There are a lot of things to consider when buying lumber for your woodworking projects, and cost is certainly one of them. There are many ways to buy lumber, and the way that you choose will depend on how much time and money you want to spend on getting the lumber ready for your project.
The different ways that lumber is sawn at the sawmill will affect how much each board costs. There are basically 3 ways a log is sawn at a sawmill, flat sawn, rift sawn, and quarter sawn.
Flat/Rift/Quarter Sawn Lumber
Flat Sawn Lumber
Flat sawn boards are the least expensive because the sawyer can get more boards out of a single log by sawing it this way. The grain patterns on the faces of the lumber are not very straight and they usually have what is called a cathedral grain. The end grain ends up being a “C” shape. These type of boards are more prone to cupping and twisting.
Rift sawn and quarter sawn lumber are similar, and people sometimes use these terms interchangeably. Typically, in Rift Sawn lumber, the face grain is fairly straight and the end grain runs on about a 45°-75° angle.
Quarter Sawn Lumber
Quarter sawn boards yield very straight grained boards. The end grain is usually runs from about 75° to vertical. They are also more stable boards producing less cupping or twisting.
Quarter sawn and Rift Sawn lumber are usually about twice the cost as flat sawn. This is because the log yields less usable lumber and more waste when sawing them this way.
Rough Sawn & Pre-Milled Lumber
When shopping for hardwood lumber you will notice that there are many different terms describing the wood besides just its species. First of all, there are two main categories that the lumber will fall into; (1) Rough sawn lumber, and (2) Pre-milled lumber.
Rough sawn lumber is just as it sounds, rough. It has not been milled in any way after leaving the sawmill. Rough sawn lumber comes in thickness increments of ¼” starting at 4/4. For example, 1” thick lumber is called 4/4 (four quarter), 1.25” thick lumber is called 5/4 (five quarter), and so on and so forth.
Rough sawn lumber is also graded into several categories. The categories you will most likely see are FAS, Selects & Better, Number 1 Common, and Number 2 Common. The grading is based upon how clear the faces of board are and what percentage of usable material a given board will yield.
FAS (First And Seconds) is the top grade with a minimum board width of 8”, a minimum length of 8ft, and a minimum yield of about 83%.
Selects & Better is the next highest grade with a minimum board width of 4”, a minimum length of 6ft, and a minimum yield of about 83%.
Number 1 Common has a minimum board width of 3”, a minimum length of 4ft, and a minimum yield of about 67%.
Number 2 Common has a minimum board width of 3”, a minimum length of 4ft, and a minimum yield of about 50%.
FAS being the highest grade will also be the most expensive. But, honestly, you probably will very seldom need lumber that is 8” wide and 8ft long that is completely clear. Most pieces on most projects are much shorter than that, so you will be able to save yourself quite a bit of money buying Selects and Better, or even Number 1 Common. A good strategy is to buy Selects and Better for your somewhat larger project pieces and Number 1 Common for your smaller pieces.
Pre milled lumber
Pre-milled lumber is lumber that has at least 1 face that has been planed. The most common designations for pre-milled lumber are S4S, S2S, S1S, R1E, & R2E.
S4S is Surfaced on all 4 Sides. Both faces have been milled flat and parallel, and both edges have been jointed and are square to the faces and parallel to each other.
S2S is Surfaced on 2 Sides. Both faces have been milled flat and parallel, but both edges are still rough sawn.
S1S is Surfaced on 1 Side. One face has been milled flat, and the other face and both edges are still rough sawn.
Sometimes you can specify that you want S2S or S1S lumber to be R1E or R2E. R1E is Ripped 1 Edge and R2E is Ripped 2 Edges. This means that the S2S lumber will be run through a table saw giving it either 1 or 2 straight but not jointed edges.
What you really need to remember with pre-milled lumber is that the price goes up with every milling operation. S4S will be the most expensive, and S1S will be the least expensive.
The Price Tag
When comparing costs of lumber you need to be aware of how it is being priced. Usually when you go to one of the big box stores and you look at a piece of S4S oak, for instance, you will see a price of $33. That will be the price of that board.
You might go to a different lumber yard and look at a similar piece of S4S oak and you might see a price of $2.07. Beware, this is not necessarily the final price of that board. Look closely, that might be the price of 1 linear foot of that board.
Now, you might go to a hardwood dealer and look at a similar size of rough sawn Red Oak and see a price of $3.50. This, also, may not be the final price of that board. This is probably the price for 1 board ft.
The first case is easy to understand. $33 for the board you want to buy. No problem. But what is the difference between a linear foot and a board foot?
If a board is priced by the linear foot then you take the length of the board that you are going to buy and multiply it by the linear foot price. For example, an 10ft long board times $2.07 equals $20.70. That’s pretty easy to understand as well.
A board foot, however, is a volume of lumber, not a length. 1 board foot equals a volume of 1” thick by 12” wide by 12” long, which is 144 cubic inches.
To figure out how many board feet are in any board use one of the following formula’s:
(Thickness in inches * Width in inches * Length in inches)/144 = total Board Ft.
(Thickness in inches * Width in inches * Length in feet)/12 = total Board Ft
Once you know how many board feet are in a board just multiply it by the board foot price and you will have the total cost of that board.
For example, if you have a piece of Red Oak that is 10ft long by 6” wide by 1” thick, and it has a price of $3.50/Bd ft, you would calculate the cost the following way:
[(1x6x10)/12] x $3.50 equals $17.50.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider and pay attention to when you are shopping for lumber. The tools you have or don’t have may dictate whether you buy pre-milled lumber or rough sawn lumber. Your budget may determine whether you buy flat sawn or quarter sawn lumber. The length of pieces in your project will determine if you need FAS or Number 1 Common.
