The net board feet in your cut list is never what you buy. Add a realistic waste allowance for kerf, defects, and mistakes, price each species, and see the board feet to actually order and what it costs.
Need board feet first? Use the Board Foot Calculator, then bring the totals here to price them.
For each species the board feet to buy is your net board feet times one plus the waste allowance. That figure times the price per board foot gives the material cost for that wood. The calculator adds every species for the subtotal, then applies sales tax if you enter it. The result is what you order and what you pay, not just the wood in the finished piece.
Waste covers saw kerf, board defects, planer snipe, and the occasional ruined cut. Straight, wide, clean boards with simple crosscuts can run near 15 percent. Narrow parts, curved work, careful grain or color matching, and lower-grade lumber push it toward 25 or 30 percent because more of each board ends up in the offcut bin.
Enter the price for the same grade and thickness you intend to buy. Higher grades with fewer defects cost more per board foot but waste less, while thicker stock like 8/4 usually carries a premium. If a yard quotes a flat price per piece for surfaced boards instead, that stock is better figured per board rather than per board foot.
This prices lumber only. Sheet goods, hardware, fasteners, glue, finish, sandpaper, and your time are separate line items — the Woodworking Project Cost calculator rolls all of those together once the lumber number is settled.