On Jan 26, 9:55 pm, "bob" wrote:
Going to Hawaii soon and I'm interested in bringing some local wood back
with me - monkey pod and koa, for example. Has anyone done this before?
Should I attempt to bundle some up and ship it with my luggage, or have it
shipped separate via UPS or FedEx? I'm not talking about huge quantities
here, but enough to make some boxes or similar. Regardless, the stuff is
probably heavy.....

One of my suitcases was almost completely koa when we went back home.
There's a weight limit on the checked luggage, can't remember what it
is. But they don't care if it's wood or knickknacks. Just dimensions
and weight.

I also had some shipped because I couldn't bear to leave that long
piece of mango behind, and the lumber seller was happy to rig those
boards up for shipping. 154 bucks for the wood, $68 to ship it from
there to Wisconsin. Shipping the wood avoided the 4% excise tax on the
transaction, which knocked a whole five dollars, plus change, off the
top. He said he'd time the shipping so it would arrive after we got
back. He also kindly offered to include the board I bought from
Kamaaina Woods. That was Ken Endriss at Paradise
Hardwoods, southeast of Hilo, in 2004.

About half the little Mom and Pop shops that are filled with bowls and
boxes and stuff, have a rack in the back with cutoffs and other nice
pieces for sale. I bought a few of those too.

Lots of chatting with woodworkers, checking out lumber piles in back
rooms, it was great.