I'm getting ready to begin a Bob's Special and currently in the hunt for cedar planks to start ripping strips. Assuming I use a thin kerf blade on my tablesaw and assuming I'm able to use the whole width of the board, how many strips can I expect to get from a 1 x 6? I'm looking at purchasing some Western Cedar in Clear Grade and I'm trying to estimate the number of boards to purchase.
Thanks in advance
C.
How many strips from a board?
I like to think in terms of linear feet of strips per board foot of lumber. If you rip 1/4" strips with a thin kerf blade, you will get roughly 36 linear ft. of strips per board foot of lumber. Now, you have to figure in a few knots and errors so plan on about 32 linear ft. of strips per board foot of lumber. Thus, if you are building a 15' canoe, you will need about 1300 linear ft. of strips. Divide this by 32 and you need roughly 41 board feet of lumber. I would round it up to 45 as you do not want to run out. Since all lumber is priced and sold per board foot, I find it best to convert it into these terms. If you can find full length lumber, you will need fewer boards, but the same amount of board ft. It is good to have 4-5 strips left when you are done. Set these up in the rafters somewhere and hang on to them, you may need them for repairs some day. If you tweak your strip thickness down to 7/32" or 3/16", you can reduce your lumber needs by the same (100- the percentage of these to 1/4", 12.5% and 25% respectively. I build with 7/32", I find that to be the best compromise and still get good bead and cove from 1/4" B & C cutters. This not only saves cost, but it saves weight. Roughly 1/3 of the finished weight is the wood in the hull. That canoe will probably weigh 55 lbs or so, so 33% of 55 = 18.15 lbs. 12.5% of 18.15 = 2.3 lbs of weight savings or 5.6 bd ft of lumber.