Where do you buy your wood

[ummbnb]

Our Amazon is a wood chewer big time! She shreds a med to large toy a week. Years ago I scored several huge lots of bird safe wood, cut and drilled on Ebay but as I look around there now, I don't see near the deals. I was getting lots of wood enough to make 20+ Amazon/Grey sized toys for $20. I see nothing as good as that now.

I'm wondering where you all buy your wood for toy making? I'd rather get it cut and drilled but if not, that's fine too.

[Chief's Mom]

I buy my wood at a few places...

Maine Wood Company Wholesale Wood Turnings Wooden Products, Wood Products, Wood Turnings, Wholesale Wood Company On the left side bar, click on 'Assorted Wood Bags & Boxes' Wood Bird Toys come as a 5lb bag or a 20lb box of assorted craft wood pieces already drilled. They also sell plenty of different shapes not pre-drilled. They say its seconds quality, but I've ordered from them multiple times and never even had one piece that was not useable. I've been very pleased, as they usually contain larger pieces and plenty of 'wheels' which I use for both my Amazon and my Macaw toys.

Hobby Lobby (I'm sure any local craft store that sells unfinished craft wood would have some). I usually go once a month and dig through the clearance section. Our Hobby Lobby has a big one along the back wall of the store and they always have all those little bags of craft wood for a couple cents a bag. I've walked out of there with two full shopping bags of wood for less than $6. These are normally smaller pieces, but you could always use them as filler between bigger pieces on toys, or use them in foraging toys. I put these in the macaws foraging buckets and they love them!

Lowe's (Which I'm sure is obvious , but if you don't have the tools, then that makes this one sort of difficult!) I buy 1"x1" and 2"x2" and have my husband slice them up on the miter saw, drill holes in the middles and viola', we have tons of big wood!

I hope some of these ideas help! I put a few websites that I used in a previous post 'A few new toy ideas..' but I don't know if that'll help you out with wood much

[kellywess]

Home Depot... "untreated" pine. Drill the holes first, then cut into pieces.

[ummbnb]

Thanks much all! I got a piece of untreated pine today, drilled it and used the chopsaw to cut into various pieces - well half of it. My drill bit broke. I dyed with some food coloring and everything is out back drying. I have plenty of rope, leather and beads from old toys and I figure that half this board will make 6 med to large toys for Dixon....all for $8..... and I still have the other half of the board! Sweet!

[BouncingCockatoo]

I get my wood from Lowes or Home Depot. My U2 loves to chew an destroy wood. I go pick up UNTREATED pine 2x4x8 or 10 and take it home and cut into 2x4x4 or so blocks... drill em and string em. They are happy to have the wood and no real need to waste time coloring it.
My CAG on the othe hand has to have colored wood toys or he wont touch it.


Troy

[Jwhear]

If you go to home depot or lowes, they have a bargain bin of various kinds of woods that are from other cuttings, warped, split or for some other reason can't sell it at full price. I have a lot of wood left from my family room remodel and since I have various size birds, I planed it down for some of the smaller birds and left it larger for the bigger guys. Cut into blocks and drilled holes.