When I need some basic Walnut or maple I don’t want to have to run all the way down to Charlotte to Johnson’s. Does anyone have any other places they go to to buy wood?
I’ve gotten maple and oak at Menards but I would guess that Home Depot would have SOMETHING useful to you and it’s a lot closer to the Maker’s space. There was a lumber yard on the south side I’d recommend but they closed recently. Outside of those options, I don’t know of anything else (but would love to learn about them if they exist).
If I’m not going to a proper lumbar yard or to a specialty store, I’ve found OK wood at Menards. They have larger pieces in their lumber yard and smaller pieces in the handtool area, two aisles up from the cash register. You can also find smaller pieces of wood at Michaels and Hobby Lobby (sized for the laser cutter).
Pretty much everything I’ve found at Home Depot and Lowes is junk for anything nicer than pine.
There’s Launstein’s down in Mason, has some decent pieces, but they only go up to 6/4. That said, if that’s what you’re looking for, their prices are very reasonable and they have just beautiful pieces to choose from. Up in St. John’s the Maple Rapids Lumber Mill is supposed to be a good source but I haven’t yet gone up there. I really like the folk down at Johnson’s so I don’t much mind making the trip. I’m usually making things up as I go along and they’re always happy to help me figure out what it is I actually want (and not just lead me towards the most expensive option).
Ray and I traveled to Launstein’s in Mason this past Tuesday. They have the following types of wood:
Red Oak
White Oak
Cherry Oak
Walnut
Hard Maple
Soft Maple
Ash
Poplar
Hickory
Butter Nut
Each board is priced per piece. Here’s what the showroom is like.
Pricing Guide Here:
LaunsteinsHardwoodPricingSheet12022017.pdf (320.5 KB)
They also have a free scraps bin outside, which could have bits from wood they process, it goes quickly (NOTE: Ray’s hand under board for scale).
And here’s their web page for more information: http://www.launstein.com/hardwood-lumber.html
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Yes I discovered them last week. They have 36 inch cherry and walnut and
maple boards perfect for cutting boards!
The scraps out back are also perfect for cutting boards and FREE!!! 
I thought that they might make a good source to cut down material costs for the cutting board classes and increase the amount going back into the Maker’s Space.
According to the people we spoke to there, the scraps area also has end cuts regularly as they cut boards to length for orders. We were told there are a number of people who frequent the pile though so the scraps don’t tend to stick around for long.
I live in Mason so I will make it a point to go there once a week on my
lunch hour. Unfortunately they are not open on the weekends or after 5.
This is turning into a great thread that with sources that will likely help new members in the future. I’ve made this a “wiki” topic on talk so that we can collate the good stuff.
What a wiki topic means is that now anyone can edit the original post, wiki style, and collate the good stuff at the top of the thread.
We’ve also been discussing creating a MI Maker Resources directory where we can collate all the great shops, yards, etc that folks know about in the area for everything making. Discourse has a location plugin that we’re experimenting with, but I’m not sure that’s the best solution. If anyone knows of a system we could use that’s suited to creating a directory like this, I’d love to know about it.
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Adding to the wood thread, I recently found a source for really good pallet wood on craigslist. It’s a metal shop on Dawn Ave in East Lansing (right near Ellison Brewing, so added bonus there), and their shipments come in on these heavy duty 2X4 and 4x4 hardwood pallets. I swung by there yesterday and filled the back of my CRV with wood and barely made a scratch in their supply. So far I’m finding good cherry and maple on the pallets, not to mention some oak in their loose timber supply.
The guy at the shop said he didn’t mind us coming by from time to time to poke through his supplies. It’s not always the freshest wood, but a quick run through the planer does the trick for it, and the boards are more substantial than what you can get in the Lauenstein scrap pile (which is not to diss the scrap pile…just saying).
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