"Daniel" wrote in message
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:
- hobbyist jointer (maybe a Delta JT360?)
- (not too) low-end planer (Delta TP400 or something like that)
- North America native hardwoods like oak, maple, poplar; nothing exotic
The difference in price between S2S1E and rough hardwood lumber in this area
(Houston) generally averages less than $1/bf. IOW, the savings of say about
..75/bf, times the amount of material you expect to use in a year, should
give you an idea of how long it will take to pay for a jointer and planer
around these parts. Factor in a bigger difference if you are currently
buying dimensioned lumber.
That said, it doesn't always have to be rough lumber that can pay you back.
I basically paid for a new PowerMatic 6" jointer about a year ago with a
load of black walnut "scraps" from a sign shop. Here's the pertinent part of
a post about that time:
"I recently picked up 43 rough walnut "blanks" a local sign company gave me
for the asking. They were half-moon shaped pieces about 48" long X 3" thick,
likely S2S1E at one point, and I got the rough edge and the curve only. The
only way to make these things useful was to begin by jointing the rough edge
and going from there.
Each of these 43 blanks, after being jointed and planed, resulted in S4S
walnut stock with dimensions of 3" X 3" X 36" ... perfect table leg blanks.
At local hardwood lumber dealers prices of $11.75 b/f for S4S walnut blanks
of this size and grade, the new jointer basically paid for itself, and made
another $380, in less than a day."
I sold most of them to one cabinet maker for cash, and still have some left
for my own use, plus the jointer of course.
YMMV ...
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Last update: 7/10/04