As written here in a previous blog, about eight years ago I took on two partners and decided to make a radical change at Barney & Carey. The location in Sharon had functioned pretty well as a small, “full service” lumber company, but had really outgrown its tired facility. Both Barney & Carey and my tenant, Dovi Hirsch, were running woodworking operations there. Since these two companies were being kicked out by the landlord (me) to build condos there, we bought and moved into an old mill building in Avon. It would be a very different operation.
There are four large lumber and building materials companies within a short distance from our new facility, so why would we want to move into the midst of such well established competition? We decided to essentially not compete with them, by turning our focus to selling hardwood lumber, pine, hardwood plywood, moldings, and lumber specialties. We do not sell framing lumber, pressure treated lumber, paint, windows, or all the other stuff they sell, in an effort to be the best in our niche. Most important, we combined the two woodworking shops into an 8,000 foot, state of the art facility. We gradually replaced all our machinery, adding many new machines, as well. Enough history!
For the past few years, I have been spending much of my time seeking new sources of the hardwoods and exotics we sell. We gradually got into selling hardwood slabs, and are now strongly expanding that inventory, the topic for the next blog. We also have good amount of “discs” and “cookies,” which our customers are buying for all sorts of projects. In dealing with overseas sources, I was able to buy them in various species. You can see them in accompanying photos on this website. They are crosscut from the logs, thereby displaying beautiful color, grain, and shape variations. I find the Teak cookies, sawn from just above the tree roots, to be the most striking. We have the capability to plane, sand, and finish them to your specs, or sell them unfinished. They can be used to make the nicest coffee and end tables you can imagine!
Discs, crosscut at 90 or 45 degrees, available in many species, domestic and exotic, live edge or sawn, in all thicknesses, are a woodworker’s bonanza! For example, create sign blanks or cutting boards of Ambrosia Maple! We also have laser engraving equipment to letter and decorate your signs in any style you like. As you may know, interesting cutting boards and serving trays can be created by gluing contrasting hardwoods together. We have a big selection of shorts in stock, so you never have to buy more than you need.
As always, I urge you to visit us, and take a tour of our shop, showroom, and warehouse! I’m sure you will find items you will rarely see elsewhere, and we are expanding constantly! We recently had to take back some space from a tenant to create a slab display room. No, you can’t buy tub sealant or plastic fencing here; but you’ll love our hardwoods!
