Aloha! Since we received so many positive responses regarding offering some laser-ready Hawaiian Koa wood, we thought we would post an update and let everyone know where we’re at! We are currently building a “shop” section onto our website which will serve as the store for our Koa offerings. We’ve gathered all of the Koa pieces we have readily available right now and are sanding them all up to 220 grit in preparation for posting them on the site. This first run of Koa pieces will be a whole bunch of randomly sized, smaller pieces of varying thicknesses (ranging from .25 to .125 inches), with a couple of nicer, larger figured pieces thrown in the mix. For the most part, these pieces will range from $10 to $15 each. There won’t be much consistency in this first batch, however we have been reaching out to a couple of wood mills on the island, and have made a tentative deal with one of them to do a small production run of consistent, 6" x 12" pieces, of both .25" and .125" Koa. The catch is that we will only be able to fund this second production if the first batch sells. So here’s the next step; put your e-mail address on our list using this signup form ( Jotform - Form is missing ) and leave us a little message about what kind of Koa you would be most interested in seeing in future productions. In about a week, look out for a notification regarding the website going live, and we’ll all move forward from there! Please do keep in mind that we are just a husband and wife team of Glowforgers, so we may need your patience as we do our humble best. Mahalo!! EDIT: shipping will be $15 per order, regardless of the size of the order. This is the cost of a medium flet-rate shipping box, which is currently the best option from Hawaii to the mainland. 20190630_174909|281x500
Made on a Glowforge is the forum section for showcasing prints you’ve completed on the Glowforge. I’ve moved this to an appropriate section.
So 10-15$ for each board, or each pack?
Prices will be per board. Many will be less than $10, and some of the more exotic and figured pieces will be more, but we’re expecting an average to be around $12 or so. Again, there won;t be much consistency in this first run, that would come later if there’s interest. What do you mean by a pack?
Sorry I thought this:
Meant that you were planning to sell them in bundles. I just read it incorrectly.
I see. I like the idea of selling a group of pieces together which all came from the same piece of lumber, for consistency’s sake, so I was wondering if that’s a thing or not.
Thanks for the photos. I’m interested in the wood for earrings so 1/8 wood would work the best for me.
When making knife handles matching is very good, also in places where two pieces are glued edge on the mirror effect can be great but for most it is less compelling to have it that way, Where there is a dark heartwood with light it is nice to have the line even all around but even matched wood may not do that.
More often the mill is making hundreds/thousands of board feet and what has complainable issues is tossed aside. These end up in boxes sold by the pound, often many species, none up to snuff as “the good stuff” but still very useful if the person is willing to work to get out what os great in it.
when you cut two slices together, then flip one to have them mirrored next to each other, that’s called “bookmatched.”
it’s very common in instrument making.
Awesome, thank you! When we get ready to do our first big run with the wood mill, I’ll make sure we have a few nice curly pieces to run as well, though there’s no way for me to bring the prices down (curly Koa is ridiculous expensive, even for us local artists). We’re really getting excited about being able to share Koa with the wider community!
If you want to save on shipping, you can use a third party to print labels for you. I live on Oahu and pirateship.com has saved me a ton of money. Super simple interface and automatically applies discounts to any package that you enter, including the flat rate packages. Options for insurance and signatures are there if that’s something you need. Risk free (sounds like an infomercial) and doesn’t cost anything to sign up.
Here’s an example of a medium flat rate box, which isn’t a huge saving, but does give a little saving to the end customer, and if it were something you planned on using often and eventually adding shipping to your prices, would add up quickly.
Thank you! Will definitely check this out!
Thanks for that info — I’ll have to check out pirateship — I have heard of it but haven’t seen a comparison. That will help our group save some money.
Glad to help, someone else had shared it with me so I’m glad that it can help more people out 
I’ve been balking at raising prices to include shipping as it will eat into our profits a lot for our makerspace, but we wanted to keep prices reasonable. Every dollar here and there will definitely make a difference. Thank you. Do you still ship then in the USPS flat rate boxes?
I use whatever box is the cheapest or best fit. If I’m shipping a sign, I throw some bubble wrap on it, then sandwich it between cardboard. I only use the flat rate boxes if that’s the best option, but yeah, bubble wrap gets me pretty far in my packaging random shaped objects.
Thanks for the tips. We’ve pretty much sold only local and put all the profits into the 501c3 fund to try to afford rent/utilities/insurance for a year to get up back up and going. The Koa wood is gorgeous and I hope to use it to generate some sales — I miss our makerspace and the friends I made there (heck I married one I met there!) LOL
Check out our first test run; www.freedformhawaii.com/wholesale and follow the link to Koa blanks.
I bought 3 boards! Excited to get them. This will be my first time using something really special.
I would have probably bought more but didn’t read my email before we went to the movies…by the time we got home it was down to 4 boards.
I ordered what was available at the time, one piece! Can’t wait to play with it.