Comments on: How To Calculate Lumber For Projects? – Viewer Question

By: va2bmg

va2bmg — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:42:11 +0000

If you are a bit on software side, there is one that works pretty good and can account for a few factors and is based on a cutlist, which is the name of the software actually.

There is different version/feature with diffrent price tags depending on what you need. This will give you how much board of sheet for a project, but will not account for specifics in the wood when at the lumberyard, i.e. figure in wood for a particular piece(s) that you’d like or variying dimentions available.

The web site is http://www.cutlistplus.com. Again, it ain’t perfect but can save some trouble and is one way to serve up as a good estimate on how much you need.

By: Brock

Brock — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:35:52 +0000

I use Smart Cut Pro, it is an optimization software primarily for panels. I use it for board layouts and it works fine. Also it provides a cut list, labels and loads of other stock management features, a free download to try. I think it limits to 10 parts after 30 days. Really worth looking at.

http://www.rasterweq.com/specifications.htm

By: Ken_in_kanata

Ken_in_kanata — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:45:20 +0000

I guess I lean more on the lazy side of things. I have an idea especially for the larger pieced on length and width but basically I tend to over (WAY over sometimes) estimate what I need have lots of material to pick from back at the shop. The nice thing about doing it this way is you end up with a stock pile of wood for future projects. When I do need to figure out board feet I use this on line board foot calculator. http://www.westwindhardwood.co.....lator.html

By: BedrockBob

BedrockBob — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:52:01 +0000

I use CorelDraw to layout all the parts to the project and label the sizes of each part. Then I figure out roughly how may boards I will need using 8’x 6” or 8’x 8” as a guide. I also figure out roughly how many board feet it will take. Then as I pick out my lumber I mark off the parts I need from the boards I get. I always get one extra wide board just to be safe. It is a long trip to the lumber yard for me. I would rather have a little extra then come up short.

By: Loupitou06

Loupitou06 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:27:17 +0000

I also use a blend of lazy/accurate method :
I draw a very rough sketch in Google Sketchup using components for the idems I care for (top, door panels,…), with this I get an idea of the proportions and a nice sketch to show to my wife for acceptance.
Then I run the cutlist plug-in with several board width options (4″, 6″ and 8″).
I end up with 3 precise cutlists with the most common board width.
Now in the lumber store, if the wood I like for the top is available only in 6″, I’ll use the number or board foot from this cutlist and so and so forth.
The idea is to optimize the yield of each component, given the availability at the lumberyard.

Then of course I add some margin 10 to 20% since I do some stupid mistakes and you never know what a board will look like once planned or re-sawn

With this method, I can get very good yield so far.

Hope this helps and hats off the developer of the cutlist plugin for Sketchup !

By: Skee

Skee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:05:50 +0000

The thing I’ll say about the lazy method is that it is fast and easy on the mind. The hard part is you might end up gluing up panels of 4″ wide boards to get some 6″ stuff you need at a certain place in the project.

You can also radically impact the amount of waste for a project by being very picky about grain patterns and “Correct” boards. This is up to the craftsman to decide, in my opinion. Some people want to economize and get as much out of each board as possible. Some people want to build art and want all the grain perfectly straight throughout. As with most things, the best course is a compromise, as Marc suggests. Estimate for the little stuff, worry about the big, flat surfaces.

Matt, over at Matt’s Basement Workshop always ends each show with “Straight Grains” or something like that, so I figure he must be an artist who wastes 300-400% of his lumber. [I always want to flip his ending around - Straight blades and sharp grains - just sounds fun]

By: Marty

Marty — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:23:38 +0000

Wow, not that I should even think about questioning The Schwarz but that is a LOT of waste. Most lumber yards will let you pick through their stock if you put back what you don’t buy. Hence, I like Marc’s suggestions.

By: Michael Morton

Michael Morton — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:16:15 +0000

It was interesting to read in the latest Woodworking Magazine (I think it was Chris Schwarz writing) that he adds on 50% or 100% in order to have plenty of wood to pick through to get the right grain pattern and orientation for the final parts. Yes, a lot more wood and $$ than your standard 15-20%, but his point was that it’s worth it to get the right grain/patterns for a piece you’re going to put a lot of time into. And of course, there’s plenty of ways to use the remaining wood in future projects!