Linear feet is length on the stick. Board feet is volume: one inch thick by twelve inches by twelve inches. Enter the section, the length, and how many pieces. This page converts both ways in the browser. No account, no network.
A board foot is 144 cubic inches of wood — a 1 in × 12 in × 12 in block. Thickness and width stay in inches. Length is in feet. Piece count multiplies the pile.
BF = (T × W × Lft × N) / 12
T = thickness in inches · W = width in inches · Lft = length in feet · N = pieces.
If you measured length in inches: Lft = Lin / 12 (same as dividing by 144 with all-inches).
The reverse, for the same cross section: linear feet = (BF × 12) / (T × W). That is total running feet of that T×W, not a board count unless you divide by the length of one stick.
Leave the dressed box off to match how most yards invoice: a 1×6 is T = 1, W = 6 even though the planer left ¾ × 5½. Turn it on only when you want the volume of the dressed stick itself. Hardwood dealers still commonly quote the nominal board footage; do not treat this page as their ticket.
| Stock | Length | Pcs | Board feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1×6 nominal | 8 ft | 1 | 4 |
| 2×4 nominal | 10 ft | 10 | 66.67 |
| 1×6, length in inches | 96 in | 1 | 4 |
| 1×4 dressed (0.75 × 3.5) | 8 ft | 1 | 1.75 |
| 1×6 dressed (0.75 × 5.5) | 8 ft | 1 | 2.75 |
Those five rows were computed independently in Python and match this page. Reverse of the first row: 4 BF of 1×6 is 8 linear feet. Reverse of the second: 66.67 BF of 2×4 is 100 linear feet (ten 10-foot sticks).
Linear feet ignore thickness and width. A 10-foot 1×4 and a 10-foot 2×12 are both 10 linear feet. Board feet fold in the section: the 2×12 holds four times the wood of the 1×4 at the same length. Home-center studs are often sold by the stick or by the linear foot. Hardwood and a lot of millwork are sold by the board foot.
Thickness and width are inches, length is feet. One board foot is 1 in × 12 in × 1 ft. Dividing T × W × Lft by 12 scales that product onto that unit. If every dimension is in inches, divide by 144 instead — same number.
Use nominal (1 and 6 for a 1×6) if you are matching a yard invoice or a takeoff that was written that way. Use dressed (0.75 × 5.5 for that same 1×6) if you need the volume of the stick after the planer. Hardwood yards often sell on nominal board footage even when the board is S2S. This is not a price sheet, and it will not match a particular dealer’s rounding or surfacing rules.
Quarters of an inch of nominal thickness. 4/4 is 1 in, 5/4 is 1.25 in, 6/4 is 1.5 in, 8/4 is 2 in. Construction 2× stock is also 2 in nominal but dresses to 1½ in, not the 1¾ in this page uses for an 8/4 preset. If you have 2×4 framing, pick custom thickness 2 — dressed then maps to 1.5 × 3.5.
For a known T and W: linear feet = (board feet × 12) / (T × W). A 2×4 has a factor of 8/12 ≈ 0.667 board feet per running foot, so 100 BF is 150 linear feet of 2×4. The reverse box on the ticket does that live for whatever section you entered. Divide total linear feet by the length of one board to get a piece count.
Switch the length unit to inches. An 8-foot board is 96 in; the page divides by 12 and the board-foot result is the same. Mixing feet and inches in your head is the usual way this goes wrong.
No. Add your own offcut and defect allowance after you trust the volume. There is no price, species, grade, or mill surcharge here — those belong on the quote, not in the geometry.