't have a reputation for being a particularly stable timber.

Give yourself the best chance of success and get a quarter sawn board. Check the available boards and look for one where the grain patterns on the end run straight across rather than diagonally, then also check the board is reasonably flat and reasonably straight grained. Still not a 100% guarantee of success but at least then you'll be in with a decent chance.

At the end of the day getting the right board is more important than spending or saving an additional few quid.

Good luck!

 

[Racers]

I would look for a Corian off cut on Ebay, people sell sink cut outs.

The beech will warp like a banana, damp on one side and dry on the other its a recipe for disaster.

Pete

 

[Biliphuster]

I wish I could get boards like that for that price.

 

[donwatson]

Wish I could source that size of wood never mind the price.

 

[BearTricks]

I had a piece matching those specs, maybe slightly thicker, up until last week. I used a chunk of it to make a quick and dirty rebate plane for another project so it's a bit mangled now.

The price you've been quoted is great, though. If it's waney edged you could use the leftovers to make a stylish coffee table and recoup the costs and then some.

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

I called round with the supplier when I was on my way to an MOT and was very impressed with what they had. 2" thick oak, 20" wide and 6' long for £28. They make all their money from firewood and tree surgery so he was saying that they sell the timber at a reduced rate.
They have quite a selection of oak, cedar, sycamore and elm so I think I will head back with the van next week


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[Armagh]

Mind if I enquire who the supplier is? I've been paying £21 for 1"x 12" x 7' waney edged white oak.

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

Mind if I enquire who the supplier is? I've been paying £21 for 1"x 12" x 7' waney edged white oak.

It was M Large in Newtownabbey. They are directly in behind Carnmoney cemetery.