I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

You are getting a lot of good feedback over on the woodworking rec.

I only know of a few turners that actually buy wood. Some small
amounts of exotics are usually a purchase for certain special projects,
but the type/style and wood choice of turning is almost always directly
related to what is available.

I have bought large amount of pieces of curly maple, parrotwood, wenge,
bloodwood etc., from a guy that marked it all 50% off.... he was going
broke.

The president of our local woodturning club is an importer of woods
from South America. He sells 99.9 percent of his stock to custom
furniture makers. He sells little or nothing to our club, even though
he has made it available at reasonable prices.

Read through this group; many of the "gloats" or excited posts are when
a neighbor's tree falls down, the utility company is running their line
clearing trucks, or something is discovered when following the sounds
of a chain saw. If most turners are like the ones in my local group,
half the fun is the idea that you "discover" a piece of highly figured
or colored wood in the firewood or on the side of the road. That, BTW,
would include me also.

Big pieces cost too much to ship; small pieces may not be worth
purchasing to some because of the size of the projects that many want
to turn. If you want to see your competition, a mail order only
supplier that has an EBAY store that has great reviews is "canebranch".
BUT, all his stuff is for turners, and it is all local woods available
to him, sized on a bandsaw and sealed.

Good luck.

Robert

Where do I get my wood ???

Have a look

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum30.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

One question which comes to mind -- what do you know about exotic wood?

Bill

wrote:
Where do I get my wood ???

Have a look

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum30.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

Only the little bit I've learned as a woodworked for the past 5 or 6
years. I've used some cocobolo, some bloodwood, zebrawood, and lyptus.

I've also used some domestic woods: hard maple, black walnut, oak.

Of course I've read Hoadly's book and have a few books on
identification of woods. But, I'll confess, unless it's obvious, I
couln't identify many pieces of wood. I could probaly identify easy
ones like purpleheart, walnut, curly maple, zebra wood, etc.

I also know many woods have dangerous dust. I'd have to consult a book
on various things.

I am not an expert by any means. However, I can prove the minimax
theorem so I have a brain. Learning woods can't take too long -- a
matter of months, surely.

Cheers -- not trying to sound sarcastic - I appreciate your response.


Bill Rubenstein wrote:
One question which comes to mind -- what do you know about exotic wood?

Bill

wrote:
Where do I get my wood ???

Have a look

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum30.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

[snip]
You are getting a lot of good feedback over on the woodworking rec.

Yes, indeed. Looks like this group is just as good in that way.

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?


Answering you question as it is stated: I buy most of mine at a local Exotic
Lumber store. But I don't buy much wood that way, mainly pen blanks. Most of
the wood I turn, as most turners that I know use "Road Kill" - as others have
said/ We keep an eye out for fallen trees after storms and have a network to
alert each other when we know of a tree that is coming down. One club I
belong to actually has a good relationship with the city, we have first dibs
on trees that the city needs to take down - most of them have some historic
significance. We do return a piece or two to the city and the mayor.

--
Mike Vore
http://www.OhMyWoodness.com
http://mike.vorefamily.net/twr

Learning the woods may be much easier than learning the sources. There
are direct importers and then those who have bought from a direct
importer. Then there are importers who buy from the foreign mills the
stuff the others have passed over. Needless to say, the costs to you
and the quality may differ greatly. Expecting 'grade' to protect you
against junk is expecting too much, I think.

I don't know if you've owned a business before but, as the new owner of
the business, you will need to establish your credit worthiness.
Usually that takes time and cash or an understanding bank.

The business is not rocket science but it isn't as straightforward as it
may seem. I don't want to discourage you but there is a lot under the
surface which may not be apparent at first. Also remember that the
exotic wood business tends to be an 'old boys' business. At the
import/wholesale level there are a small number of players and they all
know each other (both the good and bad) and have been doing business
with each other for years.

I'm smart too -- designed and wrote system software most of my life
including several small operating systems and a number of special
purpose compilers. But, I'd never even think of sitting down at a poker
table with a serious poker player. In some ways, that is what you are
thinking of doing.

Bill

Never Enough Money wrote:
Only the little bit I've learned as a woodworked for the past 5 or 6
years. I've used some cocobolo, some bloodwood, zebrawood, and lyptus.

I've also used some domestic woods: hard maple, black walnut, oak.

Of course I've read Hoadly's book and have a few books on
identification of woods. But, I'll confess, unless it's obvious, I
couln't identify many pieces of wood. I could probaly identify easy
ones like purpleheart, walnut, curly maple, zebra wood, etc.

I also know many woods have dangerous dust. I'd have to consult a book
on various things.

I am not an expert by any means. However, I can prove the minimax
theorem so I have a brain. Learning woods can't take too long -- a
matter of months, surely.

Cheers -- not trying to sound sarcastic - I appreciate your response.


Bill Rubenstein wrote:
One question which comes to mind -- what do you know about exotic wood?

Bill

wrote:
Where do I get my wood ???

Have a look

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum30.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Never Enough Money wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

There are guys selling blanks on ebay. Track their auctions and see how they
do it and how much money they are making. I know there are a lot of pen
blanks sold at the local Woodcraft.

cm

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

Cook Woods is here in Klamath Falls, OR and he has developed a good
business in exotic wood. Sells most of it through the Internet and
e-bay. I think over the years he has developed a solid return customer
base. I'm sure his base is flat wood but he says he ships a lot of
turning wood mostly in blocks under 8".

I think he pretty much buys logs and mills them himself so he really
knows his stuff. And while I don't know him personally I know he works
very hard at the business!

Earl

In article . com,
wrote:

Cook Woods is here in Klamath Falls, OR and he has developed a good
business in exotic wood. Sells most of it through the Internet and
e-bay. I think over the years he has developed a solid return customer
base. I'm sure his base is flat wood but he says he ships a lot of
turning wood mostly in blocks under 8".

I think he pretty much buys logs and mills them himself so he really
knows his stuff. And while I don't know him personally I know he works
very hard at the business!

He also has a semi and goes to wood-working shows. I know this as I
have bought wood from him there

--
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Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
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On Dec 11, 2:49 pm, "Never Enough Money" wrote:
I'm considering buying an exotic wood store. He caters to furniture
makers. If I buy it, I'd like to start also selling to turners. So
where do turners (I'm not one) buy their wood? Mail order, internet,
local stores?

I used to manage the Paxton's Woodcrafters store in Kansas City, Mo. I
can tell you from personal experience that turners are tighter than two
coats of paint. Since I am a turner myself, I tried to carry a fairly
good selection of exotics and turning stock. I managed that store for
3 years and I saw a couple of turners maybe once or twice. I did have
a clearance sale so that I could get rid of alot of the dead stock and
they all came out of the woodwork (so to speak). I continued to carry
exotic lumber but not much else and I never saw another turner again.
Take it for what it's worth and good luck to you.

Alex