Pricing cabinet grade oak

[Sutton]

I have a slab of 6'x20"x4" of middle section oak that has been seasoning for over 2 years without the bark/pith. It came from a straight stem that grew on a steep north facing slope so has tight rings and a nice grain.

 

Anyone know how much oak is now?

 

It used to be £50.00 cu.ft but may be lower now.

 

A cabinet maker spied it in my shed and offered £80.00 for it. I said I'd think about it. Is this a fair price?

[tommer9]

There is 3 1/3 cubic feet in that slab. I would say that air dry CLEAR (no knots/ sap etc) oak is worth around the £50/ foot mark. Its difficult because you only have the one piece, which will mean that it wont fetch the same value, weirdly enough. TBH i would ask him for a bit more and see what he says. A oner wouldnt be too far out.

[Big J]

Difficult to say, especially as it is really quite thick. Oak is resistant to giving up it's moisture, and 2 years won't be enough for a 4 inch slab. Generally needs a year per inch minimum.

 

£50 a cube is more what you would expect for kiln dried. £35 a cube might be more realistic. Ask for £120 for the slab.

[tommer9]

Difficult to say, especially as it is really quite thick. Oak is resistant to giving up it's moisture, and 2 years won't be enough for a 4 inch slab. Generally needs a year per inch minimum.

 

£50 a cube is more what you would expect for kiln dried. £35 a cube might be more realistic. Ask for £120 for the slab.

 

Good point on the drying front there Big J. That wood il be fairly green n the middle for a year or two yet.

[Paul Jenks]

Bite his hand off and get rid of it. If he needs help transporting it or carrying to the car charge another £20:thumbup:

[pedro]

I pay £2-£5 per cu ft for oak in the round. (sawmill owner) This £50/cu ft is prime air dried, kiln finished stuff. The problem you have is finding market, transport etc etc.

With drying, ps 1" per month in kiln, 2 "= 3 months. What do you want 4" drying for ever for? Cut it thinner and have a use in mind, eg tables. 20" boards at 1", 2" and 3" always useful for furniture/doors.

formule for pricing: length (ft) x width (inch) x thickness (inch) divided by 144 = volume ( cu ft) x price pe cubic ft = cost.

therefore: @ £5/cu ft, more for sawn!! (this is more like £10-£20)

ps 6' x 20"x4"/144= 3.33 cu'ft

3.33x £20 (at best) = £66

Rip his arm off at £80, but make sure he picks it up! even better get him to bring to me for resawing in west sussex!

Hope helps.

[Rob D]

Bite his hand off and get rid of it. If he needs help transporting it or carrying to the car charge another £20:thumbup:

 

 

What else will you use it for? Ask him if it's cash and when he says yes it's a deal!

[robert t]

Bit of a de rail.

I usually put bits of smallish 4" and 6" oak at the bottom of the kiln and forget about them, usually keep them in for 3 to 4 kiln loads. By that time they are as dry as your ever going to get them. Never had any problems with using it after that length of time drying.

[pedro]

But the problem being too dry in your humid house (for furniture) is that the wood will swell. Thats a hell of a table at 4" thick! If wood is dried too far below the average moisture content it will reach in use, swelling maycause drawers, windows, and doors to stick for example.

[robert t]

Sutton. £80 I think is a fair price as long as you don't have to deliver the slab. Thick timber can sometime carry a premium from some cabinet makers as most timber suppliers don't usually like drying thick timber as it takes to long and they want the quick buck with the short timespan drying timber when thinner. I usually dry my timber thicker 2" + for this reason and if I need thinner stuff I can always pick it up fairly easily at most suppliers.

 

Pedro. I personally wouldn't use 4" timber for table tops but I do use thicker timbers when making things. I think thicker timbers when dried correctly and used correctly definitely add to overall look and makes things look a bit more interesting.