BIZOMAT MAKEOS · Materials
Timber Order Plan (Board Feet, Cost, Moisture, Weight, Deliveries)
How much timber do I order with a waste allowance, what will it cost, is it dry enough to use, and how heavy is the load to deliver?
Plan for a timber order: pieces with a waste allowance, board feet, volume and cost (as the lumber board feet tool), moisture content from an oven-dry test of a sample and the density at that moisture content from the specific gravity (as the wood moisture and density tool), the mass of the order, the deliveries for your vehicle payload, and a check of moisture content against your limit.
Open the calculatorRuns in your browser. No account needed.
How this tool works
Inputs, units and where to find them
| Input | Unit | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | mm | Thickness of each piece. |
| Width | mm | Width of each piece. |
| Length | m | Length of each piece. |
| Pieces needed | Pieces the job needs. | |
| Waste and defect allowance | % | Extra pieces ordered for defects, splits and cutting waste. |
| Price given | choice | Whether the price is per cubic metre or per board foot. |
| Price | $ | Price of the timber. |
| Moisture and weight | ||
| Specific gravity of the wood | Specific gravity of the species (oven-dry mass, green volume basis as in the handbook formula). | |
| Sample mass as tested | g | Mass of a sample cut from the delivery. |
| Sample oven-dry mass | g | Mass of the same sample after oven drying. |
| Largest moisture content for use | % | Highest moisture content you accept for the use. |
| Vehicle payload | kg | Mass one delivery vehicle may carry. |
What each input means
Open an input to see what it is, its units, the worked example and the common mistakes, with a small diagram.
What this means: Thickness
- What it is
- The thickness of each piece of timber, the smaller dimension of its cross-section, as ordered.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in mm: millimetres. The form accepts 0.000001 mm to 1000 mm. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 45 mm as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- Volume, board feet, cost and mass are proportional to it.
- Get it right
- Use the size you are charged for (nominal or dressed) consistently with the price.
What this means: Width
- What it is
- The width of each piece of timber, the larger dimension of its cross-section, as ordered.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in mm: millimetres. The form accepts 0.000001 mm to 2000 mm. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 90 mm as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- Volume, board feet, cost and mass are proportional to it.
What this means: Length
- What it is
- The length of each piece as supplied, the stock length you will order.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in m: metres. The form accepts 0.000001 m to 100 m. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 2.4 m as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- Volume, cost and mass are proportional to it.
- Get it right
- Type metres; this is the only size in metres.
What this means: Pieces needed
- What it is
- The number of pieces the job uses before any allowance for defects or cutting waste.
- Units and format
- Enter a plain number with no unit. The form accepts 1 to 10000000. Use a whole number. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 200 as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
What this means: Waste and defect allowance
- What it is
- Extra pieces ordered on top of the number needed, as a share of it, to cover defects, splits and cutting waste.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in %: percent: the number is read as a percentage, so type 8 for 8 %. The form accepts 0% to 100%. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 10% as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- More allowance raises the pieces ordered and so the cost and mass.
- Get it right
- Type the percentage itself; the extra pieces are rounded up to whole pieces.
What this means: Price given
- What it is
- Whether the supplier’s price is per cubic metre of timber or per board foot. The tool works out cost on the matching quantity.
- Units and format
- Choose one of 2 options from the list: Per cubic metre; Per board foot.
- Example
- The form opens with “Per cubic metre” selected as a worked example. Choose the option that matches your case.
- Get it right
- Check the quote: the same number means very different costs on each basis.
What this means: Price
- What it is
- The supplier’s price for the timber on the basis chosen above, per cubic metre or per board foot.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in $: an amount of money; use one currency for every money input. The form accepts $0 to $1000000. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with $650 as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- Order cost rises in direct proportion.
- Get it right
- Match the price to the basis selected in Price given.
Moisture and weight
What this means: Specific gravity of the wood
- What it is
- The specific gravity of the species: oven-dry mass compared with green volume, relative to water, from timber species data.
- Units and format
- Enter a plain number with no unit. The form accepts 0.05 to 1.5. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 0.45 as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- Density and order mass rise with it.
- Get it right
- Use the basis the tool expects (oven-dry mass, green volume); other bases give different values.
What this means: Sample mass as tested
- What it is
- The mass of a small sample cut from the delivery, weighed straight away before it can dry out.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in g: grams. The form accepts 0.000001 g or more. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 11.8 g as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Get it right
- Weigh it immediately after cutting; it starts losing moisture at once.
What this means: Sample oven-dry mass
- What it is
- The mass of the same sample after drying in an oven until its mass stops changing. Moisture content is worked out from the two masses.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in g: grams. The form accepts 0.000001 g or more. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 10 g as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Get it right
- It must not exceed the tested mass.
What this means: Largest moisture content for use
- What it is
- The highest moisture content you accept for the timber’s use, from the building standard, joinery specification or your quality rules.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in %: percent: the number is read as a percentage, so type 8 for 8 %. The form accepts 1% to 100%. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 19% as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
What this means: Vehicle payload
- What it is
- The mass of timber one delivery vehicle may legally and safely carry, from the vehicle or carrier.
- Units and format
- Enter a number in kg: kilograms. The form accepts 0.000001 kg to 1000000 kg. Required: the tool does not calculate until every input is valid.
- Example
- The form opens with 1500 kg as a worked example. It is an illustration, not a recommended value: replace it with your own figure.
- Effect on the result
- The number of deliveries is the order mass divided by it, rounded up.
Method and formulas
- Pieces ordered = ⌈needed × (1 + waste)⌉; board feet = t(in) × w(in) × L(ft) ÷ 12 per piece; cost by board feet or volume (as the lumber board feet tool).
- Moisture content = (wet − dry) ÷ dry; density = 1000 G (1 + M) ÷ (1 + 0.009 G M) with M in % (as the wood moisture and density tool).
- Mass = volume × density; deliveries = ⌈mass ÷ payload⌉.
- Example: order 220 pieces, 2.1384 m³ for 1,390 $; at 18% moisture it weighs 1,058.3 kg.
Limitations
- Nominal sizes as entered; dressed sizes are smaller than sawn.
- One sample may not represent the whole delivery: test several pieces.
- Example values are illustrations. Replace them with values for your actual task.
Typical uses
- Order timber for crates, pallets, patterns or framing
- Check delivered timber is dry enough
- Plan delivery loads
Who it is for
- Fabrication supervisors
- Buyers
- Pattern makers
What you get
- Pieces ordered, board feet, volume and cost
- Moisture content and density
- Mass and deliveries
Interpreting the result
- Timber used above about 19% moisture shrinks and distorts as it dries in service.
References
- Machinery’s Handbook, 29th edition (Industrial Press, 2012), printed pp. 386–387, 3018–3019. Topic reference; no source tables or recommended settings are reproduced.
BIZOMAT tools are screening and decision-support utilities. Verify important financial, engineering, safety, legal or operational decisions using appropriate professional standards and your organisation’s approved data.
Open the Timber Order Plan (Board Feet, Cost, Moisture, Weight, Deliveries) calculator