Timber Prices

[Paul.J]

I have been asked to make a Rocking horse,first one for a few years.
I have been phoning round for timber prices and have been quoted £203 for a plank of Tulipwood,12' long 12" wide and 3"thick.
Does this work out to 3 cubic feet,and does the price seem fair.Seems to have gone up a lot since i last bought it.
TIA.
Paul.J.

 

[tim]

Yes it is 3 cubic feet and no the price isn't fair - its frankly ridiculous. That equates to £57 + vat per cube. Shouldl be closer to £18. What may drive the price up is the dimensions of the plank. Do yo really need only one plank Will be better and cheaper to buy narrower, shorter and thinner stock.

Who's quoting you that btw

Cheers

Tim

 

[paisawood]

Paul,

Paid £13.50 per cubic foot for 1 inch tulipwood at Arnold Laver in Oldbury last month. Don't know if they had any 3 inch in stock.

HTH

David

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Tim/David.
So the £13.50 would work out to £40.50c/f for 3".Would that be correct.
If so it's not far off the £57c/f.
Was quoted this from what now is a Jewsons store,used to be Hobbs timber last time i visited.Jewsons don't normaly stock this sort of timber but i knew they had it here then and they still have some old stock left,at those prices.
Obviously if i bought it out of Brum it would have to be delivered so pushing up the price :?:
Paul.J.

 

[tim]

Thanks Tim/David.
So the £13.50 would work out to £40.50c/f for 3".Would that be correct.
If so it's not far off the £57c/f.
Was quoted this from what now is a Jewsons store,used to be Hobbs timber last time i visited.Jewsons don't normaly stock this sort of timber but i knew they had it here then and they still have some old stock left,at those prices.
Obviously if i bought it out of Brum it would have to be delivered so pushing up the price :?:
Paul.J.

Paul - I think you are confused re pricing. Cubic foot is a volume figure. A cubic foot of 1" timber is the same volume as a cubic foot of 3" timber. There is sometimes a price increase for thicker timber ie a cubic foot of 1" stuff will probably be about 90% of the price of a cubic foot of 2" stuff.

Therefore what we are saying is that your 3 cubic feet of tulipwood should cost somewehere between £13.50 and £18 per cubic foot ie total cost for your order would be £40.50 to £54 for the lot (not per cube!).

I would say that buying from someone like Jewsons is asking for trouble - they don't deal in the stuff, and have standard (list price) comedy pricing.
Check the timber merchant list on this site and it should give you a fair few local/ mail order supplier options. Here's the link http://woodgen.com/timber.htm

Cheers

Tim

 

[Paul.J]

Yep.Sorry Tim course it is,brainDead :roll:
I paid £70+vat the last time i bought some about 4 years ago,for the same size timber,so that was expensive too.
That place as since been burnt down and no longer trades.
I will give Arnold Laver a ring tomorrow,it's not too far.
I have rang other local yards up but they don't seem to want to bother with such a small amount.
Paul.J.

 

[andy king]

In a way this relates to this thread: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... 7&start=30
Where it was asked why magazines don't put prices of timber on projects, and I pointed out differences between suppliers and the area you live as part of the reason why it is difficult.
Your quote for tulip(poplar) seems massively expensive. I used to make kitchen face frames from it a few years back and it was then about £15 a cube for 50mm thick stock, and I can't imagine it has gone up too much and that 75mm stock is that much more.
It will be interesting to see what quotes or prices you and others get from different areas of the country as it will hopefully clarify my reasoning in the thread mentioned.

cheers,
Andy

 

[CHJ]

Paul, have you tried Good Timber to see if they stock it? Not too far away for you to collect.

Link to Quote Form (bottom Left)

 

[Paul.J]

Yes Andy i can see why you wouldn't want to put timber prices in your articles,i am getting such a variation in prices.
CHJ wrote
Paul, have you tried Good Timber to see if they stock it?
Just tried them Chas and they said they don't stock that thickness and have trouble getting that thickness :?:
Have also phoned Arnold Laver,quoted £81 + vat,£25 del.
Whitmores,quoted £67 + vat,for 13',about £30 del.
Think i'll give the Jewson one a ring back to see if they can lower their price to match :roll:
Paul.J.

 

[andy king]

Paul.j wrote:

Yes Andy i can see why you wouldn't want to put timber prices in your articles,i am getting such a variation in prices.

Thanks Paul, your figures certainly back it up!
It's certainly frightening to find that the prices can be so high, and little wonder why people choose to buy rather than make sometimes!

Andy

 

[tim]

Paul

Does it have to be 3" thick? I'm assuming you are going to be painting it? Why not glue it up out of two or three boards - I think you'll find it will be a lot more readily available and much cheaper.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Saintsman]

Paul,

I've made two rocking horses from tulipwood and used John Boddy Timber at Boroughbridge. I know they're not exactly local to you (or me) but they do have a very reasonable delivery charge.

Saintsman

 

[Paul.J]

Tim wrote
Does it have to be 3" thick?
Yes i would prefer it to be,as with past experience the joins do eventually show,with shrinkage etc,and doesn't look so good.Plus it is easier to carve when you just have a single piece with the same grain orientation.
I'd be happy with Whitmores price now,just gotta get back and see if my client(best friend) is happy with it.
Anyway thanks for the advice everyone,you have saved me a load of money
I think buying timber is a big problem for the likes of me when you are not buying on a regular basis.
I was happy with Yandles style of seeing the timber marked up for each particular piece.Just a pity they're too far away
If i get the go ahead for this horse,would there be any interest if i done a WIP :?:
Paul.J.

 

[CHJ]

If i get the go ahead for this horse,would there be any interest if i done a WIP :?:
Paul.J.

Do you really need to ask that Paul? just you dare do one without the pics :lol: :lol:

 

[motownmartin]

If i get the go ahead for this horse,would there be any interest if i done a WIP :?:
Paul.J.

Do you really need to ask that Paul? just you dare do one without the pics :lol: :lol:

You'll be sent to Coventry if you don't :wink:

 

[Woodmagnet]

:lol: :lol: :lol: