Lumber
We use the best hardwood lumber that we can find, so as you can imagine, our lumber suppliers are very important to us. A few years ago, I was looking for a new supplier for cherry, and I gave Lou Irion (of Irion Lumber) a call. I told him what I was looking for and he suggested that I start with a small order to see if I was happy with what they had to offer. From the day I received that first shipment, I have never looked back.
First of all, they just have great lumber. We use more cherry than anything else, and their cherry is second to none. It has good color, minimal defects, and lots of character. One of my favorite things about Irion Lumber is that when they have a really good log, they will saw it and put it up as a flitch. A flitch is a group of boards that were kept together as they came from the log. We like to use flitch-cut material because it makes for great color and grain matches in our table tops. All of our dining table tops are made from flitch-matched boards.
Boards stacked in their flitches
Boards stacked in their flitches
Irion Lumber is also an outstanding company to do business with. More than once I have received the following phone call, “Jim, I have someone coming in that is not a regular customer. They are interested in 5/4 cherry, and we don’t have a lot of it at the moment. If you are going to be needing any soon, I won’t sell them any.” That’s what I call customer service and loyalty to your customers.
Lumber
large boards
Lumber arrives from Irion Lumber
Tags: cherry, furniture, lumber, walnut, woodworking