Links
These are people I have found to be helpful.
Everything woodturning is either stocked or can be obtained quickly. It also comes with expert advice. Unfortunately Roy has retired and so this 'one of a kind' shop is sadly no more, but the website goes on and has been re-invented as an excellent woodturning information site.
Large range of tools, next day delivery, very nice showrooms with knowledgeable people on hand. When I have had anything heavy delivered the drivers have always been very helpful.
They have a warehouse of a showroom with just about all you could want for machining/jig making, including materials. I have spent several hours wandering around the place; it's a bit of a 'sweetie shop' for people like me.
Big range of tools especially if you are a Myford owner. I find them very speedy on delivery and very good.
Just about every spare a Myford owner might need. Speedy delivery. Everything I have had from them has been good quality. Myford and RDG appear to be the same people, RDG.
Most metals you will want are available. I don't know if they are cheap, the amount I buy it does not much matter. Customer service is very good too if you have to get on the phone to them.
An Aladdin's cave of exotic woods. Downstairs for planks and flitches, upstairs for turning blanks and veneers for musical instrument makers and some thick veneers 5-10mm useful for bowl rims. You could spend a fortune in here and not put your back out carting it away.
Rayleigh Steel Ltd, Unit 7, Rawreth Industrial Estate Rawreth Lane, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 9RL
No website. They make gates and railings and that sort of thing so they stock quite a bit of steel. They will obligingly cut off what you want and charge a very acceptable price for it.
English Hardwoods
New to the area I got lost on my first trip to this place so I called to ask for a bit of guidance. Twenty minutes later when I still hadn't shown up Nigel gave me all call back, asked how I was getting on and said there would be a cup of coffee waiting. Now there's a man who knows how to get off to a good start with potential customers. Nigel is a one man band with his own saw mill and kiln, and he does it all himself. I have bought quite a bit of nice Sycamore from him. He has a huge pile of bog oak in his yard, and it is worth a visit just to see the place and meet Nigel who could talk the hind legs off a donkey, and he's good value.
April 2022: I regret that Nigel's death was announced recently, and I am very sorry to hear it. I did think of removing this item from my site, but decided to keep this memory of the man and his remarkable woodyard.
I'm not a club joining sort of person but I joined this one. Unfortunately I only had 6 or 7 months benefit before Covid rudely interrupted us. Like all the other woodturning clubs they have demonstration sessions which I don't go to, but I may. They have a once per month tea, coffee, biscuits, and cake sessions with the occasional mini demo which suits me, people exhibit what they have made, there is a lot of chat about turning and I really enjoy it. The club committee are very enthusiastic and committed to making it the friendly place that it is. During the Covid pandemic the club secretary has been publishing a monthly newsletter with contributions from club members, the chairman and other committee members. I even had a call from the treasurer to ask me how I was getting on in the pandemic.
This place is a bit out of the way for me so I went there some years ago on the way back from holiday. I arranged to meet Paul at the end of a forest track and then I followed him to his little group of barns in the woods. He says on his website that the best thing is to visit and take away what you want, and he's right. He had quite a bit of very nice timber and I came away with a boot full of Ash, Cherry and Walnut, and a very favourable impression of him and his small business. It's worth a visit, just send him an email, and it's well worth the trip.
You can't do segmented turning without a very detailed drawing of what you want to make, I also generate a cut list in Excel. I have used this software for many years and it does the job just about perfectly and is as cheap as chips.
I have used these people quite a lot over the years, for clock parts especially, and they sell the 'Grip a Disc' sanding discs that I like. Delivery and quality are both good. One of those places I would like to visit, looks like it might be a bit like the much missed Peter Child shop in Yeldham, but alas a bit too far for me to justify.