"Daniel" wrote in message
Hello,

Does anyone have a *rough* estimate on how much rough-sawn wood one has
to put through these two pieces of machinery to get to the point where
you just break even on your machinery purchase, compared to purchasing
surfaced lumber at higher costs?

I realize there are many variables to this question, and that wood and
machinery costs vary, so let's assume:


Don't know, don't care.

There is more to this that cost factors. What do you want to make? do you
need 1/2" thick boards? You'll have quite a time finding them in any
species, let alone some of the lesser used varieties. The first time I made
a small drawer with 3/4" stock and it looked like crap because it should
have been much thinner, I decided I wanted a planer.

I pay the same for surfaced or rough wood at a couple of the dealers I use.
While that greatly decreases the need for owning the two tools, it limits my
projects.

I've also run across free wood that would be unusable if I did not have a
planer. Even cheap wood is $3 so it does not take all that much to pay for
the planer. Just last week I took home a couple of 3" x 3" x 92" pieces
that will end up as some project. Each of those saves me about $18 at the
wood store. I don't know what you are paying for you surfaced wood so I
can't guess what your potential savings would be.

While saving money is important, other factors were a higher priority in my
case.
Ed