Source of hardwood base material

I have finally run out of my stock of hardwood and need a engine base around 12x8 by 2 inches thick. The stuff I have used in the past was a heavy dark Fijian wood which suffered from water staining but otherwise looked good and was oil resistant. I have done the usual web search but have rather lost my nerve (!) so seek recommendations for this forum

Tony

Tony

I bought some from British Hardwoods some years ago, not sure if they have minimum order quantities. They are in Keighly West Yorkshire, might be worth giving them a call, google British Hardwoods and you will find their website.

David

Assuming you want a block of solid wood then have a look at some of the wood turning suppliers they sell "bowl blanks" which would give you a 12x12x2 slab. (don't get a round blank! ) Good choice of hardwoods so should be able to find something thats suitable.

I tend to run out a strip of something suitable and mitre the corners and fix around a piece of MR MDF, keeps the weight down and allows for any plumbing under the base, add a bit of a moulding with the router to tart it up a bit.

Edited By JasonB on 06/10/2015 17:45:19

I have happily used Robbins in South Liberty Lane, Bristol. They are specialists in marine timbers and hard woods. I have found them very helpful and they are quite happy to talk to the 'small guy'. They have a good web site http://www.robbins.co.uk but they are not cheap.

JA

You are in danger from warping from anything that large so I'd go for Jason's suggestion but using decent ply not MDF yuk spit. If you are anywhere near a boatyard perhaps they would have some offcuts of marine ply and teak trim. If you took a photo of your engine along they would be more sympathetic to a fellow craftsman.
Following the craftsman angle you might track down a woodworker by asking local artists and craftspeople. I got a nice lump of chestnut for a lamp base a couple of years ago from a bespoke furniture maker.
Final possibility is a broken Windsor chair if you keep an eye on skips.

Talk to kitchen fitters. Big lumps of wood and other materials get thrown away when they cut out for hobs, sinks etc. Apart from bread boards, they are mainly junked by the professional.

John**LINK** Boddy at Boroughbridge. Have a nice self selection store of planed planks. Not too far if you're visiting Bradford

HTH

Rod

Try [email protected] local furniture maker in Bishops Castle, uses local hardwoods, should be good for an offcut.

I noticed some bits of Ash in our local Tesco household section, about 10" dia X 2" thick.

Dave

Wood for turners in 2" square lengths (and many other sizes) are known as spindle blanks rather than bowl blanks.

Roger Tony wants a piece 12" x 8" x 2" thick to mount a model on. Its better than buying a whole plank and not too difficult to rip 4" off one edge of a 12" x 12"bowl blank to get the required 12x8 piece

Ockenden Timber can't be far from you... **LINK**

Their bowl blanks are round but they also list carving blanks which might fit the bill.

HTH

Jon

Sadly John Boddy at boroughbridge sold up and then closed down.

If you're in North Yorks then Duffields at melmerby are a good source. Also Scawton sawmills near Sutton-under-whitestonecliff. Further away there's Snaiton. Or at Doncaster there's Turners retreat.

Styles and Bates, down south do mail order and come highly recommended.

However ply and laminating as per Jason would be your best bet I think.

If it can wait and you're local the Northern Woodworking expo at Harrogate is on 20-22 November and there's always a good choice there.

Cheapest by far are local auctions- old brown furniture still does not sell. I get an old chair, sometimes as scrap, ideal for file handles etc. and one-use mandrels

The last one I did was made by taking a bundle of strips of heavy plywood (somewhere between 15 and 20 mm thick), and cut it in strips about 1 1/3" wide, then glued it together with the edges as the top surface, just needs sanding down, then varnished. The joinery factory that was just around the corner has moved away, so my supply of free timber has gone.

Ian S C

Thanks for the help - through these replies I found Ockenden Timber which is a treasure trove of kiln dried timbers and is only 20 minutes by car form home.

I bought a slab of American black walnut - not cheap but exactly what I wanted and I resisted the temptation provided by their display of woodworking tools

Tony