Craft wood source?

I'm trying to do a bit of amateur woodworking at home, making boxes and such. But I've come to realize that the local Home Depot is not a great source for quality wood for this kind of work. Their selection is very limited and quality isn't that great.

So for those of you in the metro area who do any kind of wood crafts, where are some good places that have a nice variety of quality woods pieces?

Paxton Lumber

https://paxtonwood.com

Go to lumber / carving selection. 80+ choices including exotics. Worth a trip to the showroom imo.

Maybe Rockler too. Depends on what you need.

Woodcraft of Denver in Centennial maybe?

There is a place just north of I-70 on Ward Rd, but the name currently escapes me. They are more like an Ace, but carry more of the stuff you'd be looking for, I think.

Paxton is good - so is alpine lumber

Austin Hardwoods

https://www.austinhardwoods.com/

How much capability do you have to size stock? If you have a jointer and/or planer, that opens up a lot of options in terms of availability, quality, and cost. If you don't have these things, then you are probably best served by Woodcraft, which has a small to medium selection of more exotic milled wood in 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 thickness. It is much more expensive than buying rough or skip-planed lumber at a place like Austins, which is excellent, by the way, but if you are only going to be using smaller amounts and/or need it to already be milled, then Woodcraft may be your best bet. Sears Trostel up here in Fort Collins has a decent selection as well, although I think Austins has more variety.

If you don't have the stuff to mill stock to specific dimensions, but do have a bigger project or need larger quantities, let me know. You can always buy a plank or two of rough stock and I can resaw it and run it through my jointer-planer for you.

Check out Consolidated Hardwoods in Broomfield - https://chwoodinc.com/

They have been my go to outfit for a long time.

S3S in Longmont too. They are off 1st/2nd and Main.

in addition to Woodcraft, check out Rockler on Colorado