Woodworking pricing starts with a fact the lumber receipt hides: a third of the board becomes shavings. Planing, jointing, offcuts and the occasional check in the grain mean a finished piece consumes meaningfully more lumber than it measures, and pricing that ignores the sawdust works for free.
The cost of a cutting board
- Maple hardwood (1.8 bd-ft incl. waste): about $10.80
- Food-safe oil + wax: about $0.65
- Rubber feet: about $0.40
- Sanding consumables: about $0.35
- Box + insert: about $1.10
$13.30 in materials. $55 retail is a 76% margin before shop time. The waste factor inside the lumber line (15–40% depending on stock and build) is the difference between real woodworking math and lumberyard-receipt math.
Species is a price
The same board in walnut costs about $19.90 in materials (half again the maple version), and figured stock more still. Cost each species separately and let the same design carry different prices by wood honestly. When walnut jumps at the yard, the price increase flows through every walnut recipe at once.
The formula for wood pieces
- Board-feet (waste factored) × species price + finish + hardware + packaging + shop hours + margin
- Shop hours at a rate that respects the skill: $25–40/hour is normal for experienced work
- Commissions: scale a proven recipe by dimensions and species; quotes from a recipe land same-day and survive the build
- Wholesale check: heirloom pieces wholesale well; confirm the 50% split clears materials + hours first
Woodworking pricing mistakes to avoid
- Lumber-receipt math: the shavings were money too
- One price across species: walnut is not maple with darker marketing
- Consumables at zero: sandpaper, glue and finish ride every piece
- Underpricing commissions: bespoke dimensions deserve a premium, not an apology
Board-feet in, heirlooms out, margins known: Keepsel for woodworkers tracks lumber in the unit you buy it, species by species, and costs every piece from its recipe. Run your bestseller through the free pricing calculator and see if the sawdust has been eating your margin.