This topic contains 30 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by 
Brian 2 months, 2 weeks ago.
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I was wondering who most people get materials from. I work with a larger regional supplier. The reason, they are more cost effective, and I only have to deal with my sales rep. Local lumber yard is a lot more expensive and takes longer to get materials.
I get all my rough sawn hardwood from a local supplier. They grow and mill the domestics locally and bring in everything else mostly from the US I think. I buy all my sheet goods and hardware at another local supplier and any dimensional lumber I get from the building centre.
It depends on where the job is. I usually use a larger supplier because of cost but for every job I contact at least three lumberyards for estimates in that town.
I get all my rough cut from a local yard. Dan do you plane and shape all your own material?
I have never used anything other than the big box stores…. are the savings worth it? are they just killing me on prices at lowes and hd?
Brian – yes I mill all my lumber in my shop. I don’t mill my own mouldings but I mill everything else from rough sawn.
John,
It depends on what you are buying, I can tell you that they are killing you on quality. If you are buying surfaced lumber from them, then sorry to say it but your nuts. Sheet goods are normally cheaper but absolute garbage, voids everywhere and warps easyDan,
What is the reason you mill your own, cost savings or more precise control of product. I think it costs me more to mill my own, but I know that everything is exactly how I want it. If the moldings are not complex, I will make my own.
i buy my lumber through the local yard. they have far more stock and better prices than the big box. specialty materials come from suppliers such as composite decking which i get through my siding supplier. same with azec
Brian – I mill my own lumber for precision. It would probably work out cheaper to buy it milled but it’s not nearly as accurate to work with. Also I like to keep as much work as possible in-house profit wise.
I get all my dimensional lumber from the big boxes, They kill the local yards on pricing and I do not see a quality difference. I have had good and bad loads from both. GP, LP or Ainsworth OSB is the same from both and cheaper from the big box. (I have even seen our local yard buy OSB from the Local Lowes) I order millwork through the big boxes(not what they stock on the shelves)and have them order from the sane suppliers as the local yards would order it and get a significant savings. Siding and windows come from a national supplier. All in all I save quite a bit and do not sacrifice quality.
Dan,
If you were looking for a track saw, that is what I use to set the edge on all my rough cut. I have to joint the table saw side, but nothing on the track saw sideBrian, I was wondering about using the track saw for that. Most boards I get are have a decently straight edge so a few passes over the jointer get them straight but some have quite a curve to them. I would think the track saw would speed things up getting a straight edge?
It does make things much easier, and if you are making things with sheet goods, the time is cut in half.
How specifically do you find the track saw saves you time with sheet goods? I’ve been breaking down sheets of plywood the last couple of days for a set of cabinets that I’m building and was thinking that the table saw still must be faster for making the majority of the rip cuts. One thing I would love to have a track saw for is cross cutting panels that are too wide to fit in my cross-cut sled…such as backs for wider cabinets.
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