How much increase in bdft of material beyond what the project calcs to?

[Jim Becker]

Lately, I've been under-shooting way too much, so in many cases, I'm moving more toward 30-50% extra, depending on the species. I'm also pretty anal about matching grain and color as someone already referenced, so that always requires a little more, even when choosing my own material carefully at the vendor.

[John C Cox]

A huge amount depends on the work you are doing.
Is it a show piece or a utility piece?
Is it going to be painted or finished with something clear?
Will the piece have fabric covering?
Are you trying for a very uniform look or a look with a lot of character which can make use of "defects" in the wood as part of the design?
Does the size of the piece maximize lumber or will it leave you a ton of incidental cutoffs?
Are you picking the lumber or are they?

For example - with my acoustic guitars.... Lumber I hand pick often ends up 60-75% waste... And that's after I pick the 1 board out of the huge stack....

But - the small shelf I made for the living room wall was maybe 10% (after me picking the wood) because I cut everything out of 1 board that I picked for the purpose.. The only waste was whatever was left on the end of the board.

[Rich Engelhardt]

George,
I try to shoot for 50% - - but - -I usually end up using that or a little less.
The biggest problem is I get to conservative at the beginning and trim things way too close to the exact dimensions I need.
Then as I go along, I'll notice I have a pretty good pile of wood left - - so I relax a little and get more picky about the grain and such.

Then when I get all done - -I have a good sized pile of - - both unworked wood and cutoffs that are too small for anything and too big to burn & the pile that's left isn't big enough to make anything else with!!!

[Simon MacGowen]

How much extra do you buy for waste, ooop's and sawdust, 10%, 20% more less??

I do not have room to store much more excess stock.

Thanks

Factors like your machine set-up (how ready and quick you can produce extra stock to the same spec.) and proximity to your lumber yard matter. Your woodworking skills also count: Are you prone to making mistakes or are you good at fixing mistakes without starting over with fresh stock?

If I am planning to use the same kind of wood for my next project, I will allow more for wastage, etc., say 50% or even more because the extra stock is not scrap afterwards. But for one-time projects, I won't go anything more than 10%. Sometimes, using existing rough lumber in my storage, I may just have enough for a project without any allowance for waste.

Woodworking magazine articles tend to suggest a higher % of waste because they cater for less experienced fellows.

Simon

[Charles Lent]

For much of what I do it usually falls in the 20-25% range, but many factors can bump this in either direction. I've been under estimating quite often lately, so I'm being a little more careful about making sure that I don't buy the last of what they have, so I can go back and get "a few boards more" when I need them so they will better match what I've already bought and used.

Charley

[John C Cox]

They also suggest a higher % of waste because they can't really control what you buy... And you have to buy whole boards to get the wood you want... And trees aren't really all that good about pre-planning their growth around the sort of cuts I need for a project..

I honestly believe that most of us run far higher waste % off boards than we think we do... Why? Because we simply don't keep any records of what we bought vs what we used and the fully usable stock that was left.. And often we save all sorts of junk cutoffs that eventually find their way into the fire....

Just as an exercise - I did the calculation just now on the last guitar back and sides sets I resawed out of lumber. 79% waste from the boards.... I would have guessed around 50%...

[Art Mann]

The answer depends, in part, on the quality of the wood. My sawyer has a pile of reject cherry, maple, QSWO and sometimes other species that he sells for $1 bd-ft. It isn't suitable for furniture but I buy it all the time to make boxes and CNC router made gift items. I probably discard 50%+ but it is still worth it at that price. I mostly uses pieces that are 16 inches or less long. Sometimes, this wood contains some spectacular grain.

[Keith Hankins]

30%, but i quit buying for individual projects. I just buy lumber and put it aside when a deal comes along. Buy in bulk if you can.

[Mike Henderson]

30%, but i quit buying for individual projects. I just buy lumber and put it aside when a deal comes along. Buy in bulk if you can.

Ah, if only I had the storage room

Mike