Good price for red oak?

[Jason White]

Is this a good deal? I'm seriously considering it (or at least some of it).

If not, what's a good price per board ft?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/mat/1061305726.html

[David Christopher]

looks like a good deal to me.. if its not cracked and/or warped...if it close go look at it and if it looks good I would get it

[Bob Rufener]

#1 common goes for $1..74 a board foot for 4/4 boards. Select and better is $2.40. I'd check the boards out before buying to make sure the sawyer did a good job of sawing. They are asking $1.58 per board foot. Not an exceptional deal unless the quality of the wood is select or better IMHO.

[Paul Johnstone]

Is this a good deal? I'm seriously considering it (or at least some of it).

If not, what's a good price per board ft?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/mat/1061305726.html

Looks like about 1.60 a board foot.

If it's air dried, then it's not a great deal in the midwest.. (maybe in Boston it is).

If it is kiln dried and FAS grade, it would be an ok deal for me, but not great. I can get FAS kiln dried red oak at about 1.80/ bd foot.

I wouldn't bother with this ad, but you need to check your local suppliers and see what local pricing is.

[John Thompson]

Ditto Paul as I pay $1.80 for FAS kiln dry and can go through stacks and hand pick.. In this case you have to take what is there as a one-time acquisition.

Sarge..

[keith ouellette]

You have to check on the common price in your area. Here in florida I think that is not bad. I would pay a little less than the #1common price per board foot for the lumber if it was in good shape. Haggle a little. Its not a great deal so I doubt you would offend them.

[Joe Hardesty]

Jason,

If this were local for me, I would be all over it. I would certainly call and take a look.

Here, 4/4 Red Oak is $1.75 for common and $3 FAS, but you are also getting some 16/4 planks and those go for $9 a board foot.

I could also take you to place that gets $12 for 4/4 FAS Red Oak, so you really have to see it and put it into the context of local pricing, but I have a feeling it would be hard to beat that deal unless it looks worse than the photos. And you may be able to get it for less or even get the guy to do free delivery if needed.

But do you have the tools/desire to work with rough lumber?

[Jason White]

Yep, I've got a jointer and a planer.

Thanks.

Jason


Jason,

If this were local for me, I would be all over it. I would certainly call and take a look.

Here, 4/4 Red Oak is $1.75 for common and $3 FAS, but you are also getting some 16/4 planks and those go for $9 a board foot.

I could also take you to place that gets $12 for 4/4 FAS Red Oak, so you really have to see it and put it into the context of local pricing, but I have a feeling it would be hard to beat that deal unless it looks worse than the photos. And you may be able to get it for less or even get the guy to do free delivery if needed.

But do you have the tools/desire to work with rough lumber?

[Chip Lindley]

Offer $300 and dig your heels in! It only cost them the price of being sawed! That looks like nice RO, and in your area, is probably at a premium! The stash will probably GO FAST!....U better hurry!

[Peter Quinn]

What, not one smart alec? I prefer to buy red oak by the cord, not the BF. I'd offer them $160/cord maximum and get your stove tuned up!

I think the price here in CT is hovering around $2.30/BF for 4/4 RO in the 8-12" range, FAS, 10 foot lengths. I was given several hundred BF, its been sitting in my garage for years now, I just can't bring myself to make anything with it. Its just so darn ugly. I have a paint grade kitchen in mind, maybe something with a milk paint finish. I can't stand to look at RO personally and have no use for it as a stain grade product.

If its leaning towards common, then its no deal at all.

[Chip Lindley]

ONE Smart Alec is plenty!! Red Oak, (Quercus rubra) is THE All-American wood! If you hate the stuff so much, please, oh please sell it to a more deserving woodworker, appreciative of its tough (and beautiful) open-grain properties! OR give it away to a high school shop so young students can discover RO!

Painting over RO is a Cardinal Sin punishable by being made to whittle out toothpicks, one-at-a-time for an interminable period, from an even *uglier* paint-grade wood like plain, non-figured hard maple!

[Paul Ryan]

Peter,

I second what Chip said. If you dont like the red oak give it to me, I love the stuff. That is the most commonly used hard wood around this area. Dont be dumb and paint it, it will look bad then. Red oak is not a good wood to paint do to the deep grain. When you are done you will have a white looking product with wood griain showing. Anytime you can get red oak under 2.00 bd ft that is a good price. I agree with Chip again on the maple thing. There isn't any more plain and boring wood than non fiqured hard maple. Personally I dont find much maple very desirable. It serves a purpose and I have used it, but it is just plain boring.

[Peter Quinn]

Clearly opinions do vary on the red oak question. I don't mean to offend any of its proponents. I just hate it. And it stinks too. Makes a fine sub-floor in my garage loft though.

A while back I took a class on color theory and the use of aniline dies relative to wood working, and watched the teacher do amazingly beautiful things with every species the class members threw at him...till I pulled out a pile of red oak, and the whole class, teacher included winced. Just didn't appeal to the particular assemblage of students in that seminar. That pale salmon-dead-on-a-hot-beach color could not be subdued, it could not be enhanced, it could not be obscured. Oh, the gentleman tried, and he was a man of some experience as a finisher of fine millwork and furniture, but he could not establish a color that added any elegance to the stuff. It was like seeing a mule in a fine silk dress.

It does work nicely and it is quite strong, but that ruddy grain and hideous pink undertone make me feel like I've landed in a bad motel circa 1982, or 1972. Teachers suggestion was to either ebonize it or hit it with a solid body pigment stain, perhaps milk paint, clear coat, even a sand through finish, skip the grain fill, let the grain telegraph through the finish, just don't let that piss oak (in the local jargon) see the light of day! And for heaven's sake don't bother putting a fine finish on it. So in some corners you will be held in contempt just for using the stuff. The suggestion to donate it to students might be a good one as it is often referred to as good cheap stock on which to practice. Its appeal to men of great experience baffles me.

At least maple has the decency to be flexible and take color well enough, with a deft hand it can be made to look like almost anything you choose. But RO? The last workable species on earth I would pay money for personally. I understand RO's practicality as a cost efficient hard wood, but do you really prefer it to other species?

[Paul Johnstone]

I understand RO's practicality as a cost efficient hard wood, but do you really prefer it to other species?

I prefer it. I like the interesting grain patterns. My dad and grandfather used it a lot in their projets, so it reminds me of them. But different strokes for different folks.

I agree with the other person's suggestion. If you hate Red Oak so much, why do you have a pile of it sitting around for years? Put it on Craigs List at a fair price. The buyer and you will both be happy when it's gone.

Seems like a better idea than stewing over it. Use the money to buy some hardwood you really want for your kitchen :)

[Jason White]

I found a bunch of 2" rough-sawn red oak someplace else for FREE (arborist buddy of mine with a portable sawmill).

Ugly or not (which I don't think it is, though it's not my favorite wood), the price was certainly right!:D


I prefer it. I like the interesting grain patterns. My dad and grandfather used it a lot in their projets, so it reminds me of them. But different strokes for different folks.

I agree with the other person's suggestion. If you hate Red Oak so much, why do you have a pile of it sitting around for years? Put it on Craigs List at a fair price. The buyer and you will both be happy when it's gone.

Seems like a better idea than stewing over it. Use the money to buy some hardwood you really want for your kitchen :)

[Chip Lindley]

Clearly opinions do vary .

..... That pale salmon-dead-on-a-hot-beach color..... It was like seeing a mule in a fine silk dress..... landed in a bad motel circa 1982, or 1972..... Its appeal to men of great experience baffles me..... but do you really prefer it to other species?

I prefer fried catfish over salmon pate' any day!

Anybody who visualizes a mule in womens apparel definately has a problem deeper than the hatred of one species of wood!

HEY! My wife and I went to a cheap motel after our first date in 1979!! Knotty pine panelling!! And a maroon and black tile bathroom!! as I recall!

Experience has Nothing to do with this! (I have 30 years worth!) Perhaps lack of snobbery does!

I really DO prefer red oak to other species! Walnut and cherry and ash and pecan are nice. But just not quite the same!

When can you start whittling on those maple toothpicks Peter???