I've got to be honest and say that I think it is an invalid concern. I've
never found S4S lumber that is as precisely square and straight as I usually
require. The boards at my hardwood suppliers are not sticker stacked but
rather just layed one on top of the other, so they really have no hope of
retain trueness. Therefore I have never considered a tradeoff between
buying rough vs. buying surfaced. I buy with best price in mind. Usually
this means rough, but sometimes it is S2S.

Also... You'll find that the temperature of your own storage facility
(garage, shed, whatever) is never going to match that of your hardwood
retailer. So you might bring back some nice square lumber only to find it
crooked, twisted, bowed, etc. weeks or even days later regardless of your
storage technique. Therefore, you'll eventually wish you had the means to
squaring lumber yourself.

FWIW.

Brian.


"Daniel" wrote in message
rs.com...
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:
- 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

I have no specific preference for Delta, other than that I seem to be
able to find them advertised online at local stores (Toronto, ON, CA
area).

Thank you!

- Daniel