As a woodworker, we need wood to make our projects. It can be challenging to find quality lumber for your woodworking projects. I hope this lumber buying guide can help you find the right wood for your project.

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Pine, Spruce and Plywood

Most beginner woodworkers buy their lumber at one of the “big box stores” like Home Depot or Lowe’s. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’ve bought a lot of lumber and plywood from those places to make my woodworking projects. However, it can be very difficult to find lumber that isn’t warped or twisted. Finding wood that is acceptable to use for tables, chairs, and other woodworking projects is difficult to do at the big box stores. If you are wanting to build projects out of plywood, the big box stores usually have a nice selection of sanded plywood. Typically red oak and birch in my area are common. Both are really nice for things like dressers, TV stands, shelves, etc.

I’ve used common pine lumber for my table tops, TV stand tops, end tables and many other projects.

I’ve found that shopping local provides much better quality lumber in terms of straight boards without as many knots, twists, bows or cracks. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to be selective when picking your lumber for your project but the selection is better. I use a local lumber and hardware store called Barton’s for my spruce and plywood supplies. They have “appearance grade” spruce which is a #1 grade lumber that is just beautiful to work with. I am very selective on what I choose, just ask the employees at Barton’s lol. It may take me 10 to 15 minutes to select 10 to 12 perfect (as perfect as you can get anyway) boards for my project. I take my time and Barton’s employees allow me to select the lumber I want. There is also a local store called Allied Lumber that I use for my pine boards. I can buy #1 grade pine from Allied whereas Barton’s doesn’t have #1 pine. So I would highly recommend searching for a local lumber supplier if you have that option. My town doesn’t have a Lowe’s or a Home Depot. The nearest big box store is an hour drive from me. So by necessity I use the local lumber stores, but also because they have a better selection.

Hardwoods

I also have a local sawmill that has walnut, oak, maple, and other hardwood species available to buy in small amounts. The drawback is the lumber typically isn’t dry enough to use right away. I’ve only bought a large piece of walnut from this sawmill but it was awesome quality and again, was allowed to select the piece I wanted. I could have gotten more, but didn’t need more than the one piece. If you search for “hardwood lumber near me” you will likely find a dealer within driving distance. For instance, in Little Rock, AR (a drive of about 1.5 hours from me) there is a hardwood lumber dealer that has a great selection of hardwoods. Les Steen Hardwoods would be an excellent source for hardwoods if you are in the area. Many larger towns and cities will have a similar lumber dealer you can find if you search.

I’ve also found hardwood lumber locally by searching Facebook marketplace for “hardwood lumber.” There are several people that own portable sawmills that cut lumber and sell it. Again, you’ll need to dry your lumber before using it on your woodworking projects.

Buying Lumber Online

You can buy lumber online as well. I bought a mystery box from Amazon.com and got some decent pieces that can be used on smaller items. I’ve also ordered from Woodcraft.com, who have regular sales on some very nice hardwoods! I got purple heart for 50% off! There are several places to buy online, a simple google search for hardwood online will turn up several results. I like Woodcraft, https://www.rockler.com/wood and https://www.woodworkerssource.com/

Now that you know where to get lumber, get out there and make some sawdust!