This is part two of my “live edge for beginners” series. In part one we discussed what to look for in slab wood. Specifically, how to tell if the wood is solid enough, dry enough, and bug-free enough to work with. In this article we are going to discuss the live edge wood buying process. Where to buy wood, how much to pay for it, and how to find the best deals on places like Craigslist.

I take you through the live edge slab buying process on my most expensive purchase yet. I have just been commissioned to build my biggest table to date, so I...

The Basics

Before we talk about how much to pay for these slabs, you are going to need to know what you are paying for. The term you are going to hear over and over again is “board foot”. This term can seem a little confusing and intimidating at first. But I promise you will be able to work it into casual conversation after reading the next few paragraphs.

Simply put, a board foot (bf) is 12x12x1” of wood. But since most wood doesn’t come in 12x12x1” chunks, we have to do a little math to figure out exactly how many BF are in our piece. Another example of one board foot would be 24x6x1”. Or 6x6x2”. Make sense so far? An easier way to think of it is to convert the inches to feet (except the thickness). So instead of 24x12x1, use 2x1x1 to calculate the BF. 2x1x1=2, or two board feet.

Before we get into how we figure live edge board feet, lets make sure I make sense so far with a few examples. Try and figure these out yourself, but check your answers below the photo.

The below examples are assuming straight edges

1) 24x24x1”

2) 48x12x2”

3) 96x24x3”

live edge walnut slab living natural edge wood,

How Did You Do?

1) A: Four board feet. 2x2x1 equals four board feet.

2)A: Eight board feet. 4x1x2 equals eight board feet.

3)A: 48 board feet. 8x2x3 equals 48 board feet.

Ok, that doesn’t seem so bad does it? You may have noticed all of my example numbers were even feet though. So that is a little easier than a board that is 27.25x5.5x.75” isn’t it? For the complex math I do what what everyone does these days. I get an app. Board Feet Easy Calculator is an good one that can handle the odd numbers for you. You can absolutely use the app for all your calculations if you’d like. But its nice to be able to look at an eight foot by three foot slab that is two inches thick and know its 48 board feet. Without having to bust out the app.

Four Quarter, Eight Quarter, Twelve Quarter, French quarter???

Ok, only three of those refer to lumber, just seeing if you are paying attention. If you spend any time around lumber stores (that aren’t Home Depot or Lowes), you will hear the thickness referred to in quarters. Each 4/4 meaning one inch and spoken as “four quarter”. They use quarters to give the thickness of roughsawn wood. Roughsawn wood is wood right off the sawmill, before sanding or planing. So a slab that they cut at 2” thick on the mill would be referred to as 8/4 (spoken as eight quarter). If they cut the slab at 3” thick then that would be 12/4 (twelve quarter), a 2.5” slab would be 10/4 (ten quarter). Make sense? It is worth mentioning that while quarters are used to describe roughsawn wood, some suppliers will surface one or even both sides and still get a full 8/4. Which means it was likely cut at 2.25”. When you hear something referred to as 8/4 you can expect it to be a full 2” (or just over 2”, not less). This is contrary to dimensional lumber like a 2x4. Which you may or may not know is actually 1.5x3.5”. Do you feel taken advantage of? Since this lesson is on not just having the knowledge of a pro, but sounding like a pro. You should probably know the common lingo. You only hear people say, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4, and maybe 16/4 for the most part. Don’t ask me why you can say 5/4, but not 9/4. You’ll look as green as that wood out back if you go in and ask for some 7/4 boards. Now you’re in the know.

Note: You can expect to lose at least 1/4” from roughsawn wood to finished product. So your 8/4 dining table slab would likely finish around 1.75". Oddly, we stop saying “quarters” when the finish our pieces. So if you want to sound like a pro, shop in quarters, sell in inches. I just made that up by the way, but it works.

Pop Quiz: How many board feet:

This root slab of mine would be a hard one to get an accurate BF

5/4 board, 72” long 6" wide

A: 6x.5x1.25=3.75 board feet

8/4 slab, 96” long 42” wide

A: 8x3.5x2=56 board feet

10/4 slab, 120” long, 60” wide

A: 10x5x2.5=125 board feet

Buying Board Feet

Now that you are ready to shop like a pro. Knowing how to calculate board feet is more than just so you can understand what you are buying. Its a tool that will keep you from being taken advantage of. Any reputable seller will calculate the cost of their wood using board feet. If they don’t, make sure you calculate the board feet and double check their prices. You see this a lot with backyard Craigslist dealers. They look at a slab and price it based on their gut, not board feet. I’ve found many times the wood I thought was going to be a steal was actually more expensive than the same wood species from a reputable dealer, where I could trust the wood was properly dried and treated for insects. A guarantee you likely won’t get from backyard supplier.

Do I Buy From Craigslist or Bigger Company?

Make no mistake, I am not opposed to buying off of small suppliers found on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. But just like if you buy a car on Craigslist, it should be cheaper than a dealership. How much cheaper is up to you. I personally feel that good dry Craiglist wood should be 50% cheaper than wood from a reputable dealer. And if you are buying green wood, it should be 75% cheaper than the dry wood from somewhere you trust. These are my personal numbers, but I feel pretty strongly about the value of a reputable supplier. I still have two big walnut slabs I bought on craigslist years ago that have trapped moisture inside. These slabs won’t be usable until I get someone with a kiln to dry them. While I got a killer price on them, they have just taken up space and I wouldn’t buy them again if I were to do it over.

In prison, you don’t ask someone what crime they committed, you ask how long their sentence is (I watch a lot of prison docs ok). Similarly, don’t ask a backyard dealer if their wood is dry. Ask when it was cut (into slabs, not cut down). Some people will lie to you, some people just don’t know their wood isn’t actually dry yet. Either way use this as a jumping off point. If someone says it was cut three years ago, be pretty skeptical of the wood being dry. If someone says their grandfather slabbed the tree in 1962 and the wood has set in the barn ever since. Then you can be a little more confident that wood is actually dry.

Measuring Board Feet on a Live Edge Slab

I wasn’t charged for anything right/parallel the hole on this slab

Since most slabs are anything but straight, there is some ambiguity on where to take your measurements. I’ve noticed many of the bad backyard dealers will measure from the very tip of the widest part. Just beyond the edge of the bark. They will also include all rotted spots, big cracks and knot holes in the board feet calculation. While somewhere like Goby Walnut will often surprise me on how little of a slab they are actually charging me for. If there is a big crack that runs 18” down one end, they will often give that section for free. Even if the rest is good wood. Then if there is a series of knot holes that take up a several feet, they will also omit that section from the total board feet. Think of it this way. A good supplier will only charge you for the red meat. No bones or gristle. The clean, pretty clear sections of wood that are good solid wood. Bad backyard dealers love to charge for gristle. So even if you find walnut for 30% less than a supplier you trust, make sure you aren’t paying for 30% more wood than you would from that good dealer.

Supply and Demand

Don’t forget, people can charge whatever they want for their products. You always have the opportunity to shop somewhere else though. I love a Mexican hardwood called Katalox. Generally it sells for around $15-22/bf in Oregon. Which I happily pay if I need it. Someone from southern Mexico recently messaged me and said they never pay more than $1-2/bf for Katalox. That doesn’t mean I should go demand my supplier sell it to me for $2/bf. Katalox is rare in the PNW. So I pay what I can get it for. Contrarily, I can buy maple from a dozen suppliers in a 30 mile radius of my house. So I don’t have to risk purchasing from risky backyard dealers that want to charge retail prices. So if you are in Arizona and someone is charging twice as much for walnut as I pay in Oregon, you can either pay their price, keep shopping, or see if it makes sense to have the Oregon walnut shipped to Arizona.

How Do I Know What a Fair Price is?

The same way you find the fair price of anything. Shop around. That is another value of knowing board feet calculations. Since slabs vary widely, you can always use BF as a jumping off point when getting prices over the phone or internet. If someone appears to have a monopoly on a certain wood you’d like to use, and suspect they are trying to take advantage. Inquire on the shipping cost from an out of state supplier where that wood is more common. Monkeypod is cool exotic wood that not many suppliers in Oregon have. So I would run the numbers from a supplier like Live Edge Lust in Arizona and see if it made sense to have them ship me what I need.

If you’d like some numbers for what I pay for walnut. I can give you the Goby black walnut prices as of January 2020. For reference, black walnut is a premium wood anywhere in the world. Expect to pay less for hardwoods like Maple, Oak, and Ash. And expect to pay less still for softwoods like Fir, Cedar, and non-figured Redwood (Figured redwood can be extremely valuable, while plain redwood is almost worthless unless used as construction material).

Common 4/4: $5/bf
8/4 slabs start $15/bf
8/4-12/4 bookmatch slabs $21/bf
XXL slabs (12-24’ long) $30/bf or more, depending on figure/color

These are just some estimates to get you started with your search and maybe use as a starting point to see if your Craigslist find was a gold mine or sulfur mine.

Over 15’ long, 4’ wide, and the most incredible figure I’ve ever seen in a walnut slab this big. Expect this one to run $35-40+/bf

summary

Knowledge is power when shopping live edge wood. Know the price and the value of the competing wood suppliers. Know what parts of the slab you should get charged for and what parts you shouldn’t. Are the backyard dealer prices actually cheaper than somewhere you know and trust? Understand the level of risk you are willing to accept. Can you wait years for green wood to dry in order to save 50% or more? How bad do you need the slab? If you find the most stunning slab you have ever seen are you willing to overpay because it is worth it to you? All of these questions can obviously only be answered by you. So in the end, if its worth it to you, then you got a good deal.

Live Edge For Beginners - Buying Slab Wood