A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
is actually 3/4".
When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
actually be able measue it out as?
If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
would I express that in quarters?
This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
pocket says so.
Pete
...and after all the explanations if they are still that way, get a pedicure
and see if they take interest again.
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
is actually 3/4".
When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
actually be able measue it out as?
If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
would I express that in quarters?
This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
pocket says so.
Pete
Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
years ago....
To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
size.
However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
material on the board to smooth it. You didn't think you would get
that extra material free, right? So you are charged for the board
itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. To
drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
for a 1X6. They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". If
rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. Make to
your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
lumber.
As far as quarters go... think about it. Maybe since it's
Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
pie". So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
have..... wait for it..... here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. Eight quarters
would be two inches, etc. Just count the quarters on your tape and
you will have it.
IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. It is not used to
determine width. You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
new. Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
and after that DAGS the key words.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7nlgl
Check out the highlighted words in this book, page 216.
"Understanding Wood" (to me) is the absolutely undisputed king of
reference books on all things wood.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2fs4d32
Robert
12/4 = 3"
8/4 = 2"
4/4 = 1"
The store bought stuff usually is listed as a nominal sizes. IE: a 2 x
4 x 10 was 2" x 4, but has been planned / dried a bit to 1 1/2" x 3 1/2"
On 11/24/2010 12:10 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measure it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
>
> This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
> 50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
> pocket says so.
>
> Pete
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, =A0how
> would I express that in quarters?
Expressed as: Your tape measure is worth 8 quarters (or $2.00).
Comparable to a $2 watch.
From your lumber yard, you will likely not find finished lumber that
measures a full 2", but slightly less than exactly 2". This finished
lumber measure would be expressed as 8/4, as the original rough cut
stock, it came from, was originally a full 2" measure. Only rough cut
lumber will be a full 2" measure, unless it is a special cut of
particular lumber.
You won't find $2 watches at the lumber yard, either. .... I don't
think! ..... maybe?
Sonny
[email protected] wrote:
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
Because it has been surfaced. Rough, it was 4/4; surfacing removes up to
1/4".
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
At *least* what it says; i.e., 4/4 should be 1" minimum. In practice, they
are often greater than stated by 1/8"-1/4".
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
8/4
--
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]> wrote in message
news:003bde8b-1704-4a73-9eb4-5f8866ec2ee5@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>
> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
> years ago....
>
> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
> was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
> and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
> buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
> size.
>
> However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
> material on the board to smooth it. You didn't think you would get
> that extra material free, right? So you are charged for the board
> itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. To
> drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
> for a 1X6. They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". If
> rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. Make to
> your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
> lumber.
>
> As far as quarters go... think about it. Maybe since it's
> Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
> With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
> pie". So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
> have..... wait for it..... here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
>
> So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
> Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. Eight quarters
> would be two inches, etc. Just count the quarters on your tape and
> you will have it.
>
> IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
> describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. It is not used to
> determine width. You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
> want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
>
> You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
> nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
>
> Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
> new. Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
> and after that DAGS the key words.
Every industry has its catchwords, slang and standards that may not make
sense to someone who in not initiated into the way things are done. I came
out the printing industry, and most people cannot figure out paper weights.
Can any one reading this tell me how 20 pound copy paper is determined,
versus 24 pound copy paper?
Like lumber where sizes are determined in the rough unfinished state, paper
is determined in the mill sizes that the paper mill standardizes. Copy
paper, known as Bond paper because it is used for business letterhead and
forms, and now used for copiers is based on a ream, which is 500 sheets, of
standard sized paper. Bond paper is produced in the standard size of 17" x
22", and 500 sheets will weight 20 pounds or 24 pounds respectively. Other
sizes are produced but the weight is based on the standard size.
<[email protected]> wrote:
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick
> board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
>
> This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with
> a
> 50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
> pocket says so.
-----------------------------------
In defense of my fellow Eng-gun-near, you have to define the problem.
Do you want to talk about lumber in the primary "as cut" mode straight
from the sawmill or do you want to talk about lumber that has had
secondary machining performed on it to provide finished dimensional
lumber?
Rough cut lumber is described using the "quarter" method, thus 4/4 =
1", 8/4 = 2", etc.
Dimensional lumber uses the nominal size to describe it's size;
however, it's actual size is less since it includes a machining
allowance.
Thus a "1x6" actually measures 3/4" x 5-1/2" these days.
The actual sizes are published.
BTW, when buying rough lumber, you measure a board at it's widest
point to calculate board feet.
Thus a 4/4 board that is 8 ft long and varies from 9" wide at one end
to 12" wide at the other is considered to be an 8 board foot board.
(It is assumed to be 12" for the full length for BF calculation
purposes.)
It's a little gotcha that gets passed on.
Lew
"Steve Turner" wrote:
> Not at the hardwood supply place where I do business (Fine Lumber
> here in Austin TX). If there is any significant variance in width
> they will take several measurements and compute the average width
> and charge accordingly.
>
> It's a little gesture of good will that keeps me coming back.
--------------------------
Smart marketing gesture.
Lew
On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:20:36 -0600, -MIKE- <[email protected]>
wrote:
>On 11/24/10 7:15 PM, Steve Turner wrote:
>> On 11/24/2010 6:14 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
>>> BTW, when buying rough lumber, you measure a board at it's widest
>>> point to calculate board feet.
>>>
>>> Thus a 4/4 board that is 8 ft long and varies from 9" wide at one end
>>> to 12" wide at the other is considered to be an 8 board foot board.
>>> (It is assumed to be 12" for the full length for BF calculation
>>> purposes.)
>>>
>>> It's a little gotcha that gets passed on.
>>
>> Not at the hardwood supply place where I do business (Fine Lumber here
>> in Austin TX). If there is any significant variance in width they will
>> take several measurements and compute the average width and charge
>> accordingly.
>>
>> It's a little gesture of good will that keeps me coming back.
>>
>
>Must be nice.
>My place doesn't have such good will, and it keeps me looking for a new
>place.
The hardwood wholesalers around here sometimes average, and sometimes
calculate by the narrowest useable part. Depends a bit what you go
asking for, and how it fits your cut-list. If you will be able to use
most of the wood, they average it. If there will be significant waste
because the board is non-standard - and they have nothing else, they
often "eat" the waste.
On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:15:50 -0800, "Kerry Montgomery"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"EXT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:003bde8b-1704-4a73-9eb4-5f8866ec2ee5@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
>>> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>>>
>>> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
>>> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
>>> years ago....
>>>
>>> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
>>> was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
>>> and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
>>> buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
>>> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
>>> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
>>> size.
>>>
>>> However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
>>> material on the board to smooth it. You didn't think you would get
>>> that extra material free, right? So you are charged for the board
>>> itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. To
>>> drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
>>> for a 1X6. They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". If
>>> rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. Make to
>>> your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
>>> lumber.
>>>
>>> As far as quarters go... think about it. Maybe since it's
>>> Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
>>> With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
>>> pie". So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
>>> have..... wait for it..... here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
>>>
>>> So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
>>> Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. Eight quarters
>>> would be two inches, etc. Just count the quarters on your tape and
>>> you will have it.
>>>
>>> IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
>>> describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. It is not used to
>>> determine width. You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
>>> want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
>>>
>>> You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
>>> nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
>>>
>>> Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
>>> new. Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
>>> and after that DAGS the key words.
>>
>> Every industry has its catchwords, slang and standards that may not make
>> sense to someone who in not initiated into the way things are done. I came
>> out the printing industry, and most people cannot figure out paper
>> weights. Can any one reading this tell me how 20 pound copy paper is
>> determined, versus 24 pound copy paper?
Yup - weight of a standard quantity of paper
>>
>> Like lumber where sizes are determined in the rough unfinished state,
>> paper is determined in the mill sizes that the paper mill standardizes.
>> Copy paper, known as Bond paper because it is used for business letterhead
>> and forms, and now used for copiers is based on a ream, which is 500
>> sheets, of standard sized paper. Bond paper is produced in the standard
>> size of 17" x 22", and 500 sheets will weight 20 pounds or 24 pounds
>> respectively. Other sizes are produced but the weight is based on the
>> standard size.
>
You asked us, then gave us the answer - no fair!!!!!
>But, if you're talking about Coated or Cover or paper of a type other than
>Bond, the "standard" size isn't standard at all.
>I couldn't tell what the engineer in the OP was claiming, so don't see any
>basis for calling him an idiot.
>Kerry
>
In article <[email protected]>,
Kerry Montgomery <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>But, if you're talking about Coated or Cover or paper of a type other than
>Bond, the "standard" size isn't standard at all.
Actually, there -is- a 'standard' size for every type of paper -- the so-
called "basis size" for that type of stock. The size is just different,
depending on the type of stock. involved.
The 'full sheet' sizes for the various types of paper are 'de facto'
standardized across manufacturers, simply because they have to be fed to
the same presses. <grin>
[email protected] wrote:
> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>
> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
> years ago....
>
> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
> was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
> and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
> buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
> size.
>
is that by weight or volume?<g>
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
>
> This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
> 50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
> pocket says so.
If it's rough then divide out the fraction and the lumber should be not
less than that thickness in inches.
If it's sold surfaced ("S2S", "S3S", or "S4S") then it should be 3/16
less than the rough thickness if the rough thickness is 6/4 or less, or
1/4 inch less if it's thicker than 6/4.
If you're buying it at the yard and they store it rough they may be able
to plane it so that it's thicker than that for you depending on the
actual thickness of the stock they have and the actual degree of
roughness, but it's not something to count on.
In article <[email protected]>,
EXT <[email protected]> wrote:
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:003bde8b-1704-4a73-9eb4-5f8866ec2ee5@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
>> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>>
>> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
>> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
>> years ago....
>>
>> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
>> was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
>> and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
>> buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
>> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
>> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
>> size.
>>
>> However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
>> material on the board to smooth it. You didn't think you would get
>> that extra material free, right? So you are charged for the board
>> itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. To
>> drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
>> for a 1X6. They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". If
>> rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. Make to
>> your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
>> lumber.
>>
>> As far as quarters go... think about it. Maybe since it's
>> Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
>> With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
>> pie". So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
>> have..... wait for it..... here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
>>
>> So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
>> Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. Eight quarters
>> would be two inches, etc. Just count the quarters on your tape and
>> you will have it.
>>
>> IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
>> describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. It is not used to
>> determine width. You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
>> want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
>>
>> You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
>> nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
>>
>> Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
>> new. Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
>> and after that DAGS the key words.
>
>Every industry has its catchwords, slang and standards that may not make
>sense to someone who in not initiated into the way things are done. I came
>out the printing industry, and most people cannot figure out paper weights.
>Can any one reading this tell me how 20 pound copy paper is determined,
>versus 24 pound copy paper?
*I* can. But, then, my folks bought a _lot_ of printing, and lots of different
kinds of paper stock, as part of their business operations. I also know the
difference between letterpress and offset printing. And have used an honest-
to-goodness Lin-o-type machine. 0<grin>
I've also written computer software to calculate postage costs for mailings,
given only 'how many pieces' of 'what kind of paper' went into the envelope.
{This program had enough 'smarts' in it that it would tell you if eliminating
_one_ (or sometimes two) sheets from the run would save on postage. Over
time, made for about a 10% reduction in postage costs for the mailings.}
One of the _few_ times my print-shop *didn't* have an 'instant answer' for
me was the day I called up and asked "the {mumble} paper stock we use, what's
the _basis_size_ for it?" He'd _never_ had a customer ask *that* question
before. <grin>
On Nov 25, 2:16=A0am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>
> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. =A0So maybe a couple of hundred
> years ago....
>
> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
> was planed or smoothed. =A0So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
> and 6" wide. =A0However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
> buy planed boards from the mill. =A0Planing decreased the thickness on
> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
> size.
>
> However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
> material on the board to smooth it. =A0You didn't think you would get
> that extra material free, right? =A0So you are charged for the board
> itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. =A0To
> drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
> for a 1X6. =A0They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". =A0If
> rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. =A0Make to
> your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
> lumber.
>
> As far as quarters go... think about it. =A0Maybe since it's
> Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
> With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
> pie". =A0So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
> have..... wait for it..... =A0here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
>
> So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
> Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. =A0Eight quarters
> would be two inches, etc. =A0Just count the quarters on your tape and
> you will have it.
>
> IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
> describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. =A0It is not used to
> determine width. =A0You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
> want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
>
> You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
> nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
>
> Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
> new. =A0 Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
> and after that DAGS the key words.
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7nlgl
>
> Check out the highlighted words in this book, page 216.
> "Understanding Wood" (to me) is the absolutely undisputed king of
> reference books on all things wood.
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/2fs4d32
>
> Robert
This online tool ( http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7nlgl ) is very useful,
thanks
[email protected] wrote:
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
...
B) first... :) 8/4, of course. (+)
A) Depends on what lumber of which you speak. Rough-sawn, it'll be full
dimension. What it will clean up to will depend somewhat on the sawyer
and saw type as well as the particular board -- a bandsawn piece w/ a
careful sawyer may need 1/16" or even less to leave a clean surface
whereas a circular saw and/or a little less care taken might need as
much as an eight or slightly more on occasion.
If you're talking about softwood dimension lumber (tubafor and the
like), the sizes have been standardized at the half-under thickness for
uniformity. Used to be you would find finished 2x at 5/8 or thereabouts
and not necessarily identical so matching up thickness was a trick.
There are grading and sizing rules; I thought I had a handy link but
don't seem to find it at the moment. US Forest Products Lab site should
be able to find it but I'm in a rush at the moment, sorry...
(+) Of course, if that were finished piece, it was originally probably
10/4 (9/4 would be theoretically possible but rarely is anything sawn at
that thickness unless were custom order).
--
On 11/24/2010 6:14 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
> BTW, when buying rough lumber, you measure a board at it's widest
> point to calculate board feet.
>
> Thus a 4/4 board that is 8 ft long and varies from 9" wide at one end
> to 12" wide at the other is considered to be an 8 board foot board.
> (It is assumed to be 12" for the full length for BF calculation
> purposes.)
>
> It's a little gotcha that gets passed on.
Not at the hardwood supply place where I do business (Fine Lumber here in
Austin TX). If there is any significant variance in width they will take
several measurements and compute the average width and charge accordingly.
It's a little gesture of good will that keeps me coming back.
--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/
On 11/24/10 7:15 PM, Steve Turner wrote:
> On 11/24/2010 6:14 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
>> BTW, when buying rough lumber, you measure a board at it's widest
>> point to calculate board feet.
>>
>> Thus a 4/4 board that is 8 ft long and varies from 9" wide at one end
>> to 12" wide at the other is considered to be an 8 board foot board.
>> (It is assumed to be 12" for the full length for BF calculation
>> purposes.)
>>
>> It's a little gotcha that gets passed on.
>
> Not at the hardwood supply place where I do business (Fine Lumber here
> in Austin TX). If there is any significant variance in width they will
> take several measurements and compute the average width and charge
> accordingly.
>
> It's a little gesture of good will that keeps me coming back.
>
Must be nice.
My place doesn't have such good will, and it keeps me looking for a new
place.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
[email protected]
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
>
> This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
> 50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
> pocket says so.
>
> Pete
What was the engineer claiming?
--
If your name is No, I voted for you - more than once ...
>
> This online tool ( http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7nlgl ) is very useful,
> thanks
Bookmarked... thank you.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
[email protected]
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply
[email protected] wrote:
> A board foot is defined as a 1' x 1' x 1" or combinations to get 144
> cu inch of material. When I go to the lumber store a 1" thick board
> is actually 3/4".
>
> When I see lumber listed as 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc, what should I
> actually be able measue it out as?
>
> If I have wood that measures as 2" thick with my tapemeasure, how
> would I express that in quarters?
>
> This likely has come up before, but I just got into discussion with a
> 50%er engineer who just absolutely "knows" because the degree in his
> pocket says so.
>
> Pete
When you see lumber listed in quarters, that's in the rough.
5/4 will usually give you 1 1/8 usable lumber and so on.
2" is 8/4 before surfacing
hth
"EXT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:003bde8b-1704-4a73-9eb4-5f8866ec2ee5@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
>> Sonny, tell your idiot engineer to stick to his line of expertise.
>>
>> There is a ton of information on this phenomenon that started as soon
>> as sawmills began to sell planed wood. So maybe a couple of hundred
>> years ago....
>>
>> To overly simplify, a board foot is the size of the board BEFORE it
>> was planed or smoothed. So a 1X6 was a board that began as 1" thick,
>> and 6" wide. However, to make it convenient, you began to be able to
>> buy planed boards from the mill. Planing decreased the thickness on
>> each side and the edges, so the sizes you see now reflect the fact
>> that the wood has been processed to a consistent size, or its finished
>> size.
>>
>> However, the mill still cut it 1"X6" so they would have enough
>> material on the board to smooth it. You didn't think you would get
>> that extra material free, right? So you are charged for the board
>> itself when rough, as well as the convenience of smoothed faces. To
>> drive that home, go to a real hardwood lumber store (NOT HD) and ask
>> for a 1X6. They should ask you "nominal (unplaned) or smooth?". If
>> rough, you can take the board home and plane it yourself. Make to
>> your own smooth boards to your dimensions using nominally sized
>> lumber.
>>
>> As far as quarters go... think about it. Maybe since it's
>> Thanksgiving, think of an pie as an inch to visualize it.
>> With that in mind, think of one quarter of a pie as "a quarter of a
>> pie". So to extrapolate, if you have one quarter of an inch, then you
>> have..... wait for it..... here it comes..... one quarter of an inch!
>>
>> So 4 quarters would be..... one inch!
>> Five quarters would be..... an inch and a quarter. Eight quarters
>> would be two inches, etc. Just count the quarters on your tape and
>> you will have it.
>>
>> IME, the quarter system of describing wood sizes is used only to
>> describe thickness of rough (nominal) lumber. It is not used to
>> determine width. You won't find an lumber man that asks you if you
>> want 4/4 (four quarters) by 24/4 (24 quarters) by 400/4.
>>
>> You should also know that unless it is in a specific purpose lumber,
>> nominal sizes almost always refer to hardwoods, not softwoods.
>>
>> Some engineers are pretty bright fellows, but this one sounds brand
>> new. Show him this to help educate him as to how BF is calculated,
>> and after that DAGS the key words.
>
> Every industry has its catchwords, slang and standards that may not make
> sense to someone who in not initiated into the way things are done. I came
> out the printing industry, and most people cannot figure out paper
> weights. Can any one reading this tell me how 20 pound copy paper is
> determined, versus 24 pound copy paper?
>
> Like lumber where sizes are determined in the rough unfinished state,
> paper is determined in the mill sizes that the paper mill standardizes.
> Copy paper, known as Bond paper because it is used for business letterhead
> and forms, and now used for copiers is based on a ream, which is 500
> sheets, of standard sized paper. Bond paper is produced in the standard
> size of 17" x 22", and 500 sheets will weight 20 pounds or 24 pounds
> respectively. Other sizes are produced but the weight is based on the
> standard size.
But, if you're talking about Coated or Cover or paper of a type other than
Bond, the "standard" size isn't standard at all.
I couldn't tell what the engineer in the OP was claiming, so don't see any
basis for calling him an idiot.
Kerry