Mahogany can be very expensive but it might not be as bad as you think. I purchased enough for two chairs (maybe) but on some thicknesses I have WAY more than I need. That wasn’t my original intention, but sometimes the boards come long and I really don’t mind having stock left over. Does anyone?! So let’s break down my sweet stash and the prices.

8/4 – 16 Board Feet @ $8.65/BF = 138.40
6/4 – 15 Board Feet @ $9.00/BF = 135.00
4/4 – 26 Board Feet @ $8.08/BF = 210.08
———————-
Total = $483.48

Our cut list estimates for this project call for 1.3 BF of 8/4, 5.1 BF of 6/4, and 13.6 BF of 4/4. So I should have enough for two chairs, although I might need to resaw some of that 8/4 stock to get some extra 4/4 to work with.

I also wanted to point out the two lighter boards in the stash. They are lighter simply because they were recently surfaced to some extent. But what caught my eye was the beautiful milky swirls in the grain. Also notice how the cathedral grain pattern is a little more pronounced due to the lighter veins of white outlining them. I honestly don’t know how these boards will age, but I thought they would be great candidates for creating some nice focal points on the back slats. Hopefully I won’t regret that decision. But hey, you have to take a chance sometimes and when I see something interesting at the lumber yard, I snag it! With some finish and natural aging, it may not make one bit of difference but it was certainly worth a shot. Next stop: millin’ time!

Hey Marc, I’m a new woodworker and I’m having trouble trying to figure out how much lumber I need for each project. I know how to calculate the amount of board feet needed, but that doesn’t factor in how much material is lost from saw blades and the countless errors I’m bound to make. So, I guess what I’m trying to ask is do you have any sort of formula for calculating the amount of material needed for a project?

And this was my response:

Basically there are two ways I approach this. The “lazy” way and the “accurate” way. The lazy way is to take that board foot number and add about 15-20% to it. Then go to the lumber supplier and buy that many board feet. Now the drawback to this is the fact that you might wind up with the wrong set of boards. For instance, if your project calls for a bunch of long pieces, you might have the right total number of board feet but the boards might not be long enough. So you may wind up making another trip to the lumber supplier if you use this method.

Now the accurate method is to plan everything out on paper. Lets assume you have access to rough boards that are 8′ long and 6-7″ wide. I would draw a bunch of “blanks” on a piece of paper and then try to plan out the cuts for all of your project parts. Keep in mind things like milling and kerf widths since the goal is to be as realistic as possible. You may have to erase a few boards and reorganize them for the sake of saving wood, but eventually you should have a nice cut diagram. The interesting part of this process is that you don’t really need to be concerned with board feet. Instead you want to make sure you are getting the right number of boards so you can make cuts according to your diagram. This process takes a while but it can be worth it since the “lazy” way can be frustrating and disappointing. And furthermore, it makes it much easier to select that perfect wood grain while you are at the lumber yard. Don’t be a afraid to bring a piece of chalk with you so you can mark the boards up as you place them in your cart or vehicle.

Most times, I do a bit of both techniques. If I have a bunch of smaller parts, I lump them into a board foot number and make sure I have that number plus 15%. For larger pieces, I make sure I have the right number of boards. And for certain parts of projects, you want to take it one step further by picking very specific boards. For instance, a table top. You don’t want to let fate decide which boards make a bold statement in your project. So ultimately, a combination of those two techniques is what works for me. Hope this helps.

Alright, I have another question: I live in South texas and well.. its humid. I hear a lot of people talking about how you should bring lumber into your shop to let it dry and acclimate, but what if you work from your garage and its probably more humid there than anywhere else? Are there any storage options short of keeping it in the house?

And here was my reply:
“Hey Stu. The bottom line with wood storage is that you should store it in conditions that closely match the final destination whenever possible. So if your shop is more humid than outside, you are probably better off storing them outside. Incidentally, why is your shop more humid than outside? You may want to pick up a cheap humidity gauge to confirm this.”

“For that reason, some people do store project wood inside their house for a few weeks just to make sure the moisture content is right where it needs to be. Obviously that doesn’t work for everyone. So the real question becomes, what are your options for storage? Most people have no choice but to store them in the shop. Just plan for shrinkage (or expansion) when you build your pieces. And if you have some space in the house, dont be afraid to take all the wood for a project and store it under the couch for about a month before you start the project. Good luck.”