Lumber Gripe

[ed morini]

I have been doinf this for over 35 years and have heard everypossible story as to why my tally was never the samw as the yards. I bought a stick 34 1/2 years ago and am still hearing stories. In the past if there was to much discrepancy I just walked. Now I deal only with yards selling wholesale and really watch the tally. I know lumber is actually sold by its weight/cu. ft. and when its cut at the stump I pay for the waste there also, the milling shavings and on and on, that's why you round up on the stick but jumping to the next column is not fair. I also get a little tired off hearing " 10"and wider is 20% more" .when I know that lumber is shipped random lenght/width.
I have found that the smaller mills are by far the best bet for honest pricing.

[MikeTLive]

Originally Posted by ed morini

I also get a little tired off hearing " 10"and wider is 20% more" .when I know that lumber is shipped random lenght/width.

thinking about this one for a bit.
the wider the board, the less waste from cutting - they dont use laser or razor do they?
think about it. if I rip a board once I generate one pass worth of sawdust. If I rip each of them I now have three passes worth of dust.
Hmm.. the more cuts the more dust. the more dust on the floor the less wood.

I suppose its harder to find a large piece that is clean but c'mon now.

[Slipknot]

10" and wider demand more money per board foot for a reason. They are usually in a different stack, sure sometimes a 10" wide or better board can be mixed in another stack and I have had that at Heritage Woodwrights, and they figure the price the same as the other boards not the premium price since it was not in the designated stack of wider boards. The wider boards have to come from larger trees and they are getting harder to come by since we are cutting down the forests before they get a chance to grow these days. There's no more old growth forests anymore You guy want wide boards for the same price as the narrower ones, then glue some up or pay the price, it's that easy. I sometimes pay the price since it's worth it to me and besides the customer ends up paying for it if I figure it into the job.
You are right Ed, the lumber is shipped random length and width but it is grouped together into 10' lengths , 8' lengths etc. just as it is separated into the wider widths.

[Tagger]

that tally man couldn't tally me bananas..