honza992 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I'd be interested to hear of wood suppliers based either in the UK or willing to ship to the UK. I'm thinking of body/neck blanks, fretboards, drop tops etc. It would be great to find some suppliers of UK-grown wood suitable for building instruments. I'd also be interested to see if anyone uses suppliers outside of the UK. For example getting wood shipped in direct from the US or Canada. There doesn't seem to be any mention of wood in the Suppliers sticky so I thought I would give this ago. To start the process off, I recommend: David Dyke http://www.luthierssupplies.co.uk/ I use David pretty much exclusively at the moment. I've found him to be very reliable to deal with over the phone and sends out wood that is carefully packaged and graded. I also visited once to look though his stock personally, and he's an absolute gent. The only disadvantage is that his website doesn't show pictures of individual pieces of wood, so for exotic drop tops it's best to visit. Located in East Sussex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 http://www.exotichardwoods.co.uk/ I've been here a few times and they seem quite reasonable to me. But for body blanks they referred me to David Dyke. http://www.guitartonewoods4luthiers.co.uk/ - I'll be taking a visit tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 You can pick up old pianos on eBay for as little as 99p - saw one made of Yew and another of Walnut recently. Not sure if they're laminated but if it's solid wood that's a mega buy. Some pianos have nice inlays which would really look the part on the back of a bass. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/W-H-Barnes-London-Up-Right-Piano-With-Stool-/272263158882?hash=item3f64261c62:g:56kAAOSwBw5XRJxW http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Upright-piano-/122010017620?hash=item1c685d1f54:g:PIEAAOSwR5dXSUjv http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Upright-Piano-By-Archibald-Ramsden-/322143959152?hash=item4b0146b870:g:8CwAAOSwvg9XWX~v http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Upright-Piano-Robert-Stather-/262479680211?hash=item3d1d0212d3:g:NU8AAOSwQupXXBFB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Don't forget about vintage wardrobes: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1930s-Shrager-maghony-vintage-wardrobe-/291788457165?hash=item43eff284cd:g:uvMAAOSwtJZXWp6e http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shrager-1900s-Vintage-Art-Decor-Kidney-Shaped-Dressing-Table-And-Two-Wardrobes-/162097872430?hash=item25bdc93e2e:g:ZtEAAOSwmtJXVl8K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1465833784' post='3071404'] You can pick up old pianos on eBay for as little as 99p - saw one made of Yew and another of Walnut recently. Not sure if they're laminated but if it's solid wood that's a mega buy. [/quote] They're usually veneered over softwood or low grade hardwood for the casing, and what bits of hardwood there are don't have many clear sections. Then you have to get rid of the rest, not to mention the risk of moth and woodworm infestation There's a reason older pianos are hard to give away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Keep in mind that unless you are buying something specialist (exotics for example) a sawmill nearby will be able to sell you blanks at under half the price of luthier specific suppliers. For example you'll often see 1 pc Ash and Alder blanks go for Ebay for £100 or so, but a local sawmill would charge you around £30 for more wood than you need. There is nothing inferior about the sawmill wood, it just often needs planing. Many sawmills will deal in woods from the US such as Black Walnut and Maple, so you aren't just limited to native species. Explore your local area and see what you can find. When you do find a mill, give them a ring and you'll often find they are interested in what you're doing and be glad to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) +1 on this Most Luthier Suppliers will add a huge markup for planing etc etc. even for relatively inexpensive wood. Unless it's exotic wood you just can't get a hold of there are much better wood suppliers out there that are probably fairly local. Ian PS RANT I must say some of the prices for exotic tops from some Luthier Suppliers to be absolutely p1ss taking TBH. Hundreds of her majesties finests for no more that a few mil of what is effectively veneer !!! rant over ! Ian [quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1465893778' post='3071833'] Keep in mind that unless you are buying something specialist (exotics for example) a sawmill nearby will be able to sell you blanks at under half the price of luthier specific suppliers. For example you'll often see 1 pc Ash and Alder blanks go for Ebay for £100 or so, but a local sawmill would charge you around £30 for more wood than you need. There is nothing inferior about the sawmill wood, it just often needs planing. Many sawmills will deal in woods from the US such as Black Walnut and Maple, so you aren't just limited to native species. Explore your local area and see what you can find. When you do find a mill, give them a ring and you'll often find they are interested in what you're doing and be glad to help. [/quote] Edited June 14, 2016 by scojack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 And exotic tops? Any recommendations for a good source of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Kirk at http://www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com/ (not to be confused with the exotichardwoods.com that Grangur refers to) holds a good stock and photos of all of the tops can be seen on the web site. Pricey mind...just have a look at the acoustic sets section and scroll down to African Blackwood.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 One such sawmill, they even list guitar blanks http://www.yandles.co.uk/timber-sawmill/c2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I've used these people before: [url="http://www.john-boddys-fwts.co.uk/"]http://www.john-boddys-fwts.co.uk/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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