My supply of self-harvested wood doesn't include walnut or maple, and
the small sawmill I used to frequent has been abandoned and is
currently being turned into McMansion land So...

Went to a local hardwood distributor yesterday to pick up a few board
feet of Walnut and Soft Maple. After picking out a 4/4 (13/16") 4" x
10' stick of S2S walnut and two 7' lengths of 4/4 4.5" and 6.25" S2S
soft maple, I wandered up to the checkout and was greeting by a madman
with a calculator who placed a charge of over $60 on my debit card.

WOW!

After looking over the invoice, I discovered that - in addition to the
$6.33/bd ft charge for the walnut and the $4.58/bd ft charge for the
soft maple, they have surcharges of 7% for Kiln Shrinkage and 11% for
Edge Ripping - even though the boards are rough edged. This is in
addition to the rounding-up of the board feet to nice, even increments
of one.

Is this now a universal practice? Or is this the result of living in
a wretched, overcrowded city full of corporate leeches. Heck, I might
as well go back to cabinet plywood, oak and poplar from the Borg. :-\

At these prices, it makes that Cherry tree I cut down last year and
ripped into very nice 12/4 slabs worth about $2000.
(They get $11.66/bd ft for 12/4 Cherry - edged with sapwood and pith.
A 3/4" x 4' x 8' sheet of plain sliced, veneer core cherry plywood
sells for $128.00.)

A kitchen wall cabinet with real wood frames must be worth about $400
each just in materials these days...

Another affirmation that I am in the wrong business - it's deep into
the woods with a Woodmizer for me...

What do _you_ pay locally for these examples of domestic hardwoods?


Greg G.