Welcome to crazy season! With droughts, rain, political upheaval and recession we thought it might not happen this year, but oh no, it’s happening!
We’re pleased to report that timber is flying out of our warehouses at a rate of knots and we are sometimes struggling to keep up. It is of course a good problem to have, but please remember to build in more lead time at this time of year as the machine shop is extremely busy, delivery slots are at a premium, and our yard often resembles Waterloo station at rush hour.
That being said, we still have enormous amounts of stock on offer, in particular:
Live edged stock for river/resin tables
This look has become extremely popular of late, particularly through the glorious Instagram feed of the Black Forest Wood Co. If you’re looking for suitable raw material for such a project, we have a range of beautiful options to suit every budget and scale of ambition – from coffee and side tables, to monstrous 5m long 20 seater dining tables.
The masters of resin work: Black Forest Wood Co. of Canada
Stunning local work in our Wild Olive by Lanark Designs
If you are too busy or cautious to take on the resin work yourself, we have a number of highly skilled customers that we can direct you to, who would gladly help you make your dream project a reality.
Lots and lots of decking
Balau, Garapa, Massaranduba, Ipe & Purpleheart – you name it, we have it… in volumes!
Our decking sheds are full with a good range of lengths and great clearance specials
In particular we would like to highlight that we can do great deals on Garapa shorts (2.15m – 2.75m lengths) and even better deals on some B grade stock that has sat around for a bit too long. Whether you are a professional installer with a number of big contracts, or a private homeowner looking to do a small project, we have a good deal for you.
European Ash
With American Ash species being increasingly threatened by the continued devastating spread of the Emerald Ash borer, we have taken the decision to increase our stockholding of European Ash.
Some incredible boards came in our recent shipment of European Ash. This one is still available!
The stock we have received is of a very high quality – wide and clear and generally very white. It is also pretty cost effective versus American Ash, especially on thicker sections (up to 76mm).
Structural Massaranduba (and Garapa and Balau)
Our first containers of structural Massaranduba have arrived and the stock looks great! Long and straight, it’ll be the perfect matching pergola material for a Massaranduba deck, and slots in well alongside our extensive stockholdings in structural Balau and Garapa.
Other interesting items we have had in recently in a mixed shipment from our US branch:
- Shedua / Ovangkol – we have received a small bundle of 38 & 50mm material. A renowned tonewood, popularised by Taylor Guitars, this is just waiting for an enterprising luthier to resaw guitar parts of it. It is something we hope to get round to ourselves, as soon as we can find a free moment…
Shedua / Ovangkol / Black Hyedua / Amazique – many names for the same wonderful tonewood
- Curly Maple rounds – these baseball bat blanks, rejected from a US bat factory ironically due to their heavy (and stunning!) figure, are crying out to be put to use in some creative projects. We have nearly 200 of them available, measuring 970mm long x 72mm diameter.
- Ziricote – one of the most jaw-dropping exotics around, we have brought in a few pieces and have started re-sawing them into guitar parts and knife handle blanks. If you want to circumvent that process and buy some of the rough timber for your own use, you are more than welcome to.
Ziricote: truly mind-blowing figure
Speaking of our US operation, we are proud to announce that we have launched a fully transactional online sales platform over there. At this stage there are no plans to offer such a platform in South Africa, unfortunately, due to a number of significant logistical challenges, but we thought you might be interested to see how people buy their exotic timber in the good old US of A.
A new look website for Rare Woods USA – with online sales!
Finally, with the weather seemingly highly changeable at the moment – from mini heatwaves to regular cold and wet snaps – we thought it was an excellent time to share this highly informative article with you. Originally published in SA Architect magazine, it gives a very good overview of the key aspects to bear in mind when planning and installing a solid timber floor in South Africa.
Here’s wishing you all a successful close to the year and hoping to see you in one of our facilities soon…
Regards
Seamus Harcourt-Wood
Rare Woods SA
