Apply for financingBoard foot calculator
This board foot calculator uses nominal thickness and width. It is the lumber calculator for a tally of pieces that share one size. A board foot is 144 cubic inches, a 12 by 12 by 1 inch volume.
Board feet
80.00bd ft
Planning estimate from the numbers you enter. Coverage, density, waste and price are assumptions, not a supplier quote or an engineering specification.
How it works
Board feet = thickness in inches × width in inches × length in feet ÷ 12, times the number of pieces. Use the nominal size the tally uses, such as 2 by 6, even though the dressed board is smaller. That is how hardwood and many softwood tallies are written. If a mill sells by the actual size, enter the actual inches instead and say so on the order. The price field is your price per board foot. It is not a published lumber index.
Formula
Thickness and width are inches. Length is feet. Cost = board feet × your price per board foot. One 1×12×1 foot board is 1 board foot. The formula is the definition, not an approximation.
Example
2 × 6 × 8 ÷ 12 is 8 board feet per piece. Ten pieces are 80 board feet. At $3 per board foot the tally is $240.00. A dressed 1.5 by 5.5 would be a different number. This example uses the nominal 2 by 6.
Tips
Run each size, then add the board feet. The deck calculator counts pieces for a deck. Bring those pieces here only if you need the board-foot tally for a mill that sells that way. Plywood is sold by the sheet, not the board foot.
Equipment
Sawmills and woodworking equipment used in a business can be financed from $15,000 to $2 million through Dengaro. The board-foot total is the lumber math, not the machine price.
Important questions
For a board-foot tally, yes. This page answers the lumber calculator query for nominal boards. It does not count studs in a wall or price a package at a home center.
Enter 2 if the seller tallies nominal size. Enter 1.5 only if the price is truly on the dressed measure. Mixing the two understates or overstates the order.
Convert to feet first. A 96 inch board is 8 feet. The length field is feet because a board foot uses feet in that position of the formula.
Not automatically. Add extra pieces in the piece count if you want offcuts covered. The formula stays the exact tally of the pieces you enter.
Financing built into the sale