[[email protected]]

If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's 6/4 - Or is it ?

If I have a piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. True?

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

P

[DJ Delorie]

"Quarters" is how big the rough board is *before* they start planing
it. So a 2x4 starts off with a 2" by 4" rough blank, then they plane
it flat and smooth, resulting in a 1.5" by 3.5" final board.

[J. Clarke]

wrote:
If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's 6/4 - Or is it ?

If I have a piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. True?

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

If it's sold as "8/4" that will be a rough-sawn dimension and if you buy
rough sawn that will indeed be the dimension give or take the tolerance of
the sawmill and any shrinkage post-mill.

When you buy construction lumber, for example a 2x4, that's also a rough
sawn dimension but what you buy is not rough sawn lumber, and there are
accepted dimensional standards for construction lumber intended to allow
lumber from different suppliers to be interchanged on a job--those standards
will have a 2x4 being 1.5x3.5 after being planed to final dimension.


P

[homer]

On 14 Dec 2009 15:03:25 -0500, DJ Delorie wrote:


"Quarters" is how big the rough board is *before* they start planing
it. So a 2x4 starts off with a 2" by 4" rough blank, then they plane
it flat and smooth, resulting in a 1.5" by 3.5" final board.

What amazes me is that they have to take a half inch off before they
get a straight smooth board. I guess its because they standardized on
that size, but still, thats a lot of waste.

[[email protected]]

On Dec 14, 2:23*pm, homer wrote:
On 14 Dec 2009 15:03:25 -0500, DJ Delorie wrote:



"Quarters" is how big the rough board is *before* they start planing
it. *So a 2x4 starts off with a 2" by 4" rough blank, then they plane
it flat and smooth, resulting in a 1.5" by 3.5" final board.

What amazes me is that they have to take a half inch off before they
get a straight smooth board. *I guess its because they standardized on
that size, but still, thats a lot of waste.

They don't start with a 2"x4" chunk of wood anymore.

[dadiOH[_3_]]

wrote:


If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

Somewhere between 1 and 1 1/4 IME.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

[[email protected]]

On Dec 14, 2:01*pm, wrote:
If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's *6/4 - * Or is it ?

If it's rough sawn hardwood, it's 8/4. Also note that 2x8 dimensional
lumber isn't 1-1/2 x 7-1/2, as you might infer from a 2x5, rather
1-1/2 x 7-1/4.

If I have a *piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. *True?

Rough sawn, yes. Once it's planed it'll no longer be 2" thick, though
it will still be called 8/4 S2S, or some such.

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

A 1" thick piece planed down to 3/4", most likely. If its rough sawn
it'll be 1" thick.

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have *a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

The best reason going; a bar bet. ;-) We used to call the local
library's reference librarian. They loved settling bar bets. ;-)

[Chris Friesen]

On 12/14/2009 02:01 PM, wrote:
If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's 6/4 - Or is it ?

If I have a piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. True?

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

The "quarter" measurement standard generally only applies to hardwoods
(and sometimes softwood decking). The actual thickness of 4/4 lumber
depends on whether its rough, S1S, or S2S. (And to a certain extent,
the specific case...a quick google search for "4/4 S2S" shows results
from 13/16" to 15/16".)

Dimensional softwood construction lumber has its own set of rules and is
listed as nominal sizes even though the actual sizes can be up to 3/4"
smaller.

Wikipedia has a decent entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumber

Chris

[SonomaProducts.com]

If you are buying rough lumber directly from a mill you can actually
specify to have it "skip planed" to any thickness you like for some
cents per bf. Keep in mind this is just planing so it won't remove any
warp. It just makes it a little less rough. It is nice to have done to
something like 7/8" just so you get ride of some of the big rough
gouges and bark and to have reasonable similar thickness boards to
make processing a little easier. Totally rough material can have a big
varience per board or even within a board if it is just straight from
the saw.

On Dec 14, 12:53*pm, Chris Friesen wrote:
On 12/14/2009 02:01 PM, wrote:

If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's *6/4 - * Or is it ?

If I have a *piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. *True?

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have *a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

The "quarter" measurement standard generally only applies to hardwoods
(and sometimes softwood decking). The actual thickness of 4/4 lumber
depends on whether its rough, S1S, or S2S. *(And to a certain extent,
the specific case...a quick google search for "4/4 S2S" shows results
from 13/16" to 15/16".)

Dimensional softwood construction lumber has its own set of rules and is
listed as nominal sizes even though the actual sizes can be up to 3/4"
smaller.

Wikipedia has a decent entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumber

Chris

[Swingman]

wrote:
If I have a 2x4 and measure it out, it's actually only 1.5 thick.
When I translate that to quarters it's 6/4 - Or is it ?

If I have a piece of lumber that measures a full 2" thick, that
translates as 8/4. True?

If I go to a real lumber yard and ask for lumber at 4/4, what actual
thickness will I get?

This all may sound a bit dumb, but I have a money bet riding on the
accepted answer from the people here that use the 'quarter' measure
more often than I do.

Chris has it right ... hardwood and softwood construction lumber are
treated differently, in all dimensions, width, length and thickness, as
well as in allowable defects per classification.

The obvious necessity for standardized sizing in construction material
makes it a much more reliable "standard" ... IOW, when planning a
construction project you really need to be able to count on a tubafour
being indeed 1 1/2" x 3 1/2", etc.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:23:28 -0600, the infamous homer
scrawled the following:


On 14 Dec 2009 15:03:25 -0500, DJ Delorie wrote:


"Quarters" is how big the rough board is *before* they start planing
it. So a 2x4 starts off with a 2" by 4" rough blank, then they plane
it flat and smooth, resulting in a 1.5" by 3.5" final board.

What amazes me is that they have to take a half inch off before they
get a straight smooth board. I guess its because they standardized on
that size, but still, thats a lot of waste.

Erm, you think tubafores are _straight_, Homey? Call this number:
1-800-GimmeAnOptometrist.

P.S: They're cut when green and wet, so cellular shrinkage accounts
for some of that loss, too.

--
Every day above ground is a Good Day(tm).
-----------

[basilisk[_2_]]

wrote in message
...
On Dec 14, 2:23 pm, homer wrote:
On 14 Dec 2009 15:03:25 -0500, DJ Delorie wrote:



"Quarters" is how big the rough board is *before* they start planing
it. So a 2x4 starts off with a 2" by 4" rough blank, then they plane
it flat and smooth, resulting in a 1.5" by 3.5" final board.

What amazes me is that they have to take a half inch off before they
get a straight smooth board. I guess its because they standardized on
that size, but still, thats a lot of waste.

They don't start with a 2"x4" chunk of wood anymore.

Correct, most mills that kiln dry have a target green size of 1.75"
after drying this leaves about 1.625" for planing.

Doug fir mills on the left coast that process all their wood green
usually have a target thickness of 1.562"

basilisk

[jakiiski]

There's at least ONE area that definitely improves when going metric.

2x4 rough sawn is known as 50x100 (measured in millimetres, one
inch=25.4mm) and it's really that. If it's a smaller size, then they
have to say it's of smaller size (we also have rough sawn 47x100 that
is used in different kind of concrete mold supports etc, slightly
cheaper).

If you want to have it planed on all sides, it's known then as 45x95
(mm) - it's then really that.
Then if it's dimensioned (not necessarily fully planed), it's
48x98mm.

Same rules apply to all sizes, i.e. you can also get fully planed
45x120, 45x145, 45x170, 45x195, 45x45, 95x95 etc.

[dpb]

jakiiski wrote:
There's at least ONE area that definitely improves when going metric.

2x4 rough sawn is known as 50x100 (measured in millimetres, one
inch=25.4mm) and it's really that. If it's a smaller size, then they
have to say it's of smaller size (we also have rough sawn 47x100 that
is used in different kind of concrete mold supports etc, slightly
cheaper).

If you want to have it planed on all sides, it's known then as 45x95
(mm) - it's then really that.
Then if it's dimensioned (not necessarily fully planed), it's
48x98mm.

Same rules apply to all sizes, i.e. you can also get fully planed
45x120, 45x145, 45x170, 45x195, 45x45, 95x95 etc.

How's that fundamentally any better than standard-sized construction
lumber? It's simply a different set of numbers for the same thing.

What primarily (imo) screws up stuff in the US is all the imported crap
that's metric instead of US or the "chintzing down" of historical sizes
like ply thicknesses by a less-32nd and so on. Hard to imagine such
cost-shaving tactics don't go on on the other side of the pond(s), too...???

--