: I am up against the same thing here. I can get hardwoods but not much else.
: The "Traditional" places as you called them are useless, here at
: least. But the old school building suppliers are not much better either. I
: have one I have free run of and and I can hand pick, but there isn't much
: to hand pick from!

: My best bet is redwood and cypress. I can find redwood at some of the
: building supplies. Cypress is carried by most of the hardwood dealers. The
: Hardwood guys cater to cabinet makers and a few furniture makers
: generally. So you and I are out of their area of expertise.

: Best bet is call and see if they have any of the wood(s) you want and then go
: look.

: I have settled on buying the best I can find and then resawing it and
: scarfing it into longer lengths. There just isn't much other choice
: frankly. I am going to build an improved scarfing jig for the table saw. I
: will post some photos once I get it done.

Nothing wrong with redwood btw, just have to remember that it tends to split if you abuse it. It is pretty and has been used for years for strip canoes, also quite light.

Bill H.