: Evanston Lumber in (wait for it...) Evanston carries WRC.

: Whereabouts in Chicago are you?

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have looked a Menards (I'm right near downtown Chicago in Logan Square) but was hoping to get some longer boards. I don't know why I need the longer boards but thought it would just look better in the end rather than 18 footers spliced together. I'm sure it'll be fine. Any tips on joining (butt the ends, tapers or scarfs, etc. would also be appreciated. This'll be the first time I've tried to mill lumber so good luck to me. I guess in the long run buying shorter boards may be the economical thing to do during this learning process. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Oh, and by the way, thickness planer: necessary or overkill? I'd think it'd help when it comes to adding the bead and cove to have consistency in thickness. I'm looking at the Ridgid R4330 as a contender.

I'll be cutting the boards on the tablesaw with the thinnest kerf blade I can find.