size of rough cut lumber

[sean m. titmas]

i am ordering some quarter sawn mahogany for an upcoming project that involves about 30 BF of each of the following; 4/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4 and 16/4. i trying to weigh out the differences of buying the lumber in the appropriate thicknesses or all in 16/4 and resaw them down to the correct size. i have access to an 18" bandsaw that can handle the cut and the price difference between the different sizes is neglible.

any input from you guys would be great.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Sean,
It is probably not a good idea to buy all thick stock and re-saw. The per board foot price of stock increases as the stock gets thicker. Unless you are forced to buy a minimum quantity of each thickness that is way more than you need, buy the thickness required. You'll save some money. Besides, lumber is usually a bit more moist toward the center of the thickness. Re-sawing often requires a board re-acclimate to let both faces come into equilibrium after you re-saw thick boards. The wood movement associated with the drying added to the relieved stresses that happen with re-sawing may allow the boards to move.
fmr

[glenn bradley]

Where I am, thicker is more costly. I generally don't go with 4/4 if I expect to get 3/4" out of it. I do buy thicker and mill down but I wouldn't buy 16/4 to get multiple 4/4 boards out of due to cost.

[Mike Parzych]

From what I've seen, mahogany is generally quite true to nominal thickness, and being a very stable wood, rough sawn lumber is quite flat and wouldn't require much (if any) planing to get 2 smooth surfaces. So it would be safe to get 8/4, for example, if your finished dimension was close to 8/4. And since it's quartersawn, it even more stable than flatsawn.

[Greg Crawford]

If you go with 16/4 and need 4/4, you'll have 3 bandsaw kerfs that you'll lose.

[Prashun Patel]

I wouldn't buy thick for yr project. Not worth the effort, and you increase the risk of warped stock after resawing.

Is it African or 'genuine' mahogany?

[sean m. titmas]

I wouldn't buy thick for yr project. Not worth the effort, and you increase the risk of warped stock after resawing.

Is it African or 'genuine' mahogany?

it sounds clear that i should do my layout and figure out how much of each size i'll need instead of buying the 16/4.

it is genuine mahogany. Sweet tea Macro feel ya'

[David Keller NC]

Funky - why quartersawn for all of those sizes? Or is it a few chairs?

Where you're located, you should be able to find a large mahogany importer that can give you exactly what you want - down to the width of each individual board.

Were you closer to PA, I'd tell you to give Irion a call. They specialize in this sort of thing - selling a "furniture set" of boards correctly sized for all of the parts.