I live in the UK and will be popping over the pond in April to visit some family who live in Demerest, New Jersey. Are there any recommendations for tool/wood geek type shops I should seek out? A quick Google doesn't show much in that area. We'll be heading over the river to Manhattan no doubt as well.
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Tool/wood shops I should visit in the US
- Thread starter Flying B
- Start date
Well... how far do you want to drive? There are at least a couple in PA that I want to visit some day.
Yeah, not aware of anything within an hour of NYC area. Google says it's about a 4 hour drive to Northern Pennsylvania.
Spring Carlisle is on in April, but not sure how much your wife and kids would be into car shows:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Spring Carlisle is on in April, but not sure how much your wife and kids would be into car shows:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I looked around on google maps for a bit and the only thing I found that looked like a store I could spend a few hours and a bushel of money in was Woodcraft. The problem is, it's a 2 hr drive. Plus, we have stores like that near where I am, so I probably wouldn't drive that far. Not sure if you have stores like that near you and if you would be seeing anything special that would warrant a 2 hr drive.
Your best bet is probably wait until you get there and ask locals if there's any hidden gem stores that don't pop up in a general google maps search.
Google Maps
If I'm not mistaken, @Reedt2000 is in Jersey and might know of a place worth checking out(?)
Philadelphia Luthier supply is 2.5 hrs away in Philly, but I'm not sure if they have an actual walk-in store, or if it's just a storage building that they ship from. Again, more of a thing to do if you have a whole day to yourself to just take a drive. Probably not ideal to drag the family along.
But there's gotta be SOMEthing closer.
Your best bet is probably wait until you get there and ask locals if there's any hidden gem stores that don't pop up in a general google maps search.
Google Maps
If I'm not mistaken, @Reedt2000 is in Jersey and might know of a place worth checking out(?)
Philadelphia Luthier supply is 2.5 hrs away in Philly, but I'm not sure if they have an actual walk-in store, or if it's just a storage building that they ship from. Again, more of a thing to do if you have a whole day to yourself to just take a drive. Probably not ideal to drag the family along.
But there's gotta be SOMEthing closer.
I get that for you guys a little 3 or 4 hour jaunt is nothing, over here that's pretty much one side of the country to the other!
To drive from the Westernmost community in Canada (Beaver Creek, Yukon) to the Easternmost (St John's, Newfoundland) is a... non-trivial 8,535 km (5,303 miles). Google says that's 96 hours of driving each way. So yeah, distances are more on the epic scale.
Here's a map if you want to take a slightly longer road-trip:
Google Maps
Here's a map if you want to take a slightly longer road-trip:
Google Maps
Some might. I need a pretty darned good excuse to drive that far, though I've spent workdays in recent memory where I drove further twice. With travel money involved...Southernmost Vermont to Northermost Vermont with some side wiggles into Northermost NY and in sight of Canada.147+99+133 miles, so not quite 610 km (3 separate jobs, one of which was a surprise sprung on me mid-day...) and only a very small portion on a 4-lane highway.
I'm not really aware of any "destination" wood/tool shops in in the area you are heading to (at least that still exist there.) But locals may have some ideas.
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About 25 years ago I ran into Australian luthier extraordinaire Steve Gilchrist at a bluegrass festival in western Massachusetts. He was in the US looking for wood. I told him I had a lot of Adirondack maple and he asked where I live. He hadn't realized there is an enormous region called the Adirondacks......
@RichterScale does this help?
Where to Buy Hardwood Lumber In New Jersey (2022)
Definitely some places closer to you than Willard Bros (which is about an hour)
Where to Buy Hardwood Lumber In New Jersey (2022)
Definitely some places closer to you than Willard Bros (which is about an hour)
It will if I'm ever in Jersey
, I'm on the west side of NY. State.It's for @Flying B.
He's visiting from the UK and needs a local contact for a fix while in town.
I lived just outside of Princeton for a couple years. Those guys are definitely worth checking out. Probably 90 minutes from Demarest. They were right in my back yard when I lived down there, the only thing that saved me was that I was living in a tiny condo and didn't have room for woodworking. I did smuggle a couple slabs with me to NY when I moved back up here though.
If you're in to furniture building, the Nakashima woodworkers shop is just outside of New Hope PA, which is also about 90 minutes from where you'll be. Probably one of the most significant and important custom furniture builders in the world right now. They do tours but covid may have changed all that, I haven't been there in a long time. The town of New Hope in and of itself is worth checking out, it's kind of an epicenter for art and handcrafts and has been home to many famous painters, art studios, antique shops, etc. Not exactly guitar building or lumber per say but worth it if you have a spare day with nothing to do.
If you’re going to Manhattan, for the love of all things good and pure, visit Rudy’s. Lots of eye candy there. Great guys in the shop.
But there’s no tools except slides picks and capos. And all the wood is already assembled. But it’s the most vintage and WOW I’ve ever seen in one room…
But there’s no tools except slides picks and capos. And all the wood is already assembled. But it’s the most vintage and WOW I’ve ever seen in one room…
Interesting woodworking supplier if you'll visit NYC. Easy subway trip from Manhattan:
Tools for Working Wood: Welcome
Tools for Working Wood: Welcome
The Martin museum is in Nazareth, PA is something to see. Not far from NJ.
Martin is a huge wood supplier as well as a main builder.
Visits seem partly suspended due to covid and all though.
Martin is a huge wood supplier as well as a main builder.
Visits seem partly suspended due to covid and all though.
