Where to buy a big block of wood online?

[ManOfCedar]

Hi guys,

I'm completely new to this forum. I'm looking into making a Goban ( a board for a board game) and need a rather large piece of wood.

Do any of you know where I can find a piece of wood that measures 454.5 mm by 424.2 mm. and is 20 or so cm thick?

Any and all information on where I can buy a piece of wood like this online would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance for your time

[Chief Tiff]

A big piece of solid wood that thin will probably warp like hell; even in a frame it may develop splits depending on the humidity in your area. If you're not using a frame it'll probably need to be a couple of inches thick and that'll be one heavy board.

Why not make it from a solid substrate and cover it in veneer with stringing for the markings?

[Uncle Al]

measures 454.5 mm by 424.2 mm. and is 20 or so cm thick?

A big piece of solid wood that thin will probably warp like hell; even in a frame it may develop splits depending on the humidity in your area. If you're not using a frame it'll probably need to be a couple of inches thick and that'll be one heavy board.

20cm thick is about 8 inches. Don't think warping will be a problem, but lifting it could be a challenge.

Alan...

Edit - Just noticed he is in France, freight pricing will be interesting.

[ManOfCedar]

A big piece of solid wood that thin will probably warp like hell; even in a frame it may develop splits depending on the humidity in your area. If you're not using a frame it'll probably need to be a couple of inches thick and that'll be one heavy board.

Why not make it from a solid substrate and cover it in veneer with stringing for the markings?

It's a pretty thick piece, like 6-8 inches thick. I may try using multiple pieces of a bit thinner material, but would like one big block. Any ideas on where to find something like this? I just can't seem to find anyone who has anything like I'm looking for.

[ManOfCedar]

measures 454.5 mm by 424.2 mm. and is 20 or so cm thick?



20cm thick is about 8 inches. Don't think warping will be a problem, but lifting it could be a challenge.

Alan...

Edit - Just noticed he is in France, freight pricing will be interesting.

Yes I'm worried about shipping costs too, but I still can't seem to find anyone who sells what I'm looking for Any ideas?

Do you also have any other ideas as to what I could do to get that size block, maybe make it out of multiple smaller blocks? What do you think?

[whitewood]

Firms that sell slabs or slices of tree stumps may be able to held. However I'd check regulators about the requirements of exporting to and importing timber into France. May be very restrictive.

Whitewood

[nihilism]

I would laminate smaller pieces together, kind of like a big cutting board or chopping block. Will end up more stable and is also more likely that you can buy smaller sized wood locally. That is of course assuming you have the tools available to do this.

[Glennet]

Perhaps you could find a recycling or demolition place locally which has large beams from an old building. I'd imagine France would be a good place for that sort of thing.

[Evanism]

Why is this a challenge? I saw plenty of bits like this at the CWWWS.

Anyone with a Lucas could do this easily for him.

Export to France would be no trouble. Most bulk couriers would do this easily.

[GraemeCook]

Good Morning ManOfCedar

A piece of timber that large could weigh 40 kilograms or so.

If green timber, there would be issues of it warping or splitting during the drying process. This could be a long process as the usual rule of thumb for air-drying is 25 mm per year, and you want a 200 mm flitch. It is also too thick to kiln dry without cellelar collapse.

For recycled timber, then it should already be well dried so stability should not be an issue. But not that many old structures used such large lumps - perhaps boatyards, bridges, wharves, factories, warehouses, etc.

You could try Island Specialty Timbers who are good at sourcing unusual stuff, but your request may be beyond their resources.
http://islandspecialtytimbers.com.au/shops/ist



Fair Winds

Graeme

[Chief Tiff]

measures 454.5 mm by 424.2 mm. and is 20 or so cm thick?

A big piece of solid wood that thin will probably warp like hell; even in a frame it may develop splits depending on the humidity in your area. If you're not using a frame it'll probably need to be a couple of inches thick and that'll be one heavy board.

20cm thick is about 8 inches. Don't think warping will be a problem, but lifting it could be a challenge.

Ah.

In my defense, he did mix mm and cm for no obvious reason

I still stand by my post though; make it from veneer! Even if your veneer is inch* thick planks it'll still be bloody solid.





*Sorry, I should have said "2.54cm thick planks"

[Hermit]

I'm with those that have suggested laminating smaller pieces together, sourced as locally as possible.

There are different methods of transporting a slab of timber that size from Australia to France, but all would be very expensive.

As an example, using Australia Post, (their chart only goes up to 20kg), for 20kg the price ranges from AU$200 (by sea) to AU$452.

Add this to the actual cost of the timber, which could be pretty expensive depending on the species, and also considering export/import regulations.....:

Oz to France 20kg.JPG

Edit: I'm pretty sure AusPost would be the most expensive method, but it gives an idea of what you're up against.

[ManOfCedar]

Thank you all for your time and informative answers. I think I may end up going with laminating smaller pieces together since finding a block is proving to be impossible

Thanks again !

[tea lady]

. I think they use some sort of special Japanese cedarish type wood Which I can't quite remember right now for "goban". I do have a friend here who has lots of the stuff, but you are in the wrong country. (Although jap cedar is quite light I think freight would still be a bit high. ) But jap cedar isn't the wood that is traditionally used. Is it grown in Europe?

[tea lady]

I'm sure I ave something better to do, but after googleing found this. Kaya at Sensei's Library

Jap cedar is prolly too soft. Lebanon cedar is great to work. and a bit harder. Maybe there is some of that in Europe too?