Is there even a Demand for Good Quality Timber?

[rafezetter]

naz is referring to his extreme dislike of items made from pallets and is inferring that because there are so many pallets to break down for those that do, why would there be a demand for quality wood with which to make things.

Just the opposite, I love pallets. I make 90% of everything from pallets.

I wasn't being facetious with my post, I was being honest.

Really? OK fair enough - I'll redact what I said, but maybe you might see how the wording comes across as sarcastic.

my apologies - it's a bit of a sore point with me, you've only to look at when someone mentions pallets in the forum and the haters crawl out of thw woodwork (pun inteded).

 

[Dee J]

Buying 30% too much doesn't really strike me as being a budget way of doing it, even without counting the work. The timber suppliers in Devon must be different to Cornwall - PAR or even sawn is usually far better quality than the CLS on offer. I use CLS only out of desperation.

Hmm. Who do you use? Winkleigh timber is good for reclaimed stuff, and Tavistock sawmill for new stuff... Where I might buy some Sequoia for the cladding, they won't touch larch.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don't go up to the Midlands very often

 

[RobinBHM]

I don't go up to the Midlands very often

Is that a Cornwall joke?

A bit like above Watford being The North

 

[Beau]

I don't go up to the Midlands very often

Is that a Cornwall joke?

A bit like above Watford being The North

Robin this is a map of the UK

 

[Cheshirechappie]

There is a demand for fine timber, it's just that it's spread out all over the country. Consequently, there isn't enough business anywhere for a 'local' dealer.

To be fair, there are some large merchants with extensive stocks of fine timbers (Sykes Timber, for example), but you either have to travel to them or accept their choice if you want it delivered. There are also a few yards who will do mail order of smallish consignments (Interesting Timbers in Somerset, for example), and a few specialists like firms supplying blanks for turners, and a couple of specialists in exotics.

But, if you want to look just locally, it's very much luck of the draw, sadly.

 

[Alexam]

PM sent David.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

If you don't believe there's a demand for decent timber....go to Yandles weekend after this, it'll take your breath away.

 

[Alexam]

Yandles have the best selection of timber I have seen, that you can closely inspect, but Sykes Timber in Atherstone do have huge supplies and are more local to me.
Malcolm

 

[acewoodturner]

Its just a pity that John Boddies shut a couple of years ago. It was worth coming down from central Scotland to North Yorkshire if I had a big job on and didn't have enough of my own timber milled for it. The quality was excellent and I had minimal waste from it. Their hobbies section for smaller quantities of wood was also very good along with the tools and finishes. Much missed.

 

[bugbear]

Its just a pity that John Boddies shut a couple of years ago. It was worth coming down from central Scotland to North Yorkshire if I had a big job on and didn't have enough of my own timber milled for it. The quality was excellent and I had minimal waste from it. Their hobbies section for smaller quantities of wood was also very good along with the tools and finishes. Much missed.

The fact that they shut illustrates the main conclusion of this thread - not enough (too diffuse) demand.

BugBear

 

[Droogs]

John Boddie were shut down by Allied Timber after they bought them as they already had a large yard in the area I was told by the guys in the yard when I collected my wood from the massive wood auction at the time. I was able to get just under 3/4 m3 each of maple, French oak and 1/2 m3 of cherry for just over a grand all in including the cost of hiring a box van and fuel to go get it from Edinburgh.

If I'd had more readies at the time I would have bought a lot more of the lots as I'd have better luck getting hens teeth up here to use as a building material than decent wood.
I think there is plenty enough demand but as said earlier we are spread to the four winds and as such smaller local suppliers can't get the volume to justifiy prices asked and then sell on to a large enough customer base. It's one of the major drawbacks of globalisation, a too restrictive supply chain for small users.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Actually, literally speaking, it doesn't BB. I appreciate that is one plausible explanation and it could be you're right but the competition from imported timbers is an equally plausible one. It may well be that the true picture is a combination of both ie there is a reasonable demand but most of it is being satisfied by imported timber combined with the trend towards Ikea type furniture has suppressed demand for decent quality solid timber.

Personally, I suspect there is less demand and you see it even in construction where architrave, skirting etc always used to be the fast growing renewable pine's and it's now all pre-painted MDF. That one niche alone must have had a huge impact although of course most of it was imported from Scandinavia anyway.

Thank Goodness places like Yandles still exist because their wood room is a veritable Aladdin's cave of the most mouth watering native timbers as well as a few exotics. Last spring show when I visited, they had Elm boards 3" thick that were about 4 foot wide. There were at least 3 entire, massive Yew trees, planked with similar widths and then the Brown Oak hoved into view. I nearly had an accident! 8 foot tall by about 3 foot wide boards with staggeringly beautiful figure. When I die, I'm going to ask to be buried inside that wood shed!

 

[Alexam]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: =D> =D> =D>