Call us: +1 (207) 364 1520
Free shipping to the lower 48 states on orders > $100 *T&Cs apply
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions Interview Series. Here, we endeavour to discover more about what makes our woodworkers tick, how you became involved in the craft, how and why you build your pieces and maybe glean a few tips and secrets along the way! Our interviewer, a woodworker since the age of […]
In 2000, a job fair and a tour at Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers in Auburn, Maine, set me on my path to become a real woodworker! It was here that I learned patience, persistence and what quality really looks like. I am forever grateful for my time spent there and the incredible wealth of knowledge that was passed on to me by my trainers.
I have been a jack of all trades and a master of none, my whole life. Whatever my focus was at the time, I excelled to the point where I simply got bored too soon and it fizzled out. I have bounced all over wearing different hats, such as construction, heavy equipment operator, baker, mechanic, site foreman, safety tech…the list goes on! I had a 5 year curse when working for someone else and I was never the best at taking orders that I felt were wrong.
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions interview series. Here, we hope to discover more about what makes our woodworkers tick, how you became involved in the craft, how and why you build your pieces and maybe learn a few secret techniques and tips along the way! Our interviewer, a woodworker since the age […]
My first real exposure to fine woodworking came about at the age of 16 when I met a woodworker through my church. Stan Austin is an absolutely incredible craftsman. He taught me how to cut my first joints, how to make bent laminations and many other techniques that I use on a daily basis.
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions interview series. Here, we hope to discover more about what makes our woodworkers tick, how you became involved in the craft, how and why you build your pieces and maybe learn a few secret techniques and tips along the way! Our interviewer, a woodworker since the age […]
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions interview series. Here, we hope to discover more about what makes our woodworkers tick, how you became involved in the craft, how and why you build your pieces and maybe learn a few secret techniques and tips along the way! Our interviewer, a woodworker since the age […]
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions interview series. Here, we hope to discover more about what makes our woodworkers tick, how you became involved in the craft, how and why you build your pieces and maybe learn a few secret techniques and tips along the way! Our interviewer, a woodworker since the age […]
Our sincere thanks go to Christina Vincent of North Haven in Maine for sharing her passion and talent with us in the 6th issue of the Woodworker Sessions USA. Christina is the designer and maker of Christina M. Vincent Fine Woodworking and Northshore, a garden and design company.
I am Chuck Thornton of CP Thornton Guitars and I have been designing and building electric guitars and basses since 1985. I was born in 1956 and grew up on a farm in Maine. My dad was an extremely hard working man and taught me the importance of good work ethics.
Self taught in woodworking, I built furniture for a living for about 12 years, before making a YouTube video on how I made my own backsaw. This brought in a number of orders for me to make saws and coupled with a review in Fine Woodworking magazine, I turned my attention to making hand saws on a full time basis.
Welcome to the Rare Woods USA Woodworker Sessions. Our thanks go to Brian Harvey of Kirkville, New York for his willingness to share his precious time with us in the 3rd issue of the Woodworker Sessions series.
We are most grateful to David Knittle of the Knittle Studio for joining us for our 2nd Woodworker Sessions USA! David’s woodcraft niche is unique and his passion shines brightly in every piece that he creates. It is extremely seldom that we come across a woodworker whose specialty lies not in independent furniture items, but rather in those created to support and enhance the display of unique and meditative objects.
Woodworker Sessions #1 – “20 Questions” with Kevin Winsor of Bethel, Maine. We are extremely grateful to Kevin Winsor, who has very kindly offered to be our first interviewee for The Woodworker Sessions USA!
Dear Woodlover We are looking forward to Fall and Woodworking season. When those Maple leaves start turning to glowing orange, red and gold, I know the woodworker squirrels will be contacting us for their winter supplies. …. And joy is what we will be bringing to you as we have imported some fine new stock: […]
Newsletter – Spring 2016 Spring brings stunning figured woods! We are awed by our first shipment of Black and White Ebony from Laos. Extra care is required in drying but the end result is worth it as it has truly amazing figure! Arriving in freezing Maine Sculpture extraordinaire! Epic guitar Collectors […]
Newsletter November 2015 Advance warning – As from December 3 until January 26, we will be in South Africa attending to our operation there. However, during this time we will have a skeleton staff to meet your needs and open up by appointment only. Please email or call Harry Powers on 207-364-1073 to schedule your […]
Dear Woodlover After the brutal Maine winter, we were delighted to get to some remote spots in our warehouses and unearth wonderful treasures from our stashes. Pink Ivory When we saw this bundle of mainly 2” material, the rich color, long lengths and wide widths blew my mind away. With 95 tons […]
Dear Woodlover “Prepare to meet thy maker?… or hopefully furniture makers!” Nothing prepared me for a diagnosis of the ” Big C” early this year followed by 4 months of treatment in Cape Town, South Africa. However, thankfully that is all history now and I am back in gorgeous Maine, fully recovered, climbing […]
Good showrooms can give people ideas and the stimulus to begin that project they have been dreaming about. Unfortunately they can also cost a lot! Our challenge as a fledgling business was to come up with an appealing yet economical display of all our timbers to show off their full potential and tempt our customers […]
Life as a timber merchant has often been a steep learning curve. I’m not ashamed to say that many mistakes have been made, some worse than others! Below I thought I would run you through some of the screw ups I’ve made on various shipments over the years. The worst mistake: Complex and arduous shipping […]
Luthiers are a different breed with very exacting needs – often happy to sort through mountains of wood to select that specific piece with the perfect combination of grain, color and taptone. With my love for wood and music (and guitars in particular), it is only natural that I dabble in this aspect of the […]
Many woodworkers are surprised to find a “full house” exotic wood dealer in Mexico, Maine. 500,000 bd ft of exotic hardwoods 180 species displayed in racks and bundles Extensive showroom Milling facilities Wood vendors passionate about their calling It all started 30 years ago – when with $100 capital borrowed from my mother, I bought […]
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I set off on a mini road trip down to Saratoga Springs, New York, to visit the annual Northeastern Woodworkers’ Association show (see www.nwawoodworkingshow.org). You may not have heard of it before, so to quote the event organizers: “This annual event, sponsored by the Northeastern Woodworkers Association, […]
Sweden(?)…Germany… Australia… Zimbabwe… South Africa… USA. Where to next?? Your grandchildren’s inheritance? I obtained these 1,000 or so woodcarving and ice carving tools through an unusual trade with a Zimbabwean refugee. The story of Zimbabwe is a sad one, starting its period of independence from Britain with hope and great intentions, being the […]
One of nature’s unusual masterpieces, Purpleheart (Peltogyne) is a true stunner. It comes mainly from Guiana, but also from various other South American countries. Its hard and heavy at around 58 pounds per cubic foot (860kg per m3), but it machines well, although with a dulling affect on the cutters. It is a large tree, […]
About 8 years ago we thought we had hit the jackpot, when we were offered 110 tons of second quality Blackwood logs at the crazy low price of $50-$100 per ton FOB at a Mozambique port. As prime quality African Blackwood was selling at about $20,000 per ton we thought we had died and gone […]
We have in stock approximately 5000 ft of the most unique mahogany anywhere in the world. This is genuine mahogany (Swietenia Macrophylla) from the Amazonian jungles of Brazil. Harvested approximately 15 years ago for the veneer trade, the best sheets of veneer were sliced off and we bought the “veneer remains”. These consist of pieces […]
Recently we had a fantastic opportunity to participate in one of Lie-Nielsen’s great Open House events. We are very fortunate in that Lie-Nielsen, the world’s leading maker of quality hand tools, is based just down the road in Warren, Maine. Tom Lie-Nielsen is probably same age as me, and is still incredibly focused and driven. […]
Nope, not Chelsea Clinton. My son Seamus and his beautiful wife Lucy were married in Surrey, England, this last weekend. It was a magical day and a powerful reminder of how much we should cherish our families, friends and life itself! CONGRATULATIONS SEAMUS AND LUCY, AND MUCH LOVE!!
In South Africa where we had cheap wood and cheap and plentiful labor (as a result of a heart-breaking 65% unemployment rate) we built solid wooden racks, which over time are looking dangerously not four-square. Here in the USA there are brilliant interlocking steel racks that slot together like Meccano and can be bought cheap […]
Bad days… We all have them and so often they are caused by our own damn foolishness. With this little mishap I have only myself to blame and I do feel pretty stupid about it. But first some background…. It has been my intention to get a Baker resaw (www.baker-online.com), as we have a need […]
Our South African operation runs 23 low temperature dehumidification kilns to dry wood. They work well for most 1 inch wood but get a bit iffy on thicker sizes. They are also incredibly costly to run (on average $266 / cubic meter compared to cost of $70 in USA and €80 / cubic meter in […]
More than anything else, it is the high precision German four-sided tungsten carbide replaceable cutters in a pineapple head that allow us to achieve smooth finishes on some of our highly figured and abrasive woods. The small individual cutters also have the added bonus of less noise. The cherry on top however, is that in […]
Some people call them hoarders – in Maine we call them traders! Everyone is forever having yard sales, porch sales or garage sales and Craigslist and Uncle Henry’s are thriving. It seems to me (admittedly an outsider) that the same treasures (junk?) never leave the state, but seems to change hands often. I don’t know […]
Tuesday to Friday:
8am – 4pm
Saturday:
9am – 1pm
Sunday & Monday:
Closed
Rare Woods USA LLC
120 Swift River Road
Mexico, ME 04257
USA