Going the other way — how much area a stack of lumber covers — divide the board feet by thickness in inches. Remember coverage loses width to jointing and glue lines: plan 10–20% over for panels and tabletops.
| Board feet | at 3/4″ | at 1″ (4/4) | at 2″ (8/4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 BF | 13.3 | 10.0 | 5.0 |
| 20 BF | 26.7 | 20.0 | 10.0 |
| 50 BF | 66.7 | 50.0 | 25.0 |
| 100 BF | 133.3 | 100.0 | 50.0 |
This direction of the conversion is where resawing gets interesting. One board foot is one square foot at 1″ thick — but band-saw that 4/4 board into two 3/8″ leaves (kerf eats the rest) and the same board foot now covers nearly two square feet as drawer bottoms, box sides, or shop-made veneer. Resawn leaves opened like a book — "bookmatched" — also give the mirror-image grain panels prized in furniture doors.
The limit is thickness after cleanup: each resawn leaf needs planing, and every pass through the planer is coverage you bought and chipped away. Plan the final thickness first, then work backward to how many leaves a board can honestly yield.
Working up a whole order? The planner totals every part with waste and tax.