Thread: Rough Sawn Boards - Expected Yield??

It is a question with many answers depending on who you are and what uses you are putting the timber to.
I do many of the following to help deal with the variations found in rough sawn timber and note that before I start a job I can spend a couple of days just deciding which parts of the project will come from which board. Also note that if you make your requirement known to your timber supplier and the product you get does not meet those requirements then you should speak to your supplier before you start cutting stuff!
1 - I always order 15 to 20% more timber than in exactly required for the job to give some flexibility in choice for each component.
2 - boards on the thin side or thin after machining starts can be set aside for thinner components like drawer sides, drawer runners etc.
3 - Thicker than expected boards I often resaw for door panels of cabinet backs
4 - Narrow boards or boards that have edge faults or knots i will use for narrower components like door frames etc. Note that your timber supplier should not be charging a premium rate for a 2.4m board if it has a fault 900mm in from one end in fact most will only charge you for the longest sound length over 1200mm or whatever their policy is.
I find I have very little waste and always use leftovers in other projects. Whenever possible I will buy a pack or part pack of timber giving me the best possible choices of board to component & usually color and grain matching is easier with pack lots.

Not saying this is the case for you but I find a lot of people have expectations of timber ("because I am paying top dollar") that are simply not reasonable. It is not laminex and variations in it are a given.
Having said that I always take the time and demand the right to select each board from the suppliers and will often spend a day going through packs of timber making sure I get what I want. You cant expect them to take the same care or even know exactly what you want. If your supplier wont let you do that its time for a new supplier!

Also note there are a few well known makers who always order the lowest grades of timber because it has more variation and holds more interest for them.

Ross

Ross is quite right in all he says. I find it best to be very picky at the timber yard and avoid cupping, twists etc, which gives me more bang for the buck. That is, a 25mm undressed board can come out to 20-22mm if your lucky and careful. And you would be surprised how different your project looks if you avoid the 19mm, 32mm etc standard sizes.

I prefer to spend the time and rip say dressed 45+mm boards down to say 25mm (an odd but very useful size) for many projects.

And you do save heaps if you buy undressed and particularly "shorts", say 1800mm long. No nails etc from recycled timber either!

Jeff

Every timber has a different wastage rate, the only one I can quote off-hand is for English Yew (in boards) and that is 200%, that is you loose twice as much as you can use.

You could always cut the wind or spring out of it, Will.

Cut the timber a bit longer than you need the finished component, and your yield will improve. Problem is if the machines snipe - you may need to waste 8" or so per component.

CHeers,

eddie

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Different; some interesting thoughts there mate. Yeah I understand that there will be variations in timber, for sure. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful stuff once you take all the defects out of the board. I'm interested in what you said about merchants should not be charging a premium rate for a full length board which has faults through the middle of them. I have a variety of different boards - as I mentioned in my first post, some boards are damaged on the top and they may be 120mm tapering out to 150mm for the first 200-250mm on each end of the board. That is, I have a 1.8m board 150 x 25 that is only really 150 x 25 for 1.3m.

Eddie The Eagle; yup in all my calculations and layout of my components I've allowed plenty extra for snipe and various problems during dressing. I learned that the hard way on my first project with the thicknesser! haha. Although I've got my thicknesser set up now that there often isn't any snipe, but there's no use taking the chance on good timber.

Believe me I'd love to take the time to look through all my boards before purchasing. It would be quite satisfying. On the down side, there isn't really any timber suppliers here in Townsville who stock anything to look at - sure they'll ship it in for you, but then I'm in the same boat as I am now. I took a punt and ordered some timber from down south and had it shipped up. If I was selecting the same boards in a timber yard, some I would have taken, others I wouldn't have even considered. Unfortunately it's a tough situation for many people who don't have access to good quality timber yards and you have to trust people elsewhere to pick out decent boards.

I've only put one board over the jointer so far and now stopped to rethink my project and to make sure I'm covered and have enough timber.

Cheers,

WILL