Timber Supplies

[Mike]

We are lucky to have the well known Robbins Timber Supplies (http://www.robbins.co.uk/marine/index.asp) on our doorstep here in Bristol.

Robbins has a specialist marine section and Andy Vowles, who heads that up, is a very helpful chap who bends over backwards to help and advise on the right purchases.

We recommend Robbins and can say hand on heart that the timber they've sold us in the past has always measured up to the task.

Best wishes

Mike

[Mark]

what sort of timber you after??

thin on the ground up here,

http://www.john-boddy-timber.ltd.uk/ is one and http://www.jbtimber.co.uk/products.htm

never one to do anything the easy way, quite a bit of our upcoming timber requirement is still a tree, the rest was a tree about 5 months ago, and is very nearly now a deck

[Mike]

Chatting with Andy Vowles of Robbins Timber today (well, I am finally putting in a big order for my Rendezvous build and I am definitely going to use Robbins Elite - plus all that lovely hardwood I scored some time back) and he told me they have a Sitka Spruce special on until September. Essentially, they are selling spruce at the same price as their Douglas Fir. This is at least a 40% reduction in price.

I've checked that to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me and, in some instances, it's nearer to a 50% saving on the price - ex VAT. It's the VAT that makes the saving somewhat less, in fact. But 40% off is outstanding, don't you think? I was going to be using Duggie Fir but I will buy some Sitka spruce now, while I can. It is beautiful material and much easier to work than good old Duggie Fir. I figure it ain't going to get any cheaper than that. So, anyone looking to use spruce for their boat would do well to consider this special offer. I've not seen spruce prices any lower than this for the past three years at least.

If you need to look at their website, it is linked in my first post above. The special offer is under 'Special Offers' in their Marine Division section - of course. And the actual prices are in their price list, which is downloadable in PDF. Happy hunting, guys.

Best wishes

[Mike]

Well, Jeannette and I finally went shopping together and popped into Robbins to check out their special offer on Sitka spruce.

Oh boy, it was like the days of my youth when exploring the local sweeties shop! I was led into their large timber storage warehouse. And the smell in there is just heavenly. Geez, I do love the smell of exotic timber. Can't understand why youngsters sniff glue and other things when they could sniff that smell. Ha ha.

Back to the spruce. There is a huge stock of it, all on special at those Duggie Fir prices. Jeannette spotted the one for us - as usual. She's like my right arm when it comes to shopping for 'best buys', I can tell you.

Andy Vowles, Robbins' marine timber expert, had the men pull out the one Jeannette picked. What a beautiful piece of spruce it was too. I will post a pic or two when it's delivered next week.

Now to business. The plank in question is a 9" x 3" piece of the best, and it's 6.2 metres long. I shuddered when she picked that one out, thinking "Here we go, it's going to be around £500 worth." Andy got the old computer to work, smiled, and said "How does £168 + VAT sound, Mike?". How did it sound? At £193.00 all up it sounded just unbelievable! That's how it sounded to me. "It's a deal", said I, with a grin like the Cheshire Cat.

I asked Andy to say how much the same plank was at the former spruce price. "Around £450.00", Andy said quite nonchalantly. Too right it would have been.

So, they are delivering it to me next week with some ply I also needed. A great day's shopping in my book.

While I was there, a new delivery of African mahogany and utile arrived. The utile was ear-marked for the builder of Cornish Crabbers down in Cornwall, Andy said, and a more lovely bit of timber is hard to imagine. The subject then switched to the mahogany. "The stuff from Africa is nothing like the mahogany you have, Mike", said Andy. He explained that you just can't get real Brazilian mahogany any more - as some suppliers claim to be selling. It just is not available. "You have the real McCoy and it sells for up to £6,000.00 a cubic metre."

Damn, that wife of mine is a genius when it comes to bargains! I knew it was valuable wood but I had no idea it was worth that kind of money. Time to up the anti-theft devices and the insurance on my stock. It's like Fort Knox out there now. Not only is it extremely difficult to actually get to it but the light-fingered are very likely to find themselves with a law enforcement hand on their collars before they even leave the backyard. Heh heh! Either that or they'll feel the firmly-clamped teeth of our new family member, followed closely by the long arm of the law. :devil-smiley-019:

Hmmm ... :thinking: perhaps I should sell it and fit out the Rendezvous with some of the other exotics we bought. The sale would probably make buying everything we need for the next few years a complete freebie. Anyone wanna buy some first class Brazilian mahogany, the real thing, stored for the last 20 years and ex the old Army Apprentice Training School at Chepstow? :rofl:

Anyway, guys. I recommend you get into Robbins and snatch some of this beautiful Sitka spruce while you can. Less than half price is a genuine bargain that is unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future. I will be going back for some more in a couple of weeks time. And it matters not whether I need it for my own use. I see it as a darned good investment too. :approval:

Best wishes