black walnut and cherry

[michael a nelson]

i have a chance to buy 100 bdft of black walnut for 5 dollars a bdft
and 100 bdft of cherry for 3 dollars a bdft is this fare pricing based on you experience

[Dave Zellers]

Depends on the grade. If it's FAS, then yes.

[Mike Cruz]

Just went to an auction two weekends ago and a 600 bf pile of 4/4 walnut went for $800...that's $1.25 bf. There were three of us pooling our money to bid $650 max. Obviously, we were outbid. Our price was based on the fact that none of us NEEDED the wood. But if it was cheap enough, we couldn't pass it up. If I had a project that called for that much walnut, I would have easily bid $2 bf.

[Bret Duffin]

Both the prices you mentioned are less than what our local hardwood supplier would charge for FAS grade lumber.

I took a gamble on some black walnut recently and bought some logs, the largest of which was about 36" in diameter. I then had to hire a portable saw mill operator to come and saw it up for me. It is now all stacked and stickered and covered with the ends all sealed and is air drying. I have to wait at least a year before I can start using it. There is also no way of telling how much wood will be lost (if any) due to checking, splitting, warping, pest damage.

I have some spectacular lumber in this stack so I think it is well worth my investment which comes to about $2.25 per board foot after the log purchase, sawmilling and transporting cost, my labor not included.

You can find #1 common walnut and cherry around sometimes for less than the price you mentioned, but by the time you cut around all the knots and splits it may cost more.

I am not above begging for wood and sometimes people give me wood because they know I want it and they have no use for it. Free is always nice.

Bret

[Bob Reda]

The walnut is a little high, you have to understand there are about 100 different type of cherry trees, its it fas at 3 is a good deal.

Bob

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm not sure where in Ohio you are - but - it would be worth calling around to see what the prices are.
Keim is in Charm, Ohio.
Hartville is in Hartville, Ohio.

In my area, there's Terry Lumber in Peninsula.

My wife hid the price list they gave me @ Terry, but, IIRC, the prices were in the same general ballpark for the Cherry.
More or less....

Terry Lumber also offers decent pricing on S4S, if you don't have a jointer and planer.

Grade and dry make all the difference in the world.
Air dried is going to cost less as a rule.