Cost and selection of raw materials

ttalma

ttalma

Well-known member
When building a piece how do you consider material selection, how big a role does price pay in your decision making?

Personally since I make so few pieces I don't consider material costs. If I plan to build a piece, say a chest of drawers, and I want single board sides and top. If the wood for that would cost me $500, and I could buy the same amount of wood for $200 but have to glue up 2 pieces for the sides and top, I would buy the $500 wood, and never consider the $200 wood.

Also if I see a really nice piece or pile of wood but don't have a plan for it I'll buy it and store it (maybe hoards the right word) so when I need some I can find just the right piece. But even though I have well over 10,000 bf of lumber in my stash if I couldn't find what I feel is the right piece I would go and  buy more wood.

So I'm just curious do you think this way or am I as crazy as my wife thinks?
 
You're crazy!.............They have TV shows about people like you............ and if you don't make the show , there is always therapy.
(My wife made me write that)...I'm the same way!...maybe not 10,000bf but almost 2000bf. Twice a year i and my brothers go on a wood hunt and bring home 100-150bf each of us...we look for curly, birdseye, wide, etc..something "special and/or different"....stored in garage, attic, basement,sheds, upstate in large garage attic......and when there is a commission or project.....I buy more!!!
Just like clamps...one can never have to much wood!!!
 
These days the quality of material isn't as great as it once was.  I think buying more then you need and storing it is a great concept.  Yet that being said, if you have 10,000 board feet on hand, then I think you may have enough stored up.  Yet I hoard American Holly, Ebony, Boxwood, and Satinwood.  So who am I to talk.  I can also say I wish I bought a lot more Mahogany for now the quality is terrible.  Yes there is Irion, but even they don't offer as much great mahogany.  

The thought of using one board versus two boards and gluing it up to make a certain width is always a good discussion. The way I look at it is, if I only have a 20 inch planer then I only want 20 inch wide boards.  If I'm making a dining table then I get the widest I can find and thickness sand it.  Yet I love buying air dried material and buying whole tree, for then I can match the grain, color, and density throughout.

So I support your thought process.  

I am sure you can sell your lumber for a profit now a days.  Good Luck and keep building.    
 
Tim, I am coming from this at a different angle. As a businessman I agree with your concept. I will hold back my best only to offer the best to my future clients but what do you do with the rest of your dreges. What do you do with the short but wide cut offs. Make Southern triple chests or heat your wood stove with the price of oil or gas. Carbon imprint is an issue. If you ever decide to down size give me a call!
 
There are two reasons I have such a large hoard, 1st my dad still owns his farm which includes a large shed (he can park 8 wagons in it with room between them) so I can store it there. 2nd my dad goes to lots of auctions, and I have him trained that when there is a nice pile of wood to buy it. It seems like every farmer has at least one nice tree cut up that they have been storing for 30 years.

One of the best purchases my dad ever made for me was 500 bf of clear straight grained 100% red cherry 8" to 10" wide, 16' long for $100. I rarely pay over $2 bf for cherry but this was by far the best deal.

Since all the wood is local it's made up of walnut, cherry, maple, white and red oak.

I refer to this as my retirement wood. I figure by the time I retire I won't be able to afford it anymore, but I'll finally have time to use it. So that's why I've been following what I call the "300% rule" which is: If there is something you think you would like to build, buy enough wood to build it plus 300% more just in case, but actually building the piece is irrelevant, and should not affect whether or not you buy the wood.
 
Tim, I'm pretty sure you're crazy.  But if you need someplace to store it (yeah right) you know where I live:)
 
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