So, let me guess your wood hasn’t been cut the way your project needs. Worry not. Here are some places that can cut wood for you, free or paid.
Getting woodcuts is not a big task, all you need to know is the right places where you can bring in your lumbers and get them cut.
Some will charge you, and others not. This is completely uncertain to guess, and prices change from store to store, and place to place.
There, sure you might have some unique ideas in your mind for which you need your wood to be cut in a precise manner.
Or maybe not only cuts, but you also want to get your wood planed, or edged, or whatsoever.
Places that will cut wood for you
- Home Depot: You can get wood cut from Home Depot stores. Look for the store in your city near to you and tell them about your cutting needs.
- Lowes: They also cut wood for their customers, ask your local lowes store about their policies.
- Menards: It’s a kind of DIY store, but many menard stores has saws available for basic wood cutting. One of the places you can get your wood cut.
- Localcarpenter: Find any carpenter in your city. Ask your friends to refer you the best carpenter, you can get your wood get cut in this way.
- Woodworking teaching center: if there is a woodworking teaching center nearby, then ask the instructor if you want to use their tools or allow their students to practice on your wood by helping you cut your wood into peices.
- Lumberyard: The best place for all your woodworking tasks is a lumberyard, search for any lumber yard in your city to get your wood tasks to get done by professionals.
Following is the list of places you visit for any woodworking project.
1. Home Depot
Home Depot is one of the most popular home improvement stores.
They sell different types of wood, lumber, and composite or plywood.
For cutting wood into sizes to allow their customers to take away wood easily.
The backside of many home depot stores has cutting tools available.
So, It’s one of the places you can visit if you want to get your woodcuts.
How to proceed.
To proceed, make sure you have purchased the lumbers from The Home Depot if you want to get some free, straight cuts.
Home Depot has a cutting policy for its customers only.
You can show them the lumber you purchased from their store to get some free cuts.
But unfortunately, lumbers purchased from other stores will not be cut- or you will be charged a few bucks for each cut.
Quality of cuts.
The cuts from Home depot will be straight- no desired and angle cuts, and expect to have some inaccuracy.
Although the quality of the cuts you will get depends on the operator, which is obviously different from place to place.
So, if you’re lucky enough, chances are the person cutting your wood into sizes might be an expert.
Limitations of tools.
Before taking your wood to your local home depot store.
Note that, they don’t have all the tools available that you might need.
With that being said, they have industrial power tools only, table saws mainly for basic cutting. No miter saw, no circular saw, etc.
2. Lowes
Lowes stores also cut wood for their customers. Basic cuts only are when a customer purchases large lumber that needs to be cut into small sizes for loading.
Although they don’t offer desired woodcutting to customers, it’s fine to can ask if you have different measurements for the cuts.
They might charge you some bucks for each cut. Occasionally, the staff will satisfy customer demands- but not always. Each location store has its own policy regarding wood cutting.
How to proceed.
Like Home Depot, their cutting policies are only for their customers, who have purchased wood from their store.
So it’s a nice place for both, purchasing wood and cutting.
Such big box stores cut wood so that it can be easily carried and loaded.
Anyways, mind that you may not be cut to your specifications.
Quality of cuts.
To be honest, the cuts will not be so-called precise or accurate.
The reason is simple, they don’t hire expert carpenters to do the cutting job, instead, they are the employees who work in the stores that come and operate the tool.
Sometimes you may get good cuts if the operator knows the work, but you should anticipate some inaccuracy in their cutting beforehand.
Limitation of tools.
Like Homedepot, they have industrial cutting tools only. Simply, they are for making large cuts. So if you want small cuts or angle cuts.
They might not work for you. But it’s nice to ask the staff directly or on a phone call about the cuts you need- Of course, before purchasing from their stores.
3. Menards
Many Menards stores also have saws available in their stores- to make convenience cuts, not desired.
Although, you can inquire the workers to make desired cuts or ask them to cut your wood piece that’s not purchased from their store.
In some areas, the workers will ask you for some charges for pay per cut.
How to proceed.
If there is any Menard home improvement store near your home or workshop.
First, you should call them and ask the basic questions on the phone.
Note their policies first before taking the wood to the store. Sometimes they are happy to treat their customers for some extra charges. However, policies differ in every store, so first inquire about them.
Quality of cuts.
Like other big box stores, Menard’s cutting quality is not so good.
However, it greatly depends on the person who will cut the wood. But looking at their saw’s blade, it was very rough mostly. Expect to have some inaccuracy in cutting.
Limitation of tools.
Only industrial saws are available, which means only large cuts will be made.
For smaller cuts such as 2-by-4, the place for cutting wood is not ideal for you.
4. Ace Hardware
Some ace hardware stores offer cutting wood services, also pay-per-cut services are being provided in my area, not so sure whether or not you get this benefit. I would suggest you ask them on a phone call.
How to proceed.
Search for a hardware store near you in your city. Get their phone number to contact them and ask about their policies for wood cutting. Mind that, many ace hardware stores only sell small hardware but a few stores sell laminate boards and wood lumber as well. So they have cutting tools.
Quality of cuts.
I’m not sure about the quality of their wood-cutting services since I had never been to the store. Home Depot is near to me so I often go there to purchase wood lumber.
Limitation of tools.
You will only get woodcuts in large sizes, as the industrial tools are not able to cut wood below 4-by-3. Also, there will only be table saws available for fine cuts. Don’t expect angle cuts or bevel cuts as they don’t keep circular saws and miter saws.
5. Local Lumber yards
Take your wood to any lumber yard located in your area. Ask them to cut your wood, and give them proper measurements. If you have not purchased from them, they will charge for cutting. Though one of the pros the lumber yards offer, workers out there are highly experts and expect to get any kind of woodcut in a precise manner.
How to proceed.
Use Google Maps to see any lumber yards near your location. Simply download the google map or search on google for” lumber yards near me.” The results might help you. Also, you can get the contact details, and ask about the procedure and the type of wood services they offer. If all seems satisfactory, then the place will be suitable for your wood projects. However, don’t forget to ask about their charges.
Quality of cuts.
At lumber yards, you will get some quality cuts made on your wood. Not only that but also the advice from experts, and their experience surely will benefit you. Let them know your project, what you’re up to, and what cuts and wood services you need.
Limitation of tools
Speaking of the tools available at the lumber store, in my city. They have almost every tool like table saws, and circular saws, and they also keep tools like planets, edgers, and sanders for other woodwork. As a whole, you can say the lumberyards are the best place to purchase wood if you don’t have the right tools to work with, and also if you’re uncertain about the measurements.
6. Local Woodworking shops
Local woodworking shops are also a good option to look for wood-cutting services. Although such workshops sell engineered wood (boards) yet they can have cutting tools. Try reaching out, you might get the best deals.
How to proceed.
You might have to find the nearby woodworking shops on your own and ask people to find the best one for you. Visit the shop and tell them your requirements and the kind of woodworking services you need. Don’t forget to ask them about the charges.
Quality of cuts.
The quality of woodcuts might be better than what you get from big box stores. But don’t expect precision like an expert carpenter.
Limitation of tools
There are no specific limitations about the tools they can have or not. It depends on the region, but chances are you will be able to get small-size woodcuts from local workshops.
7. Local Carpenters
In almost every city, an expert local carpenter can be found easily. Who owns the tools?
How to proceed.
Do some research at finding the best carpenters, and ask your friends if the workshop you have purchased the wood from is not providing cutting services. Ask them if they know any skilled expert carpenters.
Quality of cuts.
It’s one of the best ways to have some quality cuts done to your wood. Local carpenters typically spend the entire day doing woodworking tasks. With that in mind, you can get the peace of mind that you will get quality cuts.
Limitation of tools
You cannot know which tools the carpenter owns, so you will have to contact him on a phone call or in person.
8. Local Woodworking teaching centers.
Look for any local woodworking teaching center near you. They are a good place to get some cuts in exchange for the experience of the students. But such centers might not be available in all regions.
How to proceed.
Visit the center and talk to the instructor that you have some wood pieces that need some sort of cutting and that you for some reason don’t own the tools or are not able to use them. In most cases, the instructors out there are happy to help, as long as they need some wood for testing their student’s skills.
Quality of cuts.
Since the place you bought the wood is basically a student’s teaching center. So don’t expect that the cuts will be super precise as they might be at their learning stage. So only consider it a place that will cut wood for you for free if you are sure to have some mistakes or rough cuts.
Limitation of tools
Most probably you will be able to find every useful tool out there in such a woodworking teaching center. Included a planner, saws table, and circular both, sanders, so it’s a pretty good place to get woodworking work done.
About tools
Band Saw:
With these saws, you can cut large logs with exact precision. With a band saw, one continuous metal band is fitted with two (or more) rotating wheels. Due to its precision, these saws provide better cuts than a typical circular saw.
Chain Saw:
Any type of wood, soft or hardwood, can be cut through with a chainsaw. They are a valuable tool in woodworking. Cutting high-density wood becomes easy since its brute power makes it ideal for rough.
Gangsaw:
Multi-cutting is possible with Gangsaw. It can be used as part of a plank-making process with the help of a conveyor belt.
Circular Saw:
Large pieces of wood are cut with the circular saw into straight and angled cuts. Carpenter uses them to create angles like 45 and 90 degrees to cut wide beams.
Table Saw:
Any lumber yard would be incomplete without this saw. It serves as a fast, efficient, and safe way of cutting lumber into a manageable size.
Planer:
At the lumber yard, your wood will be cut and then planned to even out the thickness as necessary. A planer is a crucial tool for rough cuts since it smooths the lumber, making it easier to handle.
Edger:
After the cutting process has been completed, an edger is used to smooth out rough lumber that has bowed.
