Board feet ?

[Deb Malloy]

I'm in the process of buying some lumber on-line.
The dimensions are 2x9x52.
The supplier says its 11.5 board feet.
I keep coming up with 6.6.

[John Keeton]

I calculate 6.5. 2x9x52=936 cu inches divided by 144= 6.5 bd feet. That assumes the measurements are as stated, of course. Just tell them you will accept their measurement if they accept your price of 1/2 of the stated price!

[Peter Quinn]

Same formula as John's, width X length X thickness, all in inches, divided by 144, I get 6.5 BF. Sounds like they are charging you for an 8' board and sending 52 inches. Running the length on those other dimensions as 96 comes very close to the 11.5BF? Few species are cut in FAS grade at less than 7'-8' lengths in rough lumber. Humm...where are your other 42 inches of lumber going?

At the lumber yard my boss runs (I don't work in the lumber yard, its part of a larger millwork operation) customers occasionally want 'part' of a bigger board, but the wood is sold in 'whole lengths' only, so if they order 9' out of a 16' board, they pay for 16', and some don't want or take the off cuts. Might be cracks or checked ends, bad grain, who knows, but it happens. Their option though. It is not unusual to lose 2' on an 8' piece of 8/4 in some species to checks or cracks, but nearly 4' on an 8 footer? That is a lot of waste.

Sometimes we ship wood via Fed Ex or UPS for regular customers a bit to far away to make the trip, and this lumber is generally trimmed or defected to cut weight for shipping purposes or meet maximum length allowed by UPS for standard shipping. So if the seller is sending you a 'piece' of a larger board and trimming the ends clean to drop weight and keep shipping more reasonable, you may want to find out what is happening to the rest of the wood, and wether or not it is worth it to have it shipped. If they insist that those dimensions yield 11.5 BF, they need a new calculator and you need a new supplier.:D

[Mike Parzych]

Find another supplier.

If they're charging you for the other 44" they sure ought to send it along with the 52".

[Frank Drew]

Have you asked the seller to explain the discrepancy? Might be just a simple math mistake on his part.

[Jeff Rowley]

which online supplier? I'm getting ready to order a bunch of wood...

[Brian Kent]

If it is 10/4 finished on 2 sides and 1 edge, I could picture considering it as 2.5 x 10 x 52 before finishing, or 1,300 cubic inches = 9 bf.

11.5 no way.

[David DeCristoforo]

Some sellers stock lumber in certain lengths. 8', 10', 12', etc. If you ask for a 52" long piece, they will tell you that they have to cut it from an 8' length. And that you will have to pay the cost for the whole 8'. Some suppliers will state that they stock "shorts" which is a term used to describe boards under 8' in length although there is no fixed rule as to what length a "short" has to be to be considered a "short". For some it's under 8' and for others it might be under 6' or less. But it sounds to me like your supplier is charging you for an 8' board.

[John Thompson]

As stated.. no way. Either purposely or just an error. Maybe the supplier was using that "new math" stuff. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

I would either ask for the price per board foot... then determine if that is fair.. if so tell him the stock mentioned is 6.5 bd. ft. If he doesn't agree... seek elsewhere cause that just ain't 11.5 board feet as already determined by several here.

Sarge..

[Peter Quinn]

Just for anecdote, I saw a homeowner, convinced his contractor would try to screw him on materials, buy his own stock for a mahogany mantle from the lumber yard. He took a piece of 16/4, 9' X 12" african mahogany, had it flattened and planed, jointed and ripped, sanded on the wide belt, ready to be turned into one giant mantle. Problem is the wood in stock was in 16' lengths, couldn't seem to explain clearly enough to the guy that he was buying 16' at that price, he had paid for 16', he owned all 16', would he like us to mill the rest or just put it in his truck? He picked his own wood based on color, he kept insisting he only needed 9', he refused to under stand that he had paid for all 16' so he left it!

So out of his 56 BF he wanted only 36 and that was that! It was real hard trying to find some one in a shop full of wood workers that wanted a 7' piece of 16/4 mahogany cheap.:D Most normal people actually want all that they have paid for. Go figure?

[John Skibo]

Sounds like a supplier near me, Lane Stanton Vance.
I bought 7 BF purple heart they measured 9BF, happened twice and they give me some bull about straight line something.
I don't shop there anymore.
Curious woods measures correctly

[Jim Rimmer]

I tried all kinds of "mistakes" to get 11.5 and here's the only way I could do it:

2"x52"=104"
104x144=14976 (don't ask why they would do this)
14976/9=1664 (or this)
1664/144=11.5 :confused:

If that's how they figured it they need to go back to school. All other ways I tried it trying to duplicate a mistake they might have made didn't even come close; even when i tried to add length for standard boards or double the thickness.

[Prashun Patel]

I bet he punched in 2 x 9 x 92 instead of 52. That'd give you 11.5 exactly.

[Jim Rimmer]

I bet he punched in 2 x 9 x 92 instead of 52. That'd give you 11.5 exactly.
Nice catch. I tried lots of combinations but not that one. :D