# Local listing for Rough Sawn Oak- Is it worth his price?



## Sailor (Jun 17, 2009)

Hey guys, not sure if this is where I am supposed to post this but it seems like the best spot.

Anyways, I just looked though Craigslist and I have found an ad for some rough sawn oak. I have never purchased anything like this and I was wondering if this is a good deal?

Here is the short ad.
"Approximatly 500 board feet of Oak in various lengths and widths. Has been sawn to slightly over 1 inch in thickness to allow for planning to 3/4 inch thickness. Some boards are alread surface planned . Asking $450 or best offer"

What do you guys think?



















My local dealer sells Rough Souther Oak FAS for $2.49 if that helps. Seems good?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Sounds like a good price to me


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## Broglea (Dec 9, 2009)

Go look at it, but bring the cash. That is a great price for oak. Better hurry.


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## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

ask if it was air dried or kiln. probably air dried. either way that is a good price.


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## Sailor (Jun 17, 2009)

What should I be checking for? I know split boards and badly bowed or warped boards. Anything else?


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## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

air dried is less stable. Kiln dried is usually 6-8%, air is usually 8-12% or sometimes more.

Just plan for the expansion and contraction if it is air dried.

I made my cedar chests that I have posted from air dried cedar. Jut fyi


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## Sailor (Jun 17, 2009)

He also has 700 board feet of rough sawn aromatic cedar, 100 BF of which is already planned and is ready for use. There are also two 10 inch x 3 inch x 12 foot slabs. All for $525 or best offer. The oak is also "or best offer".

How does that sound?


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## Sailor (Jun 17, 2009)

tooldad,

Wow! That cedar chest is beautiful!


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

From a mill might be a good price, but from CL you don't always know what you are getting. Looks like a fair amount of twisted boards in that stack. You can almost assume he's not a professional given the way it is stacked. At the very least, it shouldn't be sitting directly on the concrete. Depending on where you are, rough sawn oak can be had a dime a dozen. It seems a little IFy to me. Compare with other CL lumber finds under "Materials". Do some more homework before you JUMP. Hope this helps.


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## DocK16 (Mar 18, 2007)

That's a decent price but it all depends on how much waste you have, knots, end splits, twisted boards and cupping all lead to alot of waste, 20% waste will cost you a hundred bucks. It's hard to get an idea of how much waste you will have unless you go thru it board by board. Some times what looks like a good deal turns out not so great when you start planning it.


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## Sailor (Jun 17, 2009)

Well if the lot has some bad boards I would shoot him a lower offer. The ad states the price or best offer, should I start my offer at about half of the asking price?


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Sailor, it really just comes down to "is it worth it to YOU?". Take a step back and look at the pile (as opposed to properly stacked wood) and ask yourself if you believe you can use it to build a few projects. Also ask yourself if it is too twisted to make it worth your time. And lastly, ask yourself if you can get equal value somewhere else?


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