Woodworking Pricing Calculator: the true cost of your work
Price woodworking on what it really costs: the lumber (by the board-foot, plus a waste allowance), the hardware and finish, the powered tools' run-time, and your hands-on shop time.
Woodworking pricing trips on two things: the board-feet of lumber a piece really swallows (with hardwood, waste runs high, so the offcuts and milling matter), and the temptation to bill the machines like they run all day. Anvil HUD prices a piece the honest way: the lumber by the board-foot plus a waste allowance, the hardware and finish, your hands-on shop time, and the powered tools metered only over their actual run-time (a fraction of total shop time, so labor leads, not the saw). Not sure on board-feet? The built-in calculator works it out from a board's thickness, width, length, and count.
How we price woodworking
- Lumber (by the board-foot) + hardware + finish + your shop time make the base; the machine adds power + depreciation, but only over its actual run-time, so labor leads.
- A scrap buffer (defects, tear-out, blow-out) and overhead load it; your fees and target margin set the list price.
- No file to drop: pick your lumber and machine, set the board-feet, run-time, and shop minutes, and the breakdown is yours. The board-feet calculator works out the lumber from a board's dimensions.
Every line is published at the math. No black box. The engine is free; you only sign in to save your work.
Built-in tools
Questions
How do I price woodworking?▾
Add up the lumber (board-feet × your $/board-foot, plus a waste allowance), the hardware and finish, your hands-on shop time, and the powered tools' run-time cost, then load a scrap buffer and overhead and divide by one minus your fees and target margin. The waste and the labor are the lines people get wrong. Anvil HUD does the math and publishes the formula at /the-math.
What is a board-foot?▾
A board-foot is a volume of lumber: a 1in × 12in × 1ft board. The formula is thickness(in) × width(in) × length(ft) ÷ 12. The built-in board-feet calculator works it out from a board's dimensions and count, prices it, and sends it into the estimate. It runs in your browser and it's free.
Is the calculator free?▾
Yes. The cost engine and the board-feet calculator are always free. Pro unlocks the dashboards, the jobs log, the learned scrap rate, inventory, and multi-shop pricing.
Know your craft.
Price your woodworking on your real numbers, free. Sign in to save your catalog, log jobs, and unlock the dashboards.