Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 21 of 21

Thread: How Much Lumber Do I Buy???

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
    Posts
    4,731
    Like one of the other post, I tend to buy hardwood in 100BF lots when I can get a good price.
    When a project comes up, I pick the lumber from my inventory.

    I find it much more work ,than I feel like dealing with, doing a cut list ahead of time.
    Unlike buying construction lumber at the hardware store, With hardwood you never know what width or lengths you will come home with.
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Clinton Township, MI, United States
    Posts
    1,554
    I am with Jim Becker in this. You have to take grain into account, so I select boards for the components I need which means that there is no way to calculate the amount of wood needed ahead of time.
    You can calculate the minimum needed, and if you are going to paint the project then you can maybe buy just that much, but even then it is doubtful it would work.
    One mistake, one mismeasurement, one design opportunity, and "best laid plans gang aft agley".
    Mike
    From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
    Semper Audere!

  3. #18
    If you were using plywood, or plain jane boards, this would be simple. Just do the math. But if you are trying to build something special especially from rough sawn lumber, you must have enough lumber to be able to choose the best part of the lumber for specific parts. I save highly figured boards for panels, even if they have flaws. Found a log that when sawn, had boards that appeared to have "flame" and built a bedside table from that.

  4. #19
    Make a cut list. Go to your hardwood dealer and pull boards until you've got your list covered then buy a few extra boards.

  5. #20
    I suggest you forget about "Board feet" to figure a material list because you don't know what you're going to have until you get to the lumber yard.

    Start with a sketch. Just go with widths and lengths. I use Cutlist on bigger projects.

    IMG_0922.jpg

    4 doors roughly 13WX33L. 3 parts: stiles, rails and panels.

    Rough Dims:

    Stiles: 2 1/2W X 33L
    Rails : 2 1/2W X 10L (13 - 4" assuming 1/4" deep grooves).
    Panels: 13-4 = 9W, 33-4 = 29 L (For solid wood panels. If using ply wait till doors ready to assemble).

    So your cutlist is as follows:

    8 stiles @ 2 1/2 X 33
    8 rails @ 2 1/2 X 12
    4 panels @ 9 X 29

    Start by checking with your supplier on the widths and lengths available.

    If not using Cutlist, sketch out the board and see what the most efficient use is. For the sake of example, lets assume 10 foot lengths.
    IMG_0923.jpg

    As you can see, a 6' wide board will yield 6 stiles + 2 rails.

    A second 1x6 will yield the other 2 stiles & 6 rails and leave app 48" waste (for extra parts ;-).

    Panels: 10" wide material will yield all 4 panels from a 10' long board, avoid a glue up, and look better.

    So the material list would be:

    2@ 6X10'
    1@ 10X10'

    I suggest you go with 2 1/4" stiles and rails on doors this big I don't think 2" wide will be strong enough.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,248
    Hi, I usually estimate in board feet, and purchase about 175% of what I need.

    25% goes into the cyclone, the other 50% allows me to match grain and avoid defects................Rod.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •