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benchwork: birch or fir better then pine?
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tstage; <BR><BR>Nothing I stated in my post was meant to imply that I was unhappy with Home Despot - or Lowe's either for that matter. I've usually been able to pick through their supply of wood and find things relatively knot-free. My major complaint with Home Despot has nothing to do with the quality of merchandise handled by them; rather it is that Home Despot has invented "Stealth" Technology for humans. Clerks can be more elusive than dumb blonde nymphomaniacs who own liquor stores; and when you do observe one they can disappear quicker than you can even think about it.<BR><BR> True story: This did not happen in the "indoor" lumber yard by the way. I was looking for something and there wasn't a clerk to be had anywhere; then. out of nowhere, one walked past in that center aisle common to all Home Despots. I didn't run but neither did any grass grow under my feet as I pursued this individual; I got out to the center aisle and turned in the direction of his last observed movement; he was nowhere to be seen!! AH!HA! He's in the next (cross) aisle; nope, wasn't there. The next one; not there either. How about the next one? Nope!!! I even looked up at the ceiling to see if he might have been abducted by one of them thar hovering Flying Saucers from the galaxy Bungabaloney!! This guy had, however, literally disappeared off of the face of the earth in a short half-a-minute.<BR><BR>Most - virtually all really - of the woodwork in my current layout was purchased at Home Depot - Lowe's were few and far between here in the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west in them thar heady days of yesteryear. They don't handle much high-grade plywood but I did purchase a sheet of 1/2 inch oak for a project awhile back.<BR><BR>My first major purchase of lumber occurred in 1976 when I was building a platform bed from plans in a Mechanics Illustrated. I wanted to do this in "light" Mahogany and knew I was going to have to go to a plywood supply company to get it and I had already checked on just where. The plans called for six 2 bys for the framework so I went to Payless Cashway. <BR><BR>Probably the only other lumberyard I had ever been in in my life was the Boise-Payette lumberyard in Roberts, Idaho where my grandpappy did his trading. My grandpappy had been doing enough business with these people over the years that he would just drive into the yard, load up what he wanted, and then find an employee who would tally up his purchase for that particular visit; this was usually put on account. Now I didn't expect that kind of treatment out of Payless Cashway; I went inside, ordered six 2 bys, and drove my Toyota Corolla into the yard. This guy immediately dumped six 2 bys into the back, several of which were as crooked as a dog's hind leg. I told him I couldn't use those; they were too crooked. He informed me that I hadn't purchased "select" and I would take what he gave me. I had no idea what "select" was; I thought it was some sort of "grading" term. I went inside to check on this and the clerk at the order desk very tersely pointed to a sign which announced that there was a "10% surcharge on 'select'. Come again some time." I didn't; I had to discard over half of that lumber as unusable - in addition to being crooked it also wasn't 96 inch length - and had to go purchase another 4 pieces in order to complete my project; this didn't place me at the precipice of bankruptcy but I've got a memory like Horton the Elephant; I never forget so it is needless to say I never went back to Payless, at least not for lumber, and I have probably purchased over a thousand dollars worth of it since that day in 1976. I don't even know, to be honest, whether Payless Cashway is still in business. I don't care whether Payless Cashway is still in business.<BR><BR>I appreciate Home Despot - and Lowe's - because everything is select at one price. I was allowed to return a sheet of 1/2 inch ply - it had not been cut - in exchange for a sheet of 3/8 inch; if I walk out of the door of Home Depot with a defective piece of wood it's my own d*mned fault.<BR><BR>I don't know how things are in your area but I've found Lowe's to be 5-10% cheaper than Home Depot but, then again, I'm not always able to find the same item at both stores to do an exact price comparison.
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