How much should I offer for Stringybark?

[columnmn]

Hi.

I found a friend of a guy on here through the marketplace who has some stringybark timber for sale.

I asked him how much it was per square meter, and he said to make him an offer. I haven't seen it, but I'm assuming its rough cut, but that's no issue for me.

But I've got no idea what's a good offer for Stringybark. Part of me want to say $50 per square meter, but I've got no idea if that's too much, or too little.

Any advice on how much to offer?

Thanks.

[IanW]

This is an awkward situation if you aren't familiar with the going prices for wood! Depending on the quality & type of wood, a 'fair' price could be anywhere from less than $1,000 per cube to north of $10,000! (wood should be priced by volume, i.e., cubic metres, not square metres, btw.). If you were experienced & knew your woods, you'd have a good idea of what this wood is 'worth' to you, but clearly, you aren't, which puts you in a spot. You also need to consider what form it's in (slabs? dimensioned pieces?) and therefore how much is going to end up as useable material & how much as firewood. Even when buying dimensioned wood for a project, you should allow about 20% for waste, and the rougher it is, the more waste is likely . I suggest you figure out what you want to do with it, and what the material represents in the total cost of the job, then make an offer based on that. If the seller takes offense at your offer, that's his/her problem. Frankly, I don't know why a seller can't nominate a price, after all, they have a better idea than anyone what it 'owes' them!

Cheers,

[columnmn]

I need about 5 meters square of wood for the bed head and base, so I offered $50 per square meter.

See what I'd hear back. It'd have been so much easier if he'd said, 200cm x 30cm board for $30. I don't want to drive an hour out, and haggle over what I have no idea what it'll cost.

I just wasn't sure what an actual cost should be. It's a pretty wood, the job all comes down to a budget.

[columnmn]

He said sure for $50 per square meter. I'll go have a look tomorrow.

[dai sensei]

Timber comes with 3 dimensions. What thickness are we talking about for your per m2 ?

[columnmn]

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=197684

That's the thread I got it off. I'm not sure about the sizes.

[cava]

You may be disappointed at what your m2 is and what his interpretation of m2 is?

Let us know how you get on.

[columnmn]

Just picked it up, and I couldn't be happier. Came back with more wood than I expected.

8 x 2400mm x 150mm x 5mm, 8 x 2000mm x 1200mm x 30mm, and all the offcuts that came from the 3200mm lengths they all were. So happy days!

I offered $250 for the lot, he was happy, I was happy.

I polished a bit up quickly to see the grain, so preddy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_131902690_zpsihahdsjl.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_131902690_zpsihahdsjl.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_131909088_HDR_zpsyzyehv4l.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_131909088_HDR_zpsyzyehv4l.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_132110888_HDR_zpssdrzak8g.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151115_132110888_HDR_zpssdrzak8g.jpg.html)

[cava]

Congratulations. That is a good deal. :2tsup:

[IanW]

.......8 x 2400mm x 150mm x 5mm, 8 x 2000mm x 1200mm x 30mm, and all the offcuts that came from the 3200mm lengths they all were....

....I offered $250 for the lot, he was happy, I was happy....

Judging by the pics, I think you meant 50mm rather than 5 for the 150mm wide boards, and 120mm (not 1200! :o) for the 30mm. That translates to 0.284 cubic metres of wood that you brought home. So you paid a bit under $1,000 per 'cube'......

The one hing I miss from the Imperial measures days is the 'super foot' (or 'board foot' as our Nth American cousins call it). It was easy to calculate from standard timber sizes and easy to conceptualise what you actually had in a stack of wood. Cubic metres, particularly in thicknesses like 30mm, just don't register in my brain the same way. However, we do need a standard unit of volume, so 'cubes' it is.....

Cheers,

[columnmn]

Yeah, I still need to get my head around the m-cm-mm.

I wanted to say 2.4m x 15cm x 50mm, but I think it's probably better to go with mm for everything.

If the price can go from $1000 - $10,000 per cube, then $1000 per cube sounds like a good price to me. There shouldn't be much wastage with it either.

Now I just have to annoy my neighbours running it through my thicknesser. It's a little loud...

[asheddie]

It's great timber, I made my kitchen benches from stringy. A couple of years later they still look as good as the day I installed them. I'd love to see some progress pictures of your project.

[columnmn]

I'll happily show some progress shots. I'm doing a wardrobe first, then I'll take some more progress shots.

It's not overly elaborate, just a butted together wood.

[columnmn]

Well, it's still not the fanciest.

My neighbours probably don't like me (opens into a video, if you haven't ever seen a thicknesser working):
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/th_VID_20151214_152630822_zpsv2ljwaph.mp4 (http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/VID_20151214_152630822_zpsv2ljwaph.mp4)

And I built myself a little cyclone dust separator because I kept on clogging the bin, and filled half a 70L bin with shavings.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151214_155913187_HDR_zpshuhkqjpx.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151214_155913187_HDR_zpshuhkqjpx.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151214_155919191_zpshe9u1j6w.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151214_155919191_zpshe9u1j6w.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/FB_IMG_1450075761081_zpsdakrevcz.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/FB_IMG_1450075761081_zpsdakrevcz.jpg.html)

I need bigger clamps. So that'll be tomorrows job.

[columnmn]

I bought myself 3 more big clamps, then used my biscuit cutter, and clamped it all up.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151215_142957869_zps2yz9x2db.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151215_142957869_zps2yz9x2db.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151215_142950452_HDR_zpsupjet7dj.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151215_142950452_HDR_zpsupjet7dj.jpg.html)

Coming together well!

[columnmn]

I didn't plan it very well, it's fricking heavy. Like me with a sack truck very scared it'd fall on me.

But it's all in place:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_190627151_zpsdbpbzno0.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_190627151_zpsdbpbzno0.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_183413225_zpsv4cbmrgb.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_183413225_zpsv4cbmrgb.jpg.html)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/ColumBlack-Byron/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_153428239_HDR_zpsuw2tgjs3.jpg (http://s810.photobucket.com/user/ColumBlack-Byron/media/aquaponics/IMG_20151216_153428239_HDR_zpsuw2tgjs3.jpg.html)

I've got some cool lights to go in, hidden buttons to raise tv's, touch control light switches, usb chargers for my phone. The first few coats of gloss are on, will put some more on soon, and put up a final shot.

Next for the base!