Hi! This is a potentially very silly question but where is the best place to buy timber? I'm looking at building a workbench as I've just started a carpentry course and renovating a house, I think it would be invaluable. Is Wickes the best place for it? I feel like there is a trade secret on where to buy the best Timber and I haven't the foggiest! I'm based in South Somerset, not sure if that has an impact! Would appreciate any advice Thanks in advance!
What sort of bench are you making? General purpose or carpentry? What are you making it from pine/redwood or similar or beech?
i made mine from 4X4 fence posts and used an old kitchen worktop for the top cos it was flat and free
A proper local timber yard, don't bother with the big name DIY chains. The timber yards will try to compete with the chains on price, but they don't accept rubbish from their suppliers, while the chains will just shove it on the shelf regardless
I'm not 100% sure yet, I want something veristile that I can use for house rennovation but also practice my carpentry! I'm thinking pine but i'm open to options on price vs longevity. As we're rennovating, we wont be in this house forever so I'm looking for something I could take with me to the next house
I've noticed this with a certain orange chain... Okay, I'll get on google and start looking at local timber yards! Thanks
I made mine from second hand shutter backing timber. All good straight 4x3 but on a heap to burn as it was in short lengths and not worth keeping. Made it sectional so it could be easily moved. Piece of hardboard on top as a sacrificial surface. Coming up for its half century. Anyone doing a loft conversion near you? Old rafters are a brilliant resource
I used fence posting for corners, some lockable caster wheels off amazon. I used a full sheet of 600x1800 MDF as then it was easy to just stick a new work-surface on top when it gets ropey..
Have a look at Axminster https://www.axminstertools.com/sjobergs?cat=2018 and you will see some are beech, some pine ... most are held together with M10 coach bolts/screws.
For quality timber, timbersource at Shepton Mallet are hard to beat. Not cheap, but quality isn't cheap. Bear in mind there's a considerable difference in what a joiner needs in a bench and what a cabiner maker might need. Most carpenters manage perfectly well with a couple of trestles and a plank or two. A lot of books, magazines and the web will persuade you that you need a very fancy bench with tailvices and planing stops and holddowns, but for most carpentry and joinery, you just don't need it.
I use Lawsons almost exclusively. Not cheap but always good quality. Avoid Wickes like the plague. All their timber seems to be sourced from someone else’s reject pile.
Hi I am in Newcastle. I have used Wickes on the West Road for years I have always been very satisfied with what I purchased And most helpful if you need sheets to be cut to size. Johnny M
Whilst it’s not quite South Somerset, when I was working in Bridgwater, I used a local builders merchants called Bradfords (they have quite a few branches in your area) and their timber was really great quality and prices were reasonable. Might be worth looking to see if they have a branch near you.
Theres a few Bradfords about the south County and Devon. Their timber can be very good, but sometimes I've been quite disappointed with what the Trowbridge branch has had to offer. In Trow, the options are, best to worse, Travis, Bradfords, Wickes, or drive to Chippenham.
Good to know.. Travis (or at least the branches in Surrey that I use) went through a bad patch of poor quality timber being offered at very uncompetitive prices over the last few years, so I’ve not used them recently. To be fair, this may have been a policy to supply whatever they could get their hands on, rather than nothing, during the post Covid supply chain issues.
Here in the west, Travis have over the past few months started dealing with a new supplier. Quality is much, much better than a year ago. Their prices can be quite competitive if you have a trade account but you have to get a quote. If you just load up out the shed and go to pay, you get charged top dollar, whereas a quote will probably save 30% ish. In Bath, Travis is really the only game in town. Sydenhams have good quality, but a small selection and not enough of it. Otherwise there's buildbase who aren't up to standard. There's much more choice in Bristol, but there goes half a day. Its all a far cry from Slough/Uxbridge where I started out. There was like 20 decent timber yards about in the 80's, and into London we were spoilt for choice