Convert lumber dimensions to board feet and project cost — the standard unit for buying rough lumber.
Board feet per piece
4.00
Total board feet
40.00
Total cost
$180.00
A board foot is the lumber-industry unit for rough-sawn wood — 1 BF equals 144 cubic inches, or a piece 1 inch thick by 12 inches wide by 1 foot long. Mills and lumberyards price hardwoods this way.
Always measure thickness by the nominal (rough) size before surfacing. A “4/4” (four-quarter) board is sold as 1 in thick even though it planes down to about 13/16 in.
BF = (thickness_in × width_in × length_ft) ÷ 12
total_BF = BF_per_piece × quantity
cost = total_BF × price_per_BF
Wood Project Cost
Add lumber, hardware, finish, and labor into a true project cost — and cost per piece if you are making multiples.
Kerf Allowance
How much material a saw blade eats across multiple cuts — ripping, crosscuts, bandsaw, laser.
Plywood Sheet Layout
Maximize pieces per 4x8 or 5x5 sheet — best orientation, kerf allowance, and waste percentage.