How many boardfeet in a cord

[Robert R]

I know it is probably highly variable but just a rough guesstimate.  I am trying to decide if I am better off selling some logs I have that are pallet grade to the mill for 18 cents a foot or taking the time and effort to cut it up and split it to sell by the cord.  Thanks.

[Jeff]

You can figure an average of about 500 bf, depending on the cuts and log size. 500 is a good average though.

[Robert R]

Thank you.  That is exactly what I needed to know.  That makes firewood and pallet logs just about a dead heat price wise.  Makes that 45 minute trip to mill sound better than all that splitting and delivering and stacking if diesel ever comes back down to a reasonable price again.

[bull]

you got that right.  My rule of thumb is " if its straight and has over a 6 inch tip its a log.  Tops are where you get the firewood...  also keeps the trash down in the woods.....  limbs down to 1 1/2 inch are for firewood,and the rest is brush AKA wildlife food and bug fodder....... :

[Minnesota_boy]

I find this an interesting question because of a pair of obs i just finished.  Both customers had purchased a 7 cord load of logs, one jack pine, one white spruce.  One would think that since they had purchased the logs, the loads would be of roughly equal size, 7 cords.  The jack pine was average size for this area, few logs over 16" on the top, while the spruce was much bigger, given that they were considered overrsize for the mill which has a limitation on its peeler of 18".  The jack pine sawed out 3600 bd-ft, about right for the load size.  The spruce scaled at nearly 7000 bd-ft when sawed.  Both customers were pleased with the results and paid for the ammount scaled.  Why such a difference?  The size of the logs!  Each log has 4 slabs to be removed which go ito a waste pile, but there were 4 times as many logs in the jack pine pile as the spruce, so the waste pile was 4 times as big.  I used the international quarter inch scale on one of the spruce logs to compare that to what I recovered in lumber.  As I recall, the log scale showed 185 bd-ft in the log and the lumber removed was 235 bd-ft.  Nice overage on that job.

[Corley5]

Larger logs always saw more over scale than smaller logs

[beenthere]

MN_boy
You are hitting on one reason the Doyle scale is used to buy logs.  Not a good estimator of the actual footage one can get however, just more work to get the actual.

Also, draw some circles, large and small, and then put in some rectangles within the circles, and you will see where the waste builds up and comes from in those small ones.
Opening a large log to a 6" face will require less depth of slab (waste) than opening a small log to the same 6" face. To get a 6" face on a small log of say 8" diam will mean the cut is pretty close to the center of the log. 

What logs saw out in board feet has a lot to do with the size of boards one is sawing. If the smallest 'board' is a 2x6, then the small logs don't give a very high yield. If the smallest board is a 1x3, then the small logs will come up in 'yield'. There are many variables that limit anything other than a ballpark figure or 'rule-of-thumb' like Jeff gave.

[Minnesota_boy]

Corley,
I've found that just the opposite is true, depending on what is on the cut list.  Lots of times I saw much more above the log scale on a small log than on a large one.  It depends on where the log size comes in relative to the break in the log scale.  If the log is scaled at 30 bf and is real close to the next larger size, I might get 50 bf out as lumber.

Beenthere,
When I made the comparison to see what sawed out in relation to the log scale, I chose the scale that indicated the most board foot.  Scribner and international quarter inch matched and Doyle showed less.

[Corley5]

Grandpa always talked about big logs sawing more over scale than small logs and I've found the same to be true.  I think it depends on what width face you saw to and how much is run through the edger.

[beenthere]

MN_boy

Sorry, I didn't read your first post very well.
      You said ""Why such a difference?  The size of the logs!  ""

and I just read the question ("Why such a difference?")  and didn't notice you gave the answer following the ?.  So I was a bit puzzled that you, of considerable experience, were asking that question.

(duh) Now I think I have it figured out a bit better. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I concur with Jeff, that's the figure we've used for cord = board feet, locally.

[Gary_C]

I agree, 500 bd ft per cord is the number used most of the time. Actually it depends on so many variables that it will vary widely from that number.

It depends on log scale you used, diameter of the logs, species or amount of taper in the logs, band saw or circle saw, 4/4, 5/4, 2x4,or other, amount of wane allowed, and how tired are you and your offbearer.

Gary

[Ed_K]

 Anything less than .14 bf go in my cordwood pile  :-\. Like Bull says if its straight and larger than 6" tip, its a sawlog.

[bull]

   the question regarding over run is simple guys " saw curf " 1/8 band saw  vs 1/4 + wobble etc. Circle saw....  Oh and some guys maybe better sawyers than othere :D what a concept .    we need an international 1/8 scale.........maybe

[Ed_K]

 1/4 if I'm buyin, 1/8 if I'm not  ;).

[Jeff]

The question was how many board feet average in a cord.  Over run and log rules have nothing to do with the original question and simply dont apply to the answer. You dont measure a cord of wood with doyle or international or scribner.  If you measure the cords with a log scale first, you are not changing the amount of lumber you will get, you are altering the amount of wood in a cord.

A cord of wood is 128 cubic feet.

You WILL  get more yield out of a cord, if you are sawing larger logs.

[Ron Wenrich]

The volume of a cord may be 128 cu ft, but the volume of wood and bark will be dependent on log size, species and condition.

For logs small than 6" (measured in the middle of the stick) smooth hardwoods will yield 82 cu ft, and smooth softwoods will yield 88.

Bump that up to 6-12" diameter and the hardwoods are 88 and the softwoods are 93.

For diameters over 12", hardwoods are 95 and softwoods are 98.

Crooked logs will lose about 8-10 cu ft/cd.

There already is an International 1/8 scale. 

If you're cutting 2" dimension stock on a 1 1/2" set, then you'll be guaranteed a 25% overrun. 

[bull]

The original question was should he sell his wood as pallet or spend the time cutting and splitting fire wood... a cord is a cord is a cord 4x4x8 or 128 cubic feet
around here we don't buy logs by the cord only scale...... and as usual some of us get a little off subject.... We did not as of yet go off on the food subject although we might because im trying to keep smilin  :D and i think i will grab a sandwich.... Sorry if there was a problem, will try in the future not to step over the line... HOPE  EVERYONE IS HAVING A FABULOUS DAY.  KEEP SMILIN ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Jeff]

Well apparently somebody took that wrong and it wasnt me.  I have never ever insinuated on this board or forum that one should not stray from the original topic. I was only making a point about the original question. Give me a break.

Selling or splitting was the statement not the question. Notice the lack of question marks. The question was posed in the topic title.

How many boardfeet in a cord

[chet]

........ and as usual some of us get a little off subject.... We did not as of yet go off on the food subject

Not me......I'm not one to git a thread side tracked ta food......nope, no way.    But, seein' as how ya brought up da food thing........I'm havin' home made tater sausage for supper. Now dats good eatin'.  ;)

[bull]

To: Jeff
From: Bull
Date: 3/19/05
subject: giving you a break...

Sorry if I got off on the wrong side of the horse.  Winter blahs must have got to me,
still on the crutches not able to do much on such a beautifl day that we were having.
when I look out my front window I look right at my mill which hasn't done a thing since September when I broke my ankle and get ticked that i can't be out having fun and sometimes I take things wrong,sorry ! One well deserved break given !!!

[Jeff]

Yer not the only one in that boat. I have had two surgeries since October, the latest in February. Have slept mostly in a chair for the last 4 months. Outside is somewhere that someone that might slip and throw an arm out to keep balance and tear up all the internal repairs can't go when there is nothing but ice and snow and cold.

[SwampDonkey]

 Sorry :D :D :D But, I was always a bugs bunny fan and I am picturing the scene where sylvestor and the bull dog butch are laid up in bed with broken limbs and everytime on of them gives a yelp, old granny comes along with the elixor to fix things up. :D :D :D

SwampDonkey ducks under the radar. ;D




Get well soon guys. ;)

[Sawyerfortyish]

Alright I'm going to bring it back around to the origanal topic. How many bd ft in a cord ? I'm asking because i just had a forester show me a job scaled Doyle scale. Most of it a good 2/3 is black birch 209 trees out of 320.The rest is oak- popular and hard and soft maple. The lot was logged about 5 yrs ago so all the good stuff is gone. The owner wants to make a clearing for wildlife habitat. All trees scaled are over 14"dbh. A little of the birch can be sold and some sawed but most is pretty bumpy probably 3/4 of the birch trees is just plain firewood. So does that 500 ft per cord apply here? I have a firewood processor as well as sawmill. I will use the log to the most valuable use but I need to know how to figure to buy this so I don't loose my @ss. First impression was to walk away but I want to get working with this forester. So I may have to do a couple crappy jobs before I get some good ones

[SwampDonkey]

Sawyerfortish,

If your gonna buy sawlogs then base the conversion on that, not the pulp and firewood component. I assume the scale is on sawlog volume? If your buying the firewood and pulp volume too, I'de go with 2.2 cords/thousand to be on the safe side. If that doesn't suit the guy, then walk away.