I buy some of my lumber from Pittsford lumber and they sell it for 7.80 skip planed, I find their prices to be slightly high but fair for the ability to pick through piles of kiln dried wood and have knowledgeable people who don't seem to mind the occasional chat or question. Craigslist around me seems to be about 5-7 when it appears and isn't always the best, usually they want the whole lot sold and not looked through.

 

My supplier (Frank Miller in Union City, IN.) charges $5.45 bd. ft. for "selects and better" ($7 for widths over 7") and $3.85 for #1 common. You may do better buying #1 common and get a little extra. That's for 4/4 stock that's S2S, BTW.

 

I pay $7.45/bf for 4/4 s2s.

 

Scott Smith specializes in quarter sawn white oak.

 

I had an opportunity to get white oak, mixed sawn for $1.50 a board foot, rough. Seriously considering a couple hundred board feet.

Depending on your location, West Penn Hardwoods in NY is selling Q.S. White oak select for $6.50 a board foot, and their products always exceed expectation.

 

I need to show these prices to my lumber supplier. He mainly supplies cabinet shops with bulk, so he tells me it's not worth his time to separate "niche" lumber. He gets about $3/bd ft. for white oak, S3S, and in a 500 bdft pallet, there can be up to 100 bdft of quarter sawn. The same goes for every species. Curly/figure maple, etc.

My point being, if you have, or can get, a good relationship with a mill, you can get the quarter sawn for no more than the flat sawn. You may just have to do a little digging.

 

Around here, KD QS 4/4 runs about $6.50 at the local hardwood supplier. Every once in a while I'll see air dried rough cut on CraigsList for around $3-$4.

 

3.50 board foot for select and better. 4.25 for extraordinary figure/width 2.50 #1 common

 

I averaged $1.40 a foot at the stave mill for 800 board feet. They are desperate for it. They sent me a letter saying they would take a lower grade now. I fear at this rate we will loose the seed source for white oak.

And then add in the emerald ash bore and the future does not look bright for certain hard woods.

 

I would not seriously worry about white oak "seed source" being lost. It grows all over the place in N. Alabama, central TN. Every fall, I hear the acorns falling on my roof like hailstones in the night (actaully every other fall - since white oak seems to be one of those every other year acorn producers). If you would like some white oak "seeds", I can supply in season.

I still have two large white oaks down on my property from tornado 2 years ago. I still intend to get them sawed if it's not too late.

-Ocelot

 

We have white oak all over the place in central Arkansas. I sure wouldn't worry too much about finding sources for it.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good information. I was able to find a business near me that is selling quatersawn s2s white oak for $4.95 bdft, and it's somewhat close compared to a few mills in my region.

 

That is a good price. Your profile shows AK, so if your still in that state, I would consider that a GREAT price. I have paid as little as $1 b/f for air dried and as much as $7.50 for S4S when I was in a jam and needed to finish a commission piece. When I lived on the left coast, I tended to pay on the higher end. Where I am at now, much lower.