Hey guys, I just thought I would share this. If anyone out there is struggling to find lumber, I found a place in Kansas that was really helpful to me getting some premium Osage. The place is called Hines Fence Posts, you can find them online. I ended up driving up there and found a great Osage log that I split up for about a dozen quality staves. I honestly don't know if anyone will benefit from this because it was a long drive from where I live. I don't think they ship, so you do have to go in person. They have thousands of cut Osage trees lying around from 4 inch tops to monster trees that I wouldn't even try to split. The trees are open to the weather, but they often have trees that have just been cut that day. I'm also not sure how bad it is for Osage to be left out in the rain, I've heard of people making Osage bows out of old fence posts and dead standing Osage, so I assume Osage can take a little weather. I was blessed to get a fresh tree that day that was straight with minimal knots so I didn't have that problem.
It's a great place if anyone's interested in making a road trip for some great lumber. The price was great (you can look him up and call for details, but the whole log was cheaper than any of the staves on ebay.) Mr. Hines is a really nice guy too, interested in my bookmaking and honest and professional through the whole thing. He even helped me split the log in half there on the site! Couldn't ask for friendlier service.
Like I said, it is a long way out, but I just thought this was worth sharing. It was a great deal for me, so if you live somewhere in the Midwest, it might be worth your while.
