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This may seem silly or conceited. I am not a huge customer of any lumber outlet. But I get frequent e-mails about where I buy specific types of wood. Hopefully this will provide some answers.
At the risk of being shunned by fine woodworkers, I confess that I do buy some wood from the familiar big orange box (Home Depot) or big blue box (Lowes).
There are several locations where I have bought furniture-grade wood in Austin.
Dakota Premium Hardwoods
6301 East Stassney Lane, suite 600, Austin 78744 (not far from the airport)
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
512-389-9773
Dry measure (measured before milling with about 10% loss)
East Stassney Lane becomes Montopolis at the first light south of Ben White (71), so part of your trip may be on Stassney, part on Montopolis. The easy way to Dakota Hardwoods from the North is from IH35, take the new ramp onto 71 - Ben White East - then take the first exit (Montopolis) south. If you are coming from the west on 71, Montopolis is the second exit after IH35. In a few blocks Montopolis becomes Stassney, just past the light, with a large industrial/warehouse complex on the left (east side of Stassney). Dakota is in the south end of that complex, in the front building along the road. If you approach from the south, follow Stassney east and north. Only a small sign on the building.
Dakota is a chain of hardwood suppliers in Texas, that opened in Austin January 11, 2012. Dakota is based in Waco, with outlets in Waco, El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas. The owner, Price Brashear is a third generation lumber man, who worked in mills, on his way to a Harvard degree. They have delivered on their promise of attractive prices on plywood, good hardwood, a full line of cabinet hardware featuring Blum and KV, and related products.
Hardwoods are stacked on pallets, so someone may have to use a forklift to pull the type of wood you want, but I was impressed with selection, quality, and price. They have a small area with "exotic" woods, on display, so you can examine the individual boards. Their sheet good selection included all the usual furniture and hardwood plywoods, Baltic birch in multiple grades, many types of Melamine (hope I don't have to go there again), MDF, 3/8 inch bending ply, etc. This is not the best place to just poke and browse through the boards, but it is my first place to call and place an order for pick up or delivery.
You may recognize the name Ron Mazzarella - he was the manager of Austin Hardwoods and then BlueLinx (when they bought Austin Hardwoods and moved). Later Ron switched from BlueLinx to Mason's Mill. He has now moved to Dakota to open and manage their Austin branch. Ron has served me well for many years, and continues to do so at Dakota. You may also recognize Nick Harper (30 years with Paxton), Mike Beville (BlueLinx and McKillikan) and Bob Henderson, who was a supervisor at a furniture plant in San Marcos, owned a cabinet shop, and ran some large millwork operations before moving to lumber sales.
Hardwood prices start to drop if you buy 300 bf or more. Free next-day delivery is offered for larger orders (over $500). Mid-size orders will be delivered "when a truck is in the area." Smaller orders... talk to your salesman for delivery times and fees.
Mason's Mill and Lumber Company Inc.
512-295-3000 (toll from Austin), fax 512-295-3001
Mason's mill is a major Houston lumber company that opened a warehouse in Buda, just south of Austin, and was a favorite for a couple years. That location has closed, but the person who answers the phone says they still serve the hill country from Houston.
Fine Lumber and Plywood
9407 Brown Lane (Northeast Austin, east of I35 and Cameron, North of 183)
730 to 5 Monday-Friday, open until 6:30 on Thursdays.
(512) 836-8990
Current measure
Fine Lumber is a great place to start if you are not experienced in buying hardwood, or if you need a special board or two. The folks are really nice and helpful, and unlike most lumber yards, you are welcome to browse through their well-labeled stacks of lumber. Most of their lumber is skim-planed (4/4 lumber planed to 15/16), so you have a pretty good idea what the board is like, but can still plane it more to perfect the surface and remove any dings. They also have planed and sanded lumber (more expensive), mouldings, hardwood plywood (walnut, cherry, etc., with ply core, combi-core, MDF core, and lumber core). They have some "tropical/exotic" hardwoods, wood such as quarter-sawn white oak, and even recycled old pine and river recovered southern yellow pine for the New Yankee Workshop projects. You can pick your boards from the racks, then go to the office and a clerk will measure your selections and check you out. The prices for hardwoods are quite competitive, but some of their sheet goods are pretty expensive... for example, their red oak ply was almost as cheap as the big box, but I once paid $54.96 per sheet for 1/4 inch walnut plywood, and subsequently paid as little as $26.15 for the same item from their competitors.
I go there occasionally for small quantities of hardwood, since I can pick boards to meet a specific need. Since everyone can pick their boards, sometimes I have trouble finding sufficient wood of decent quality when I am starting a larger project, even digging through their entire inventory. They have a well-equipped mill on site, if you need special services (but it is not cheap for small volumes). Generally, they do not deliver, but when I asked recently they reluctantly agreed to deliver for a fee.
Fine Lumber does carry hardware (but I don't know how their prices compare).
Brazos Forest Products, a division of Baillie Lumber Company, formerly
Hogan Hardwood which was formerly
Paxton's wood source
600 Industrial Blvd (South of Ben White, between Congress and I35)
(512) 443-0777
Dry measure
This is where I learned about industrial or wholesale purchasing. You place the order with a salesman, by phone or in the office, and get wood in the order it comes off the bundle. Good and bad, but the stacks haven't been picked over by every woodworker ahead of you. Rough cut lumber has generally not been skim planed, so you will have to do some basic planing before you can select boards for a project. You don't need to be special to buy this way, but you do need to act like a wholesale customer. They expect to take your good-size order, fill it quickly, and move on, not meditate on each board. They will deliver larger orders.
On my first order after Paxton became Hogan, they let me down - couldn't deliver what they promised, after I held up a project waiting for their delivery. On the next order they messed up billing by about $100, and took a month (and many phone calls to the accountants at corporate headquarters) to fix it. I haven't dealt with them, nor their successor, since, but many woodworkers like them.
Hogan's Woodcrafter's Store
Current measure
This was the retail outlet next door to the (Wholesale) Hogan Hardwood Source in Austin. The wood displayed in the retail store was eliminated with the change to Brazos, and the people who ran this outlet have retired, but some of my friends report that the store still provides retail service to smaller customers.
BlueLinx Hardwoods
formerly Austin Hardwoods Inc.
Dry measure
Austin store now closed
McKillican America - F1rst Wood
29 Cypress Blvd,, Round Rock TX 78664
512-828-5800, 866-742-5800, fax 512-828-5801
Green tally (allows their prices to appear lower)
From Austin go north on I35, exit 257 onto Chandler Road. Go east (right) to the third street on the right, Cypress Boulevard.
I recently received a note from them that they had become more friendly to retail customers. I have not had a chance to visit since I got that note, but welcome your feedback if you have used them recently.
I visited several years ago, but not bought from them yet. They are (or were) a wholesale-only lumber yard, where you place your order in person or by phone, they pull the wood, and either deliver it to you, or you can pick up the bundle they have prepared. You may look at the lumber in their warehouse, but there is no option for selecting boards. They do sell hardware at attractive prices.
Walnut is one of my favorite furniture woods. But in 20 years I have never found a good source in Texas. Only one routine order and one special order in all those years pleased me, and the "good" routine order would have been considered only average quality up north. When I have been able to pick through boards at a lumber yard, it is hard to find enough to do a good size project. As a result, I have brought walnut back from Minnesota/Iowa a couple times when visiting my wife's family. And I have bought several hundred board feet from Wall Lumber in North Carolina.
Old growth walnut with wide boards, straight grain, no knots, and no sapwood is ancient history - basically not available except from someone who has a stash hidden in their barn. The 150 year old trees that wood comes from have been harvested long ago, and the 50 year old trees aren't that large. In some areas, walnut is steamed (high moisture and temperature at the beginning of kiln drying, not something that can be done later) which darkens the sapwood some, but also lightens and takes out some of the character of the heartwood. I would love to get steamed wood, rather than what is considered good here... the high percentage of sapwood on at least one side of each board. For fancy walnut projects, I now think of walnut veneer, sometimes even on walnut substrate (hide the ugly walnut, but get the other advantages of walnut).
Why do I tell this story? Because I have seen several people look for walnut at a lumber yard, and when they see what is sold in Texas as walnut, they rate the lumber yard bad and leave. My bad luck with walnut in Texas applies across all the lumber yards I have bought from, so it must be a problem with the lumber sources that Texas lumber yards buy walnut from. Or the fact that Texans have come to accept this walnut as "normal" - a quality that many of us Yankees would consider "bad."
Berdoll Sawmill and Furniture Company
4754 FM 535, Cedar Creek, TX 78612
8:00 to 5:00 Monday - Friday, Saturday 9:00 to 1:00.
They recommend calling before coming - occasionally the whole crew is offsite logging.
(512) 497-5910
Take Hwy 71 East towards Bastrop. Go 16 miles past the Airport and turn right on Hwy 21 toward San Marcos. Go 5.5 miles and turn left of F.M. 535. Go 4.2 miles and turn left at the 48" saw blade at the entrance.
Brandon Berdoll is a very talented lumberman, who with his wife Brandi started their mill and retail sales in 2009. His computer controlled kilns (and a lot of personal talent) has enabled him to create some amazing slabs, some of which he builds into furniture. Friends who have gone there have been very impressed with their selection and prices, I was served well when I bought mesquite from them. Their web site is growing, to eventually show all their slabs.
They are a specialty sawmill that carries a large inventory of native Texas hardwood slabs and lumber including: Texas Pecan, Mesquite, Escarpment Cherry, Texas Walnut, Cedar Elm, Oak and others. Slabs are displayed for easy viewing in their 4,500 SF humidity controlled showroom. Their Texas Mesquite lumber is stored in bins of different grades and lengths - natural edge slabs are commonly over 36" wide and up to 20 feet long.
All lumber and slabs are kiln dried on-site in computer controlled kilns. They operate two bandsaw sawmills (soon three) and are set up to saw logs, up to 7 ft in diameter. Their custom built 100" wide jointer/planer can flatten large slabs and tabletops. Woodshop services are also available including: straight line ripping, jointing, planing, resawing, and widebelt sanding. If you have your own logs, they offer a full range of services. They build custom furniture, specializing in large dining and conference tables. Fireplace mantles from native Texas hardwoods are also available.
They were featured in a great article by Curtis Turner on the Highland Woodworking site.
Bill (Stuewe)'s Workshop, Sawmill, and Lumber
1901 County Road 153, Georgetown, TX 78626
Open most hours but by appointment (one person business)
(512) 863-5006
From Austin Take I35 Exit 252, at the first light turn right on Williams Drive, then left at the light onto Austin Avenue (McDonald's is on the right). At first light turn right on FM971 for about 6 miles to the tiny town of Weir, then turn left on FM1105. In about 1.3 miles turn right on County Highway 153; in 2 miles turn left into the driveway (Beige pipe gateway, name on right side of entry). This may be one for your GPS or Google Maps.
Bill Stuewe bought the equipment and Kilns from the defunct Mesquite Burl mill to supplement his sawing hobby, and has made it a business. He has been recommended by several people for interesting, often figured, Texas woods, which he has available as lumber or slabs, or he will do custom sawing for you.
U.S. Lumber Brokers
11004 FM 969 (Extension of MLK Blvd.), Austin 78724
8:00 to 5:00 Monday - Friday
(512) 927-1111
From Hwy 183, take FM969 east for about 3½ miles. Their warehoouse is on the left shortly after passing the MiniMax Food Mart.
This was formerly Everwood Decking Partners (an ipe distributor) and Premium Mesquite. Both faded from my radar, but in early 2016 I got a call from Derek announcing the new name, a new web site, and new business structure. I bought a lot of ipe from them in years past, and would give them a try again. The phone call and web site suggested that they specialized in ipe and other types of Brazilian hardwoods now.
I don't go to San Antonio to buy lumber, so I haven't dealt with any of these facilities, but some woodworking friends in San Antonio recently shared these comments:
Dakota Hardwoods
4441 Centergate
San Antonio, Texas 78217
Phone: 210-967-WOOD (9663)
My "full time woodworker" friend uses Dakota as his primary lumber yard - he says it is the only one he recommends without reservation. The best folks at the other lumber yards appear to have ended up here. (Sounds like Dakota's approach in Austin, hiring the best staff from the competition).
BlueLinx Hardwoods is still operating in San Antonio, having left Dallas and Austin, but my friend's loyalty has switched to Dakota. See BlueLinx at 535 North WW White Road, San Antonio, TX 78219, (210) 657-9994
Another woodworking friend says that, in the rare case that he can't get the plywood he wants in the other San Antonio lumber yards, he uses Roddis Lumber and Veneer, but he is less than thrilled with their service.
Alamo Hardwoods, 1 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78201, (210) 736-3137
A friend says "They have a fantastic showroom of hardwoods, but are very expensive."
Allen and Allen is another one mentioned - downtown at 202 Culebra, San Antonio, TX 78201, (210) 733-9191 or 800-950-8579. See their website.
Mail order is expensive because of shipping costs. Several places offer a "UPS bundle," about 70 pounds of wood, no long boards - basically a much as they can ship by UPS at the "normal" rates without jumping to the higher freight rates charged for large packages or heavy shipments. Sometimes the wood is especially good. Top grade wood must be fairly long, but long boards cannot be shipped in a normal UPS package. One company explained that if they have a board that is very good on one end, but bad on the other, they cut the bad end off and put the good end in the UPS bundle (since the shorter board can no longer be considered top grade by the official grading specifications). A UPS bundle (or two) may be enough for a small project, but certainly not for a large entertainment center or bedroom set. For a regular order (not a UPS bundle), the estimate for shipping 100 board feet from North Carolina to Austin (pick up at the terminal, not even delivered) was over $100. When I bought 300 board feet it cost $222 for shipping. Even a full truckload (6,000 to 8,000 board feet) costs about $2 per loaded mile to ship.
The other risk of shipping is the quality of the wood. No wood is perfect - as they love to say, "when you buy a steak you pay for the bone, too." But just how good will it be? The reputation of the vendor is critical.
Steve H Wall Lumber Company in Mayodan North Carolina has been selling through fine woodworking magazines and on the Internet "forever." Steve personally called me back instantly when I e-mailed a question. They have been very responsive to me, their deals look good, and they have a long term reputation on the Internet as good people to deal with. Freight costs have killed most potential purchases, but I did take advantage of UPS bundle for some exotic wood, and another time took advantage of a special on Walnut. The extra cost of the freight made the special not so special, but the wood was good. Dry measure
Mike Mastin, who ran Curly Woods (my favorite source for figured hardwoods) in McKinney Texas (near Dallas), is getting back in the business as McKinney Hardwood Lumber. He sells by mail order through his new web site, www.McKinneyHardwoods.com, and if you want to inspect his stock, he is open by appointment, working out of his "Garage Mahal". He recently told me he was awaiting many woods, but his new web site shows some beautiful samples. Feel free to contact him at sales@mckinneyhardwoods.com to discuss your requirements, or get directions for a visit. Mike is someone I would trust to sell me figured wood, even sight unseen, at a very fair price.
My other web site, www.solowoodworker.com, includes a page on "how to buy hardwood" that you may find useful.
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