estesbubba Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I get most of my wood from local sawyers but some species I have to hit a hardwood dealer. 5+ years ago local lumber dealers counted 5 1/2" boards as 6" and 7 1/4" boards as 8". Visiting 2 different dealers in the past week it looks like they now measure exact widths which is good for the buyers. Is this something that has changed over the years or maybe just my local dealers staying competitive with each other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 That's how they measure around here, so it must be a competition thing. When buying more informally off of Craigslist where I was doing my own measuring rather than eyeballing their math, the fellow selling watched me calculate each board's bdft individually and then checked my math by laying the boards out next to each other and doing the width of the lot of them, which of course was a simple trick I'm going to remember for next time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Mike, this may be unintended fallout. When Walmart got sued for variances from norms, legal action required labeling exact dimensions. They may just be out in front of someone suing them. It would be the kind of thing I would consider. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's complicated. If the board is S3S, one edge will be straight and the other will not. The retailer paid for the fattest part of that board, so most likely, you will too. When I'm working at the yard, I use a four-line lumber stick to measure board footage because it's the fastest and easiest way...in fact it's the only practical way to measure lumber when you need to check out a half dozen waiting customers...but it's not an exact science. When you're counting up a big pile of lumber, you have to do a lot of rounding up and rounding down and addition in your head. I'll round up the first board, then round down the next, maybe the next one lands right on a mark, round up the next, round down the next, etc. You try to keep a mental tally of how many boards you've measured light and how many heavy. In the long run it's quite accurate but when you're buying one or two boards it may be off by a half board foot or so when comparing it to exact board footage done with a tape and calculator measured to the exact inch. You have to give the workers at the yard a tiny bit of latitude. You may be overcharged or undercharged by a smidgen...but there's really no way to quickly measure a big pile of lumber that is accurate to the thousandth of a board foot. It's gonna be close, and close is gonna have to be good enough. Consider it part of the waste. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 One dealer was S3S and the other rough. The S3S dealer used a stick and the other a tape measure. When I got home and checked I measured to the eighth and each dealer was right on. The guy using the stick went through the boards in no time and did everything in his head. Pretty impressive with lengths of 8,10, and 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I consider it pretty normal to be charged a little over or under. I've had both, and I'm not mad about either. To see the guy add up all 15 pieces of lumber and get within that +/- 0.5BF in well under a minute is impressive to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Add me to the "impressed" list as well. Our local place counts up the BF pretty darned quickly, and every time I've paused to say "are you sure", I was proven wrong. Don't get me wrong, I'm also inclined to point out where I think they made a mistake in my favor - like writing down "hard maple" when I picked it from the curly or quilted bin. But they've been so spot-on (and erred on the side of my benefit) that I just trust them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The four-line lumber sticks look more complicated than they really are. Just like anything else, there's a learning curve, but once you understand it and get a little practice, it's no more difficult than reading a tape measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 One dealer was S3S and the other rough. The S3S dealer used a stick and the other a tape measure. When I got home and checked I measured to the eighth and each dealer was right on. The guy using the stick went through the boards in no time and did everything in his head. Pretty impressive with lengths of 8,10, and 12. Stick? Also, howdy fellow Nebraska woodworker! Where are you buying your lumber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Stick? Also, howdy fellow Nebraska woodworker! Where are you buying your lumber? Looks like this: https://www.pecosales.com/product_pages/view_catalog_page.asp?id=14481 Intermountain Wood Products is really close to me and where I prefer to buy. Most of their hardwood is hit-and-miss planed to 15/16" for 4/4 and 1 15/16" for 8/4. The hard maple I just picked up was rough at 2 1/8" but pretty darn flat stuff. It usually takes a single pass across the jointer and the face is ready for the planer. Dunham Hardwoods also has great stock and prices but it's a little road trip for me. They S3S lumber for their retail store and it's generally 25/32" for 4/4 and 1 3/4" for 8/4. I generally like thicker even if it's rougher so I can mill perfectly flat. Both places are great but sometimes Intermountain will give a quote that seems out of whack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Looks like this: https://www.pecosales.com/product_pages/view_catalog_page.asp?id=14481 Intermountain Wood Products is really close to me and where I prefer to buy. Most of their hardwood is hit-and-miss planed to 15/16" for 4/4 and 1 15/16" for 8/4. The hard maple I just picked up was rough at 2 1/8" but pretty darn flat stuff. It usually takes a single pass across the jointer and the face is ready for the planer. Dunham Hardwoods also has great stock and prices but it's a little road trip for me. They S3S lumber for their retail store and it's generally 25/32" for 4/4 and 1 3/4" for 8/4. I generally like thicker even if it's rougher so I can mill perfectly flat. Both places are great but sometimes Intermountain will give a quote that seems out of whack. I usually go to Big Red Sawmill in Palmyra, which wouldnt be that far of a drive for you. Good prices and hes always accurate on his measurements. Actually every 4/4 board i've got there has been a full 5/4 thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I usually go to Big Red Sawmill in Palmyra, which wouldnt be that far of a drive for you. Good prices and hes always accurate on his measurements. Actually every 4/4 board i've got there has been a full 5/4 thick. I've bought hardwood, firewood and smoking chunks from Big Red several times. Nice guy and does have quality product. I also buy a lot from a guy in Glenwood IA who rifts and quarters most of his red and white oak. I'm not a fan of plain sawn red oak but really like rift sawn. PS - know anyone looking for a nice cabinet saw - I have one for sale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Yep it's the price of poker. Can't be to exact or you will drive yourself nuts. Wood is a commodity, seems to change in price as often as my underwear....weekly . I been hearing hardwood prices will be increasing due to the demand for American hardwoods in Asia. Also, heard the railroads have put a hurt on the supply of logs for railroad tie's. So expect higher prices. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The price of lumber per bf is going to be increasing because the lawyers have finally got the states to step up and do their job and enforce the laws and stop lumber supplier from ripping of businesses and consumer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 PB - can you share links to any news reports or other articles on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 PB - can you share links to any news reports or other articles on this? Just search the 2x4 thing. I got three checks back last year one big one and two for under a buck. Granted the ones for under a buck were just from buying a single board at a mom and pop shop under two different names. The bigger one was 5 years worth of lots of lumber. BF pricing is at time of transfer not all the BS of paying for estimated sawdust and the widest part of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Usually the lumberyard I deal with is okay at calculating BF. I calculate the BF as I select it with a calculator and tape. Then when I bring it to the lumber guys attention to tally it for purchase, I have a pretty good idea of how many BF are in there. They are usually pretty close, and I don't argue unless its a decent error. One time the guy over calculated some walnut I was was buying, and it was 50 bucks in error. I told the guy at the counter who was ringing me in, and he knew me as a guy who buys a decent amount of lumber, and didnt even question it - he just reduced it to my count. I like the idea of calculating exact size in rough lumber, and avoiding some of the hassle of rounding. If I'm buying a 15 foot board of 8/4 walnut, I don't want a 5.4" board ronded up to 6 inches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 The hardwood store I buy from just puts a price tag on the S3S boards, all of which I've found out are 5 bf, the wider the board, the shorter it is. It does make it easier when your picking through the stuff in the front, they have the back room where everything is s3s but it's just stacked flat and it's just random widths and lengths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 really, so they don't sell long wide boards? That kinda sucks.no they do, it's just they have a display area with 20 or 30 boards stood up that are price tagged, I guess it's for the "newer" lumber buyer? They have random width and length stuff in the back stack and stickered that isn't measured that you can buy from to. www.northwestlumberco.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anhigginb Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've never really thought to measure to the exact bf. I just usually know about how much I'm going to spend and it's pretty close at checkout. Then again I'm usually only buying a couple boards for the smaller projects I work on. Even if they are rounding a bit I probably wouldn't complain. They never give me any grief about fork lifting stacks around so I can get one board off the pile in the back. Ya I'm that guy. Maybe someday I'll have the guts and my wife will give me the budget to pickup a stack measured with a stick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.