Hello,

What is the best way to find a lumber yard that will sell rough cut lumber (not in massive amounts) to a wood worker?

Several I see on the Internet sell bulk, etc.  I would like to go "shop" for rough cut that I can plane and work from different thicknesses.

Any ideas, suggestions or comments.  I live in western PA near the Pittsburgh area if anyone has any info I would appreciate it.

Dr. Nevin

I live in east central a Indiana and we are fortunate enough to have two within an hour of me.  You might google “lumber mills in Pennsylvania” or “hardwood in Pennsylvania” and see what you get.  You might also try Craigslist.  Search on building materials.  Hopefully you can find someplace that kiln dries their wood because it’s much more stable.

Thank you Ron, it would be nice to find something close to me.  I know sometimes the Amish are running mills but they don't advertise and are difficult to locate sometimes.  Appreciate the info :-)

Nevin

Just did a Google search for saw mills in Pittsburgh. Came back with 3 possibilities. Not sure how close they actually are. 

Have a friend that ran one of those portable saw mills, he moved to Florida. Sure wish I had enough forethought to have gotten all I wanted before he left.

I will keep digging, plus there is a Woodcraft store near me, maybe they might have some leads. Thanks!

I was going to say to check with all your contacts to find a local sawmill.  Sometimes some of the tree trimmers will know who is running a mill.  Then you can get custom cut lumber for a minimal price.  

www.woodfinder.com  will help you source suppliers near you, 
also many of the portable bandsaw suppliers can connect you with local sawyers who utilize their equipment

 Not sure which side of Pittsburgh you are, Baird bros. is an hour & a half N.W. in Canfield.

If you really want to get into it.

Harbor freight sell's a cheap small bandsaw mill.

Once you have a mill you will find free logs everywhere.

You will probably spend less on the mill then you would

for a hand full of slabs. Just another idea.... 

The Sawmill Locator

 

http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20031104.pdf

 

https://primary.forestproductslocator.org/mill-map

 

https://www.sawmilldatabase.com/nearbysawmills.php

Edited February 7, 20206 yr by Kevin Beitz

Lots of great suggestions!  Thank you all...

I just hit the Pittsburgh Craigslist and a lot of stuff to choose from came up.

On 2/7/2020 at 8:00 AM, DuckSoup said:

 Not sure which side of Pittsburgh you are, Baird bros. is an hour & a half N.W. in Canfield.

My sister used to work there, many years ago.

You might also consider a trip to Amish country around Holmes Co.   Keim Lumber comes to mind; their "exotics" is amazing.  A friend of mine goes to another place, Yoder's in Millersburg.   While you are out that way, stop at Hartville Hardware.   It's easily 3x as big as a Home Depot or Lowe's.  And you can eat a meal at the restaurant next door.   They also have a seasonal (?) flea market out back.

47 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Thanks for the great info...!  Nothing like wood shopping and eating at the same time 

 

Nevin

 

 

My sister used to work there, many years ago.

You might also consider a trip to Amish country around Holmes Co.   Keim Lumber comes to mind; their "exotics" is amazing.  A friend of mine goes to another place, Yoder's in Millersburg.   While you are out that way, stop at Hartville Hardware.   It's easily 3x as big as a Home Depot or Lowe's.  And you can eat a meal at the restaurant next door.   They also have a seasonal (?) flea market out back.