Finding Thin Woods

[IBMer]

We have several woodworking shops and lumber suppliers in the area.   I keep seeing wood that I'd really like to try out, but they are too thick for scrollsaw projects.   I've asked, but none of the shops seem to offer the service of cutting down the lumber to 1/4".   I have a small 9" band saw and was thinking of trying to cut a 1" board into a few 1/4" boards.   I suspect that it won't be pretty.

What do you guys do?  Do you buy thicker lumber and cut it down?  If so, what tools do you use?

[Dan26]

I have a 12" Craftsman bandsaw and use it with a 1/2", 3 TPI blade. It does a pretty good job on 4" boards. After cutting I run them through a planer and do some finish sanding. Seems like a lot of work, but I do save a few $$ this way.

[dgman]

Hey John, Being a member of a large woodworking club, I get a lot of wood scraps and cutoffs. That makes up about 75% of the hardwoods I use. I get scraps in all thicknesses from 1/8" to 2". So I do a lot of resawing either on my band saw or table saw. Then I plane them on my planer, then sand them with a random orbital sander. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it!
There are several online sources for thin woods. One is www.ocoochhardwoods.com. There are many others, but when I need to purchase thin woods, this is where I order from.