


You don’t want to let fate decide which boards make a bold statement in your project. And for certain parts of projects, you want to take it one step further by picking very specific boards. For larger pieces, I make sure I have the right number of boards.
#The whisperer wow plus#
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%. Most times, I do a bit of both techniques. 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. And furthermore, it makes it much easier to select that perfect wood grain while you are at the lumber yard. This process takes a while but it can be worth it since the “lazy” way can be frustrating and disappointing. Instead you want to make sure you are getting the right number of boards so you can make cuts according to your diagram. The interesting part of this process is that you don’t really need to be concerned with board feet. 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. Keep in mind things like milling and kerf widths since the goal is to be as realistic as possible. 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. Lets assume you have access to rough boards that are 8′ long and 6-7″ wide. Now the accurate method is to plan everything out on paper. So you may wind up making another trip to the lumber supplier if you use this method. 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. Now the drawback to this is the fact that you might wind up with the wrong set of boards. Then go to the lumber supplier and buy that many board feet. The lazy way is to take that board foot number and add about 15-20% to it. 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?īasically there are two ways I approach this.
#The whisperer wow how to#
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. Hey Marc, I’m a new woodworker and I’m having trouble trying to figure out how much lumber I need for each project.
