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A mind-boggling wood source, http://www.rarewoodsusa.com/

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:39 am
by MaineGeezer
Yesterday I visited http://www.rarewoodsusa.com/ in Mexico, Maine, population 2,597. Mexico, Maine, is not near anything. Yet, in a collection of old derelict steel industrial buildings in the middle of an overgrown gravel pit is a mind-boggling assortment of exotic hardwoods. Here are a few photos taken in the "guitar woods" room. The selection of tonewood species is limited, but there is a lot of it, as the photos show. It's very heavy on Indian rosewood, although I also saw satinwood backs and sides and a couple speices I didn't recognize. There are African blackwood fingerboard blanks.

Prices area low. Spruce tops are $25, and they look good. A nice rosewood back and sides set cost $88. I hadn't intended to buy anything, but when I could get a guitar top, back, sides, fimgerboard, and a few small offcuts for a total of $130 includiing sales tax, I couldn't resist.

Tonewoods are only a minor part of the operation. There are racks upon racks of exotic lumber for furniture and cabinetry.

Re: A mind-boggling wood source, http://www.rarewoodsusa.com

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:17 am
by tippie53
sounds great

Re: A mind-boggling wood source, http://www.rarewoodsusa.com

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:48 pm
by Diane Kauffmds
I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the info.

Re: A mind-boggling wood source, http://www.rarewoodsusa.com

Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:57 am
by Danl8
I checked out the site. Although tonewoods are mentioned and even included in their emails, i didn't see any listing of luthier-ready woods. Do you have to go to their facility in Maine to buy? It appears there isn't any way to buy thru the webpage.

Re: A mind-boggling wood source, http://www.rarewoodsusa.com

Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:08 am
by MaineGeezer
No, you can buy online. If they counted on customers coming to Mexico, Maine, they'd go broke in a week.

It's pretty much a one-man business, as best i can tell, so I think a lot of refinements like setting up an online store are lower priority than just running the basics of the business. In some ways it looks more like a wholesale business (which it probably is, actually) than a retail business. Whereas a place like this: http://www.hibdonhardwood.com/collectio ... -side-sets lists individual sets, with pictures, this place has several bins of rosewood back sets, maybe 500 sets per bin, a pallet of several hundred sitka spruce tops, and another pallet of several hundred engelmann spruce tops, etc. I'd send an e-mail, or call, and tell them what you want. I assume they will go pick out a back set or a side set or top or whatever it is you're looking for, and get back to you with the details.

While most of their business may be wholesale, I got the feeling that they definitely want to do individual sales.