On Dec 12, 2:40 am, Andy wrote:
Think of it this way, is a 4 carat diamond only double the price of a 2
carat diamond? The bigger it is, the more it costs and the increase in
price is a curve, not linear.

But that's assuming larger sizes are rarer. In the case of lumber,
shouldn't thicker boards require FEWER cuts, and therefore be cheaper
per bf? To a certain extent, of course - I understand that super wide
stuff is rare. I also understand that lumber prices vary a great deal
by location, but I don't know how that would affect 8/4 vs. 4/4
pricing.
Really I don't know much about lumber pricing and wood product
economics, just tossing out my ideas.


The price is on a curve because a tree only gives up so many boards.
The wider, or thicker, the board, the fewer it gives up. Sure, there's
a tad less waste with thicker lumber, but there are also fewer 2x6s in
a log than there are 1x6s. The law of supply and demand for a tree
simply states that when you get fewer of an item out of a particular
basic material, you have to charge more per unit for that item.

That said, a few years ago, I lucked onto some 12/4 and 16/4 8" wide
cherry that has lasted me until recently...at a price that was
giveaway. Fortunately for me, the tree's owner didn't want the thick
boards, so the mill sold them to me for $75 (basically, a full-sized
pick-up load, with board ends almost dragging the ground all the way
home (3 miles). I never figured the board feet, but the shortest board
was 10' and the longest 13'. A guess gives me roughly 250 bf. The best
part: a LOT of flame cherry in that mess (also a LOT of scrap).