Obtaining Suitable Wood

As I found out, wood dealers do not sell wood; at least, they will not sell you two 300 mm x 50 mm x 6 mm (12" x 2" x 1/4") pieces of a nicely figured hardwood. They will happily sell you a truck load of construction grade pine, though. So the first problem when starting out to make hardwood boomerangs was to obtain suitable wood.  Apparently, in the United States there are some dealers that sell thin, surfaced hardwoods in small quantities, but I did not find anything like that in Germany.

Here are some ideas for getting your hands on that small piece of hardwood:

• Ebay. Lots of people are selling small pieces there, e. g., scraps, tonewood, or turning blanks.
• Turning blanks. There are specialized dealers that sell small quantities of beautiful hardwoods to wood turners. This is my main source of wood for making boomerangs, although the pieces need to be ripped and planed to a suitable thickness. Dealers in Germany that I have bought from include Drechselmaus, Hobbyholz and Cropp Timber.
  
• Scraps and reclaimed wood. There are many opportunities for scrounging some leftovers: scraps from other people's projects, a discarded piece of furniture, or even something you find outside (I've used remains of oaken wine casks found near some vinyard). 
• Flooring. Some specialized shops give away free samples of floorboards. The odd piece of nice hardwood can be obtained there.
• Tonewood. Some pieces intended for musical instruments make good boomerang stock. Dick, for example, sells nice pieces of Indian rosewood that are just right for making boomerangs. I have also used figured maple neck blanks for violins that I got off Ebay.