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Sources for Lumber

In addition to the big box stores and large lumber companies which feature mostly domestic softwoods, poplar and maple, there are a number of sources in the region that offer more unusual domestic woods or imported exotic hardwoods. Below is a list of places popular with WWGRI members. This list is by no means exhaustive. As new sources come to our attention we will add them. Note that some of these vendors provide discounts to WWGRI members.

Reader’s Hardwood Supply

readershardwoodsupply.com. 250 Cape Highway, Unit 9-10 East Taunton, MA (508) 301-3206

Jim Reader describes his business as a ”candy store for woodworkers” – an apt description. This is probably the largest selection of domestic and imported woods in the area. Jim stocks a large variety of domestic hardwoods and softwoods, imported and exotic lumber, domestic exotic hardwoods, reclaimed lumber, live edge slabs, as well as veneer plywood and prefinished veneer plywoods, and marine plywoods and panel products. (WWGRI member discounts)

Sweet Lumber Company

lsweetlumber.com 709 Harris Avenue Providence, RI 02909 (401) 521-3800

Sweet Lumber has been serving the building and construction industry in Rhode Island for over 135 years. Besides standard construction timbers they carry a variety of hardwoods and softwoods suitable for woodworking hobbyists, as well as a wide variety of plywoods and sheet goods.

Koszela Lumber and Hardware

koszela lumber.com 1284 Victory Highway Coventry, RI 02827 (401) 397-3647

Located in rural Coventry, Koszela Lumber offers an amazing variety of domestic and imported exotic hardwoods – over four dozen different species, from alder to yellowheart. Definitely worth a trip if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary for your next project.

Barrette’s Hardwood

barretteshardwood.com 129 Robbins Road Thompson, CT 06277 (860) 928-9373

A family-owned business just over the border in Connecticut, Barrette’s specializes in straight, kiln-dried New England hardwoods and softwoods and live-edge slabs. They feature high quality lumber in uncommon dimensions.

Liberty Cedar

libertycedar.com

325 Liberty Lane West Kingston, RI 02892 (401) 789-6626

Liberty Cedar caters to builders and contractors throughout New England and New York. As the name implies, they specialize in native grown cedars and Douglas fir. Their products are top notch, so check them out if cedar or fir is what you need.

International Timber Products, Inc.

itpwood.com 490 Eagleville Road Tiverton, RI 02878

Like Liberty Cedar, ITP specializes in a relatively small set of wood species, in their case, teak and utile/sipo. They do have in stock some of the widely used North American hardwoods, such as cherry, oak, maple and walnut.

Kimball Hardwoods

kimballhardwoods.com 711 Putnam Pike, Unit #2 Greenville, RI (401) 300-9070

Derek Kimball occupies a specific niche in this list, insofar as he is a “supplier of highly figured wood for the guitar making industry.” If you want something truly spectacular for your next box or end table top, check him out on Instagram (@kimballhardwoods) or at his website. His billets and dropsets are something to behold. Besides birdseye, curly and spalted big leaf maple, he also offers figured beech, Sitka spruce, ziricote, and a number of other stunning woods.

Goosebay Sawmill and Lumber

goosebaylumber.net 83 Dover Rd. Chichester, NH 03258 (603)-798-5135

Located a little outside of Concord, NH, Goosebay, it is a solar powered sawmill, providing hemlock, pine and locally sourced hardwoods. Their lumber is air dried and finished in vacuum kilns. They also supply a variety of exotics and sheet goods. Prices are reasonable and their showroom features a selection equal in size to Readers. They will cut longer pieces and sell shorter lengths.

Rare Woods USA

rarewoodsusa.com. 120 Swift River Road. Mexico, ME 04257 (207) 364-1520

For those looking for kingwood, masur birch, or chaste viga, head to Mexico (Maine). The Rare Woods USA website has over 120 different wood species to choose from!

Cambio Plywood, Inc.

cambioplywood.net 515 Dyer Avenue Cranston, RI 02920. (401) 942-8400

Sometimes you may be looking for high quality plywood for cabinets or bookcases. A local Rhode Island source is Cambio Plywood in Cranston. According to their website, they carry “stain grade and paint grade plywood for all cabinet applications.” Plus, they deliver. (Reader’s Hardwoods in Taunton also stocks a nice variety of quality plywoods- see above.)

Certainly Wood, Inc.

certainlywood.com 13000 Route 78, East Aurora, NY 14052 (716) 655-0206

This is the place to turn if you are looking for veneer. Certainly Wood has probably the biggest selection of high quality veneers you are likely to find anywhere. The variety in terms of grain and color is simply astonishing. Browse through their website and it might just turn you into a veneer fanatic.

Sources for Tools

As a member of the Guild once said: “if you buy it cheap, you will probably end up buying it again” So yes, you can buy hand tools from from the big box stores, but if you want tools that last, we recommend the following vendors.

New (High end) Handtools:

Blue Spruce Toolworks (https://bluesprucetoolworks.com/)

Blue Spruce is a relative newcomer to the American toolmakers. Headquartered in Strongsville, OH, they make a relatively small but high quality number of hand tools. While they began making marking tools, they now offer sharpening tools, mallets, back saws and chisels. Since their tools are made to order, expect a lead time of from two to eight weeks. Reviews of their products suggest it’s worth the wait.

Lie Nielsen (https://www.lie-nielsen.com/)

Lie-Nielson is one of only a very few American tool makers left in an industry in which the U.S. once led the world (Stanley, Millers Falls, Buck, etc.). Most of their tools are modeled after classic tools made by Stanley, Preston, etc. but in many cases Lie-Nielsen uses materials superior to the originals. Their catalog includes, planes, hand saws, chisels, and a number of marking and measuring tools. They are not inexpensive, but they work right out of the box and will last a very long time. They publish a print catalog and have a show room at their main office on Rte. 1 in Warren Maine (open Mon-Fri 9-4). They also often show up to display their wares at major woodworking events. Ordering online is quick and easy.

Veritas (Lee Valley Tools) (https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/tools/brand/veritas)\

Veritas is the brand name for woodworking tools made by Lee Valley Tools, a Canadian firm based in Ottawa. Like Lie-Nielsen they make and sell high quality hand tools. Unlike Lie-Nielsen, Veritas designs their own tools many of which are improvements on the classic shapes and styles. The Veritas catalog includes planes, hand saws, log building tools (axes, adzes, etc), chisels, marking and measuring tools, etc. They also distribute high quality tools and parts made by Hock, Narex, Henry Taylor, etc. Ordering online is quick and easy. They have a number of retail stores, all but one of which are in Canada (the one U.S. store is in Reno, Nevada).

New Hand tools (local sources)

Rockler (https://www.rockler.com/hand-tools/)

Like Woodcraft below, Rockler sells tools online and in their stores. Unfortunately, the closest store to RI is the Salem, NH store (the Cambridge store closed in 2023). Rockler carries a broad range of hand tools including planes, saws, chisels, and marking tools. Brands include Stanley, Two Cherries and their store brand, Rockler.

Woodcraft Walpole, Mass. (https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/walpole)

This store is located in Walpole, Mass. on Rte. 1 (about 30 minutes north of Providence). Card carrying Guild members get a 10% discount on anything that doesn’t have a plug on it (or probably a battery). Wood River is their store brand and is a moderately priced line of hand tools including planes, chisels, measuring and marking tools. They also carry a number of other branded hand tools and do sell online.

New Hand tools (national sources)

Highland Woodworking (https://www.highlandwoodworking.com)

They have one store, in Atlanta, Ga., but sell almost everything online as well. For hand tools they carry, Lie-Nielsen, Veritas, and the European maker Emmerich. They also have workbench hardware, sharpening supplies, rasps, marking and measuring tools, handsaws from Bad Axe, Lynx and Pax (as well as the above makers), axes from Gransfors and Mueller. They publish a semi-annual catalog.

Used Hand tools (online):

Hyperkitten (https://hyperkitten.com/index.php)

Located in Oxford, CT, Hyperkitten is a small family business that sells good quality used hand tools at reasonable prices. His business is entirely online as is his current catalog.

Patrick Leach (http://www.supertool.com)

Leach publishes the well-known Blood and Gore website (http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html), a compendium of all the information he’s gathered on the history and varieties of Stanley hand planes. For woodworkers and collectors he publishes a monthly list of used tools for sale. The tools are generally pricier than Hyperkitten or Vintage Tool Shoppe, but he sells to more collectors. His prices range from less than one hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for the rare and highly collectible. You can find used Lie-Nielsen and Veritas tools here sometimes (including the discontinued ones), lots of Stanley (his specialty), Millers Falls, Starret, etc. He has a special category for wooden planes, so if that’s your thing – this list is for you. Leach also buys used tools.

Vintage Tool Shoppe (https://thevintagetoolshoppe.com/)

The Vintage Tool Shoppe offers both an online catalog of good quality used tools and regular store hours (Fri-Sun 10-4) at their shop in Fremont, New Hampshire (NE of Nashua).

New Stationery Power Tools

While most woodworkers, regardless of experience are likely aware of the big box chains and Amazon, buying from a local dealer often pays off if something doesn’t work right, or needs repair. While the big box stores do carry contractor level tools such as portable table saws, or bench top drill presses, it’s unlikely that they will carry cabinet saws or floor model drill presses. These are the dealers we have experience buying from

Burns Power Tools (https://www.burnstools.com/)

Burns, located in Fall River, is a well-known store which has been in Fall River since 1934. They carry Laguna, Powermatic, Jet, Baileigh Industrial, Maksiwa, and SawStop. Cabinet saws, Band saws, lathes, dust collection, sanders, jointers and thickness planers are all available here as well as a broad range of power tools and hand tools.

J.D. LaCourse and Sons (https://www.jdlacourseandson.com/)

Another well-respected firm, J.D. LaCourse has been known for years as the place to get saw blades sharpened, but they also carry SawStop and a board range of power tools including Festool, Kapex, Lamello, and M.K. Morse. They also sell Sjoberg workbenches.

Woodcraft Walpole, Mass. (https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/walpole)

Woodcraft carries Festool, Sawstop, Oliver, Jet, Rikon and Laguna power tools. In stock you will find cabinet saws, lathes, band saws, thickness planers, jointers, and dust collection.

Services for Woodworkers

New England Wood Products L.L.C. (www.newp.us) (401) 789-7474

NEWP is located on 535 Liberty Lane, West Kingston, RI 02892. Wide board planing and belt sanding; and create custom mouldings

J.D. LaCourse & Son, Inc. (https://www.jdlacourseandson.com/) (401) 725-2920

Located just off I-95 on 260 Middle Street in Pawtucket, JD LaCourse does sharpening for saw blades, drills, router bits; 10% discount for WWGRI members.

Matt Cianci (www.thesawwright.com) email: matt@thesawwright.com

Matt does hand saw sharpening, restoration, and repair of hand saws old and new

Liberty Lumber Products (www.Libertylumberproducts.com) email: Libertylumberproducts@gmail.com (401) 615-3200

Located on 303 South Main Street in Coventry, RI, LLP does kiln drying, laser engraving, 3D printing, slab surfacing, CNC machining, plus epoxy and finishes

Readers Hardwood Supply (readershardwoodsupply.com/) (508) 301-3206

Located on 250 Cape Highway Units 9-10, East Taunton, Readers will surface stock bought in their store (S2S up to 20” wide) They will rip boards (one or both edges) up to 4” thick. They also offer wide belt sanding (up to 42” wide)