Planning your next masterpiece? Great! Now all you need are the perfect boards. For the lucky few, fantastic material will just land on their bench, seemingly from thin air, but for most of us, we’ll need to buy lumber and that means a trek to your favorite lumberyard. For me, it’s often a highlight of the process.

Depending on the project, a local home center might offer exactly what you need, but for those who are more demanding, you may need to find a specialty hardwood lumber supplier to fill your needs. In this video tutorial, fine-hardwood dealer Rick Hearne explains the methods and tricks to buying great wood. Rick explains how lumber is graded, how to size up potential boards, evaluate knots & figure, and how to leave a lumber bin ready for the next buyer. Even experienced hands might enjoy Rick’s no-nonsense tips for navigating the yard. (4.5 Minute Woodworking Video)

Rick Hearne is President of Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford, Pennsylvania

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Comments

Another nice video. Keep up the good work!


Mark MacMullen

Wow, what an education. This is a great site for sitting and learning from the pros. Thanks a lot.


Nice video. In fact, it was so good, I was hoping to have more! Perhaps he would be willing to talk about selecting other woods, i.e. maple, cherry, oak, etc? Each species have their own peculiarities to watch out for and I’ve love to hear about it from someone much more knowledgeable than I.


Luc Cadieux

Great series of videos from the pro, Mr. Hearne. Being new to wood working, I am like a kid in a candy store… wide eyed and mouth wide open taking in all this information. Keep up the great work Keith.. and thank you.

Keith’s Note: Thanks Luc. I’ll pass on the accolades to Rick.


Hello, great info Keith. This Rick fellow is the daddy of great pointers —- I would never have thought of doing any of the stuff Rick did. It must be great if you can just look at a raw plank of wood, and see the finished product.


Roy

Great site, good information. Please keep me posted with any news.