LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Is this worth it?

2K views 26 replies 12 participants last post by  Dusty56 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey Guys, I was just wondering, Is a 2×4 piece of Walnut, (Like a REAL 2×4 inches NOT 1 1/2×3 1/2) that is 9 feet and already machined at 3 sides but is rough at 1 edge, Quatersawn, and is nice and dark for the black blocks and pieces of a chess board. Is it worth it at $26 Canadian dollars?
Any Comments, Suggestions and whether I should buy it or not is Appreciated!
 
#2 ·
Thats only 1/2 a board foot.
Making this CD$52.00 per board foot. Sounds danged expensive to me.
Such chunks of wood are often found in the fall off bin at the Rocklers for +/- $5
 
#4 ·
I don't know what a Canadian $ is worth but yeah, I'd spend $26 for 6bf of QS walnut with no sap wood.
 
#14 ·
Cool!

Now, watcha gonna' do with it?

Hmmmm…

We want a full description and photos when you do your project with this piece of prem-o wood.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
Concerning the Cherry, that's kinda pricey for a $9.08 bf, assuming that CAD is still pretty close to USD. Is it figured?, even then its still high. To answer your earlier question, Walnut prices are increasing because of an uptick in demand. The wood is becoming popular in architectural millwork and thus less of it. 4.33 bf is pretty good for Walnut, assuming its FAS (First And Seconds).

Different places have different prices on different wood, meaning it's rare that you'll find a place that is cheap on everything. One place I use is cheap on Walnut, another place is cheap on poplar and hard maple. Just look at the Sapele, an African Mahogany variant. Another thing to consider is if your's is imported, not sure about the costs associated with importing wood from PA and NY to Canada, can't be too much. I've listed some wholesale distributor prices, which you can use as a basis. Expect to pay retail though.

Here is a BF Calculator, I use it all the time.
http://extension.missouri.edu/scripts/explore/G05506.asp

Here is a guide with Photos of Lumber grading and explanations
http://www.ahec.org/hardwoods/pdfs/IllustratedGradingGuide.pdf

Prices are in USD, and are from different vendors i.e. not all prices are are from the same place for wholesale or resale, I've tried to list the lowest prices I've recently paid. Except for the Sapele, not paying a 100% markup haha.

Wholesale (architectural millwork shop) prices FAS (First and Seconds):
Cherry 3.40 bf
Walnut 4.20 bf
Poplar: 1.39 bf
Hard Maple: 2.45
Quartered Sapele: 3.40

Retail (FAS): (What you can expect if you look around)
Walnut 4.90 bf
Cherry 4.50 bf
Hard Maple: 3.50bf
Poplar: 1.79
Face Grain Sapele: 6.40

For retail Hearne Hardwoods is pretty reasonable across the board. They have a wide range of stock and an updated pricelist. From Exotics, Figured, Logs etc they have it. I've never used them, too far away, but I do use them as a basis for retail.
http://hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/pricelist/pricelist.html
 
#21 ·
what you need to do is figure board feet. the formula for figuring that is as follows… thickness in inches times width in inches times length in feet divided by 12 equals board feet… example 1" times 6" times 8' equals 48 divided by 12 equals 4 board feet.. then divide that by the price quoted to determine price per board foot. your piece is 2" times 7" with is 14 times 10 equals 140 divided by 12 equals 11.66 board foot. at $106 makes it $9.31 per board food then there must be a charge for shipping added, either way sounds a bit pricey for cherry.. I am getting mine locally rough cut for about $ 4.00 per board foot.. Its up to you, you may want to check around locally for other outlets for wood.. Then again I don't know where you live… but I wouldn't pay that for it.. not to mention the exchange rate between American and Canadian dollars. that's it, maybe you live in Canada???
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
"It's figured, spalted planed on all sides cherry.
Although, here cherry sells for about $12 BF"

I don't know much about exotic cherry price wise, but usually when you get into Figure and other things the boards are usually priced piece by piece depending on their quality. So saying that we can get Cherry for 4.50 a bf doesn't really apply if in fact it is Figured and Spalted. Without a picture of the board we can't give you an accurate number.

If ithe figure quality is good, the spalting pattern is appeasing to you and the board is straight and true it might be worth the money. If it's a true 2×7 you might be able to bookmatch it.
 
#24 ·
I bought some "spalted cherry" a few weeks ago. The guy had it for the same price as regular cherry. Stuff like that is hard for dealers to sell to cabinetmakers because it sticks out from the norm, so sometimes it is more like an inconvenience to them. Thats where we step in to the rescue….
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top