Offcuts of wood..............where to buy?

Box Brownie

Box Brownie

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I wonder if anyone can offer some sourcing advice?

I need to get a single piece of wood approx 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick ~ size 35cm x 42cm sorry to mix my dimensions ;)

Type of wood ~ it is for use as shelf so a planed finish of pine or maybe 7 or 9 ply (though ideally sold wood)

Any pointers much appreciated.

PS I note that B&Q do a cutting service but surmise I would have to buy a full sized board and they cut the whole board to reqs. Oh, I Googled about them selling offcuts and they don't it is either sent to rubbish or given to upcycling charities.
 
Any small lumber yards in your area?
 
nilagin said:
Any small lumber yards in your area?
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Do far I have only identified the larger places such as Champion.......such are aimed at bulk buyers
 
Box Brownie said:
I wonder if anyone can offer some sourcing advice?

I need to get a single piece of wood approx 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick ~ size 35cm x 42cm sorry to mix my dimensions ;)

Type of wood ~ it is for use as shelf so a planed finish of pine or maybe 7 or 9 ply (though ideally sold wood)

Any pointers much appreciated.

PS I note that B&Q do a cutting service but surmise I would have to buy a full sized board and they cut the whole board to reqs. Oh, I Googled about them selling offcuts and they don't it is either sent to rubbish or given to upcycling charities.
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My local homebase has an offcuts bin from which I've sourced some great pieces a very small cost.
 
Small independent timber yards, or carpentry firms. I have used both for projects in the past - although this was for a charity, so may have been different (they just gave them away, otherwise they were gonna be binned!!).

Basically- I adopted the ‘you don’t ask, you don’t get’ mantra :)
 
It's quite a wide piece of wood, relatively. Might be worth buying a 2M board around 10cm wide and the appropriate thickness (6ft, 4" wide, 1/2" thick) then cutting it in 4 (ask homebase etc to do it for you?) and glue the pieces to make the required size shelf.
 
You could buy some tongue and groove flooring and use that to make the shelf.
 
Thanks all for the insights.

Re: HB and B&Q ~ I have only ever seen plant pots and cardboard boxes near the exits, so will have to have a closer look at/where & whether they have any such bins in my local one(s).

Re: design to use 'standard' materials and create a board the right size, that may end up being my only option so as per above (potential source if 'exit bins') I will have go a see what sort of boards are available and at what lowest qty to make the aimed for size :)
 
I bought some unfinished pine shelf kits from Wickes not that long ago. They sound the right sort of thickness but would need the length cutting down (I think they came in 2, 3 and 4 foot sizes). Easy enough to do with a handsaw.
 
Box Brownie said:
I wonder if anyone can offer some sourcing advice?

I need to get a single piece of wood approx 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick ~ size 35cm x 42cm sorry to mix my dimensions ;)

Type of wood ~ it is for use as shelf so a planed finish of pine or maybe 7 or 9 ply (though ideally sold wood)

Any pointers much appreciated.

PS I note that B&Q do a cutting service but surmise I would have to buy a full sized board and they cut the whole board to reqs. Oh, I Googled about them selling offcuts and they don't it is either sent to rubbish or given to upcycling charities.
Click to expand...

Where abouts are you?

I have something that could be suitable in my garage, but it's a lot longer, so you'll need to cut it down.
 
Box Brownie said:
Thanks all for the insights.

Re: HB and B&Q ~ I have only ever seen plant pots and cardboard boxes near the exits, so will have to have a closer look at/where & whether they have any such bins in my local one(s).

Re: design to use 'standard' materials and create a board the right size, that may end up being my only option so as per above (potential source if 'exit bins') I will have go a see what sort of boards are available and at what lowest qty to make the aimed for size :)
Click to expand...

Just a note...in my Homebase, the offcuts bin is next to the area where they cut wood to size, not near the exit. :-)
 
A piece of solid wood that size may be prone to warping or splitting, so a piece of veneered ply might be better with a bit of trim to finish the front - a lot of timber yards or builders merchants have sheet-cutting saws and have bins for the off-cuts...
 
Thanks all once again for additional insight :)

Steve @Jelster , thank you for your kind offer..........in Surrey near Guildford which seeing your location is not too far away. So, subject to what I can find more locally I will PM you as appropriate if I may, as perhaps taking you up on the offer may be my most expedient action? :)

FWIW ~ my skills with a panel saw (other types of saw....variable results depending on the material and size of cut :lol: ) are not great and I am very picky about making things as "right" as I can so where the likes of cut wood are involved I would lean towards cut already or cut whilst I wait :)
 
I have a large piece of white would that was left over when we had fitted wardrobes put into one of our bedrooms. I haven't measured it, but it's about 6 foot by 3 foot.

I'm at home during the week if that's helpful.
 
Update

I went B&Q today and in the offcuts box found a large piece of 13mm thick MDF.......................thankfully for a minor donation they also cut it to the exact size I need :)

It is a nice clean looking piece so having Googled I think I will use an MDF sealer but at this stage leave it at that as 'it' says 2 coats give it a nice even surface that can (if needed?) be painted or varnished on top of the sealer.

I cannot recall the last time if ever that I used MDF so trust that sealing it with the two coats will be more than adequate for the intended purpose!

:)

PS It Rustins MDF clear sealer that I have identified, this is a water based sealer.

PPS I also found out they are shutting down my local Homebase in August, it is now in high discount mode and the wood saw service has ceased = no offcuts. This store is within 100 yards of the above mentioned B&Q
 
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I'm not impressed by that sealer. I'd just paint or varnish straight onto it.

Sand before, & lightly between coats - job done
 
Comfortably Numb said:
I'm not impressed by that sealer. I'd just paint or varnish straight onto it.

Sand before, & lightly between coats - job done
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Ah! I thought the received wisdom was to seal it prior to final surface required?

Rather than painting it a colour varnish has more of an appeal. The browser is Beech and I think it was described as waxed finish, now I do mind that my shelf will not match the 'look' but do you have any recommendations for a good/suitable varnish? It is as you can see above @ 42cm x 36cm a small bit of wood so don't want to buy too big a tin ;)

PS If sanding I will need to dig out a mask AFAIK MDF dust is "not good for the tubes"
 
You can use a coloured varnish, but it won't look quite like Beech because of the lack of grain.

A clear coat on MDF isn't too far away from the shade of Beech, it just 'richens' the bare colour.
 
Box Brownie said:
Update

I went B&Q today and in the offcuts box found a large piece of 13mm thick MDF.......................thankfully for a minor donation they also cut it to the exact size I need :)

It is a nice clean looking piece so having Googled I think I will use an MDF sealer but at this stage leave it at that as 'it' says 2 coats give it a nice even surface that can (if needed?) be painted or varnished on top of the sealer.

I cannot recall the last time if ever that I used MDF so trust that sealing it with the two coats will be more than adequate for the intended purpose!

:)

PS It Rustins MDF clear sealer that I have identified, this is a water based sealer.

PPS I also found out they are shutting down my local Homebase in August, it is now in high discount mode and the wood saw service has ceased = no offcuts. This store is within 100 yards of the above mentioned B&Q
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My Homebase closed in 2017 then reopened as Bunnings, then closed and is now Homebase again. :lol:
 
Box Brownie said:
PPS I also found out they are shutting down my local Homebase in August, it is now in high discount mode and the wood saw service has ceased = no offcuts. This store is within 100 yards of the above mentioned B&Q
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My local Homebase shut down recently and was also in close proximity with B&Q. I always preferred the garden section in Homebase as B&Q tends to have less stuff for the home gardener. I also found it had better variety for things like hinges, door numbers etc.
 
Comfortably Numb said:
You can use a coloured varnish, but it won't look quite like Beech because of the lack of grain.

A clear coat on MDF isn't too far away from the shade of Beech, it just 'richens' the bare colour.
Click to expand...
Is there a particular brand of varnish that I should aim to buy???
 
Not really, but water based makes your life easier- dries quickly & clean-up is straightforward
 
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