Board Feet

I was wondering if I was doing something wrong figuring board feet or not. I take the thickness X width X length (in inches) divided by 144 = board feet. Reason I am asking is I was told, oh buy your wood off ebay it is a really good deal. Well if my figuring is right a lot and I won't say all but a lot of it is very expensive. I figured some red oak up at 5.1 board feet and he wanted $52 for it. That is $10.19 a board foot. Another one has 4 boards 57" long. One is 9 1/4" wide and 3 are 7 1/4" wide. They are all 13/16" thick. I used 1" on thickness for ease of figuring. I figured 6.53 board feet at $52. That is $7.96 a board foot. That is almost $8 a board foot for red oak. Am I doing something wrong in my figuring or is this some awful expensive wood? Our lumber yard has oak at $3.59 a board foot.


Bernie

Bernie,

You forgot to multiply by 3.

1x9.25x57/144=3.7 bdft
1x7.25x57/144=2.9 bdft x 3=8.7 bdft

3.7 bdft + 8.7 bdft = 12.4 bdft

$52 / 12.4 bdft = $4.19 per bdft

Still kind of pricey. Is it figured or quarter sawn?

Prices are determine by the rough size of the lumber before planing. This lumber was probably 10" and 8" respectively.
1x10x57/144=3.8
1x8x57/144=3.2x3=9.6
9.6+3.8=13.4
52/13.4=$3.88
Getting closer!
Lumber is often cut 1/8 over on the thickness as that's what brokers insist upon. Some sawyers charge for this extra 1/8", some don't.

Thanks Brad you are absolutely right. I did forget there were 3 boards of the same size. I know cherry and walnut are pretty high. I don't use much exotic wood. I build clocks mostly and try to use the same wood which is mostly oak, walnut or cherry. Our local lumber yard as I checked today and has cherry at 7.59, walnut at 4.59 and oak at 3.59. Is this a good price or can you get better. I live out here and there is not much for lumber per say. If you mail order it you pay shipping on top of the price per board foot. Anyway that is not as bad as I thought. I went back on the other gentleman I figured right on his. About 10.00 a board foot. Thanks again Brad. I appreciate it.


Bernie

Hardwood lumber is always measured green, right from the sawmill and before drying. The end user pays for the full sized boards and has to eat the shrinkage from the drying cycle which is more than you think. Boards will shrink across the face but not normally in length, you need to keep this in mind when you measure lumber that has already been dryed. In other words a 7.5" board was probably 8" wide before drying and the end user will pay based on the 8" dimention.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith Outten

Hardwood lumber is always measured green, right from the sawmill and before drying. The end user pays for the full sized boards and has to eat the shrinkage from the drying cycle which is more than you think. Boards will shrink across the face but not normally in length, you need to keep this in mind when you measure lumber that has already been dryed. In other words a 7.5" board was probably 8" wide before drying and the end user will pay based on the 8" dimention.

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We choose to sell at the "measured widths" that we receive. It is tough making a dollar in the lumber business if you sell retail as the mills sell you based upon "gross tally" or Green measure. Factor in 6-10% shrinkage and the actual amount of wood that we get is not what we pay for most often. Then there is a precentage that have defects or something that will make some boards undesirable to customers that we either eat and scrap or sell far below what we have in them. :mad:
I could not sleep at night if I charged the green measure for lumber we sell to customers.

I think most retailers sell as Mike does, by the actual measurement of the dried board. Or at least those around here that I benchmark myself with do it that way. It's planed lumber that you get may be charged for lumber you don't actually see at the retail level. Either that or if planed lumber is priced by actual measure, a surcharge has been added beyond the actual planing cost to compensate for that lost wood.

I have bought a few pieces from EBAY, but mostly highly figured items and some turning stock/burls. I would refrain from purchasing standard stock on there as rarely is there any value in it. unless you getting 500bf of cherry for like 2.00$ / bf. but those are few and far between. Go to your local lumber dealer, instant gratification and you can see up close and personal how it looks.

And, you support the local economy!:)

Signed,
Your local lumber dealer.

Thanks guys. That helps a lot. I am still learning about buying wood as most of my buying has been lumber used for remodeling the house, etc. I am now at a point where I want to build some clocks plus small furniture and the oaks, cherries, walnuts, etc. are new to me and are rather expensive. Have been doing a lot of reading and trying to learn more about buying such as what to buy, how to figure prices, what to look for, etc. I appreciate everyone's input as I learn more everyday on here.


Bernie