Industry TemplatesFree calculatorPDF, Excel, Word exportFurniture Manufacturing

Board Feet Calculator for Lumber

A board foot is a volume of lumber equal to 144 cubic inches, a piece one inch thick, twelve inches wide and one foot long. Hardwood is bought and priced this way across North America, and furniture makers need to convert part dimensions into board feet to buy and cost correctly.

Your numbers

Thickness

Use actual thickness. 4/4 rough is usually priced as 1 inch.

Width

Length

Number of pieces

pcs

Waste allowance

Defects, trimming, kerf and milling loss.

Price per board foot

per BF

Your results

Board feet to buy

192

Net quantity plus waste allowance.

Material cost

$1,248

Board feet per piece

Thickness in inches times width in inches times length in feet, divided by 12.

Net board feet

160

Volume to buy in cubic metres

0.4531

One board foot is about 0.00236 cubic metres.

Board feet are priced on nominal quantities. Confirm the grading rules and measurement basis with your lumber supplier.

Save results:

Cost vs waste allowance

Sweeps Waste allowance from 0 to 50, holding your other inputs fixed.

Lumber yield tracking

Optional: how to track purchased versus used board feet by job and supplier in your ERP.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

Enter the thickness in inches, width in inches, length in feet and the number of pieces. Add a waste allowance that reflects your yield from rough to finished part. The calculator returns net board feet, the board feet to buy and the cost. Switch the price to match your grade and species quote.

Rough lumber is priced by rough thickness, such as 4/4 or 8/4.
Milling takes thickness and width off, so size up the rough stock.
Enter length in feet, not inches.

Formula

Board feet equals thickness in inches times width in inches times length in feet, divided by 12. If length is in inches, divide by 144 instead. A board 2 inches thick, 8 inches wide and 10 feet long gives 2 x 8 x 10 / 12, about 13.3 board feet. Cubic metres are approximately board feet times 0.00236.

Choosing a waste allowance

Yield from rough lumber to finished furniture parts depends on grade, species and part size. Select grades give higher yield than common grades, and long clear parts lose more to defects. Track actual board feet purchased against board feet in finished parts over several jobs to tune the figure rather than relying on a default.

Common mistakes

Using finished dimensions for purchase quantity, forgetting that thickness is nominal for rough lumber, and mixing metric and imperial are the usual errors. Kiln-dried and green lumber also differ in weight and dimensional change, so state moisture when ordering.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate board feet?

Multiply thickness in inches by width in inches by length in feet, then divide by 12. A 1 x 6 x 8 foot board is 4 board feet.

How many board feet are in a cubic metre?

About 424 board feet. Going the other way, one board foot is roughly 0.00236 cubic metres. This calculator shows both so you can compare supplier quotes in either unit.

Why add a waste factor?

Rough lumber has defects, end trimming and milling loss, and sawing leaves kerf. The waste factor converts net part volume into the quantity you must actually purchase.

What does 4/4 mean?

It is a rough thickness expressed in quarter inches, so 4/4 is one inch, 8/4 is two inches. After surfacing, finished thickness is less than nominal.

Netray can help keep lumber purchases, yield and BOM board feet consistent inside your ERP, with read-only reports on yield by species and supplier.

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