# buying rought cut lumber



## Guss (Sep 19, 2011)

I have a couple of Questions about buying rough cut lumber. Is it cheaper to buy by square foot or by broad foot? Do you guys have any online suppliers that you guys use for rough cut lumber that are reasonable on there prices?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Most will sell by the board foot. Each seller is different. Can you process the rough sawn?
Bill


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## usnret (Jul 14, 2011)

A board foot is 144 cubic inches, and a square foot is 144 cubic inches. They are the same thing. The way you figure it out is multiply length (in) x width (in) x thickness (in) / 144 = board feet.
so 24"x6"x1"/144=1 bf, = 1 sq ft. Now board feet are determined by the thickness so 12"x6"x2"/144=1bf, = .5 sqft. So they are the same if you buy 1" thick.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Any rough cut lumber will save you money, lots of money. 
When I used to buy finished S4S lumber, I would come home with a few boards (always one short of a finished project). Now I come home with trailer loads full of lumber. 
You will buy it by the board foot, and I suggest looking locally from small mills or property owners. 
If the lumber has air dried for more than a year, you can often finish drying with a home dehumidifyer, heater and fans. Avoid green lumber unless you want to stack and sticker it for a year or more.


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## Guss (Sep 19, 2011)

The problem i have is there are no local hard wood suppliers and no hardwood trees we (have pine and aspen)
I have been getting finished lumber from Paxton lumber in Denver (its a 4 hour drive one way) but i think that they are a little high on there prices. what grade do you guys use I make mostly small projects and cutting boards. Im planning on making some furniture in the future.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

The price for rough cut is much lower, but you will spend significant time cleaning it up.

If it is all hobby (time is free) then you save big bucks.
If you want to spend more time making THINGS, and less time making Flat Boards… then the economics vary.

Note that even if you buy planed lumber, it wont be flat and ready for use, but you will save a ton of wear on your planer and jointer knives.

I get my stuff in Kansas City, prices are good, from Metro Hardwoods. They are the "Consumer/Retail seller" side of Liberty Hardwoods in KC.
I can get it delivered to Salina Kansas - 170 miles for a 40 dollar drop fee.

Steve Wall Lumber is very popular, though I have not used them. They usually ship to a freight terminal (probably Denver) not to residential but you might see what thier cost is. Since you do a lot of small stuff they also have UPS bundles as specials that will ship by UPS for a not crazy fee, given gas cost to go to denver and back.

Basically all the good lumber is East and West coasts.


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Check out Lumber Locator. If you are driving 4 hours one way it might be advantageous to buy online and have it shipped.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

EDIT to the above 
Wall Lumber doesn't do the UPS bundle - - they call it a 20 BF bundle and it ships Fedex Ground

It is more expensive than I remember - 20BF of 4/4 red oak is 98 bucks - so 4.90/bf whichi is pretty high.

Metro hardwoods - My supplier:
http://metrohardwoodsinc.com/specialsofthemonth.html

4/4 WALNUT 3' & SHORTER
$2.50 PER BOARD FOOT
SURFACED TO 25/32" AND 7/8" THICK

4/4 SOFT MAPLE
$2.79 PER BOARD FOOT
SURFACED TO 25/32" 
AND STRAIGHT LINE RIPPED ONE EDGE

4/4 POPLAR
$1.79 PER BOARD FOOT
SURFACED TO 25/32" 
AND ONE EDGE STRAIGHT LINE RIPPED

4/4 RED OAK SHORTS
SURFACED TO 25/32" 
AND STRAIGHT LINE 
RIPPED ONE EDGE.
$1.99 PER BOARD FOOT


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

Gus - A square foot is an area of measurement comprised of 144 square inches. In even terms, an area bounded by 4 sides that are 12 inches in length. A board foot is a measure of volume. In even terms, it also is 12 inches square (just like a square foot) but is one inch thick which makes a board foot 144 cubic inches.. When calculating multiply the width (in inches), length (in inches), and thickness (in inches) of a board and divide by 144 for the number of board feet in a board. Most all wood (especially hardwood) is sold by the board foot. I grew up in Elkhart, Kansas (on the Colorado line) and have been through your are many times. I throughly understand about the limited availability of good wood out there. I understand that there is a Paxton's in Albuquerque as well. You might give them a try.


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## DanceParty (Jun 30, 2011)

As others have mentioned, s4s is never truly square and flat. Best and cheapest option is getting lumber rough and then milling it yourself if you have the equipment.

First check this website
http://www.woodfinder.com/

Second, not all places that sell lumber list on that website. I.e. distributors who usually are hesitant about selling retail won't really list on that website. But, they often have the best prices because your cutting out the middle man. Luckily, I don't have problems purchasing from those types of places. Although, you might be just buying small quantities, to them at least, you might be able to pick up "shorts" (stuff that is scraps to them) which to us is a pretty good board. Another option is to purchase shorts and scraps from millwork shops or cabinet shops, just call around… a lot of shops, which have a lot of work, don't have the room to keep all the spoilage from jobs another option.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Some plywood dealers also sell hardwoods, but don't really advertise
it since they service industry primarily. I'd be surprised if there's
only one show in town in a city the size of Denver.


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## ZiggyZ (Nov 14, 2011)

Gus,

I am in Colorado Springs. If you go to Denver, check out Austin Hardwoods. Google it for their website and you can see what they all have. You can get S4S, rough, millwork, or just about anything there and their prices are the best I've found. Also, if you can establish a wholesale account, they do that along with Wellco Hardwoods here in the Springs.

-Noah


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

That is what I do! I sell to local woodworkers rough sawn, air dried hardwood.


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## Guss (Sep 19, 2011)

thanks. ziggyz what does it take to have an wholesale account there. I talked to paxtons about an industrial account there is some what of a discount. I also talked to a local cabinet shop and they said they would order me wood . bit i still think its seems on the pricy side. how much do you guys pay for 4/4 rough cut Walnut, Purple heart, padauk, and soft maple? here is what I got for Quote at paxtons on a industrial account. this was all high grade lumber which i know i don't need. Walnut was 7.05 bf Soft maple 2.95 bf Paduke 8.00 bf Purple heart 10.60 bf


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## Domer (Mar 8, 2009)

DrDirt,

You might try Liberty Hardwoods in Kansas City, they are the parent company of Metro Hardwoods.

Metro is the retail outlet for Liberty Hardwoods. The prices are a lot less with Liberty than Metro.

Domer


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Gus, Here is a Search Tempest/CL search around your zip. You could try -hardwood, oak, walnut, etc. instead of 'lumber'. Good Luck. -Jack


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Guss,

I sell my 4/4 rough cut, air dried black walnut for $3.00 - $4.50/BF based on grade with the $4.50 being for select (FAS on best face) or better grade. This is for boards that are less than 10" wide. Stuff 10" or wider is $.50/BF more. Of course it is not planed, but most woodworkers that I know prefer to prepare their own stock from the rough so that they can get it exactly like they want and perfectly flat. I have some for $2.50/BF that is #2 grade and 4" to 6" wide, so the price is a function of grade and quality.

Anyway, this gives you an idea. However, I am in central Georgia, and there is not a lot of walnut in this area. It may be more common and cheaper in your area. It is very hard to find around here unless you go to Atlanta, and the retail price there is much much higher.

I have a sawmill and cut hardwood lumber for furniture. I am not commercial, but I end up sawing more than I can use, so I sell some to local woodworkers. There may be someone with a similar set up in your area there where you could find rough cut lumber for an affordable price. Craigslist is a good place to look for local lumber.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Thanks Domer - I have gotten stuff from Liberty before - and of course when Metro delivers it comes on a Liberty truck.
In the past Liberty did not allow you to pick through the stack - you just got whatever the yard boss grabbed to make your X Board Feet. I got a lot of waney boards before that didn't match in color.
So I pay extra at Metro and hand pick which boards i want because I usually only buy wood by the project…though I do have some material on the rack as well.

Does Liberty let you dig around now?
I also used Paxton but they were more costly than Metro and I don't know if they are still in business anymore (in KC anyway)


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

duplicate


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## ryansworkshop (Dec 2, 2011)

I think just about every state has a forestry service. Many have a website. On this website they will have a list of loggers and sawmills. That is one of the ways I get wood. Rough of course.


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## Guss (Sep 19, 2011)

do any of you guys know of a place you can buy rough cut lumber on the internet?


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## GNiessen (Dec 7, 2011)

Rough cut is cheaper for local purchasing. But it doesn't make much sense when you have to pay for the extra length, width, and weight for shipping it.

Do a search for "Sawmill" and check out what they have local. And folks offering to mill your logs may often have source for wood also. They some times get very exotic woods that grew in peoples back yards and then paid to have cut up when they brew down or grew too large.


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## Alongiron (Jan 10, 2011)

I live in Central Indiana and I purchase my Kiin dryed Rough Sawn 1×8 QSWO for $2.00 linft at Indiana Hardwoods in Spencer, Indiana.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

about every 9 months I drive 5 hours (each way) and fill my pickup with about 190 board feet of rough cut lumber. Even with the price of gas is it worthwhile to me.


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## TimmyP (Sep 13, 2011)

Guss, 
Several years ago, I bought some mahagony from an internet seller. If I remember, they were located in Massachussetts (or at least, New England area). Don't know if I could find the name again; I probably found them by doing a web search for hardwood sellers. They had an internet deal, something like 20 bd ft, S4S, for a little over a hundred bucks. It was shipped via UPS.


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## Daver725 (Jan 2, 2012)

New to this place but I would look for local lumber mills as suggested above. You could check with woodmizer as well, they have a list of owners who cut wood in your area. I had a guy I got from them come out and cut up some red and white oak my dad took down to build a barn. If you were in Maryland or Deleware I'd be happy to sell you some for pretty cheap.

Dave


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