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Thread: Hardwood lumber width

  1. #1

    Hardwood lumber width

    Hi guys. I've got a newb question for ya'll. When buying hardwood lumber, are the widths exact or a bit shorter than their name? For example, if I want to buy a 5/4 x 6 x 10, I understand that the 5/4 will actually be 1.125" or 1.0625", and that the 10 will be exactly 10', but what about the 6"?

  2. #2
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    If you are buying this online I have no experience about their dimensions. I'm sure someone will chime in. At a yard, the lengths and widths are approximate as they mill the logs for certain types of yields; quarter sawn, rift sawn, flat sawn . . . some is skip planed, some is smooth-2-sides, 3-sides, etc. Once I have my choices loaded up on the cart my cheerful, helpful and well trained lumberyard employee joyfully measures out the total board feet and gives me a heart attack by telling me the damages ;-)

    I work a lot in cherry, walnut, oak and maple. The lion's share of boards are 8" and under in width but, there are certainly wider and thinner offerings. Some yards charge a premium for thicker or wider than 'normal'. I routinely shun these places but, my preferred yard is over an hour away so if I am between trips I suck it up at the local yards. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 10-12-2020 at 6:22 PM.
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  3. #3
    Hi Glenn. Thanks for the help. I'm buying it from a local lumber yard. I'll be buying poplar 5/4 and perhaps some oak as well. If the widths and lengths are approximate I'll just be sure to bring a tape measure and find what I need.

  4. #4
    Most lumber mills and lumber yards will give you slightly extra. Rough cut, 5/4 should be 1.4" to 1.5". 10 foot lengths should be around 10'-6". 6" wide should be 6.5" to 7".

    Generally, what they're selling you are the usable dimensions. If they're nickle and diming you for a 1/2" here and 1" there, my personal advice is find another yard. Finding a good lumber yard is a little like a secret fishing spot. You mostly keep it to yourself and only share it with people you trust. Bad lumber yards, on the other hand, are the easiest to find, like a public fishing spot.

    (Apparently, I want to go fishing)

  5. #5
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    The lumber yards I visit some yard hands will measure the widest part of the board when they tally. Either way it works-out its always a good time to point out any defects like long crack,wane or taper. I also like to point out how neatly I arranged the lifts of wood I dug through.
    Buy wood is not a exact science
    Aj

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    S4S lumber generally runs a half inch under the stated dimension. A 1 x 5 is actually 4-1/2" wide. Rough lumber is usually just at or slightly over the stated width. Once you clean it up you will be close a 1/2" under.
    Lee Schierer
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  7. #7
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    Carry something to measure with when you go to pick out your boards.
    I buy from a wholesaler who sells to the public in a small addition off of the office.
    This would be okay for a couple of special boards and priced that way(still not close to what Lowes, HD, Menards charge)
    I call ahead and the lumber is banded together typically in 500 bdft lots, random length, Discount at 300 bdft, 1000 bd ft etc
    Pick, sort thru the boards at home. Try to make one to two trips a year
    Last cherry was 4&5ft long #1 common (wife and kids like knots) skip planed to 15/16". 500 + bd ft was less than $600 tax, gas, lunch included
    Bought some beautiful rift sawn white oak 14' skip planed 15/16" 560 bdft m/l, first time there, they had it too long and really priced it right $1100 more/less been 5 yrs or so ago. Still have some left in the basement. Used roughly 400 bdft and the scrap would all fit in a medium cardboard box. Did carry out quite a few bags of saw dust.
    Highest price per board is buying one board at a time, which works good (lowest cost per project) IF you know exactly what you want that board for. Buying a large quantity works when you have the space to store it and then pick thru it as you build something.
    Starting out, buy smaller quantities until you have the space, money and desire to store larger quantities
    Ron

  8. #8
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    The exact dimensions will always be slightly variable, whether it's rough lumber or skip planed or "finished" dimension. It depends upon the species and who cut it for the first two. Rough lumber thickness is generally the stated 4/4. 5/4. 6/4. 8/4 (1", 1.25", 1.5", 2") thick plus a little more. Skim-planed material is partially milled for thickness and is partially smooth when you buy it. Once you flatten and thickness it, you'll typically be creating boards that are .75", 1", 1.35-1.5" and 1.75-2" respectively, depending on the specific boards and how straight/flat they start out at. Please note that there is no "rule" that says you have to work with any specific thickness of lumber. If you're following a plan, do so accordingly, If you're designing your own project use thicknesses that make sense and support the proportions of the project. Lengths are as you state...typically in inches or feet, but usually an inch or two longer than noted. Width is variable with rough lumber. Rough and skim planed lumber is typically sold by the board foot:

    (length in inches times width in inches times thickness in inches) divided by 144 = Board Feet. The thickness is based on the "quarters" for North America, not finished or skimmed thickness.

    For the "finished lumber"...typically 4S4 as Lee mentioned...the thickness is finished to typical measurements like .75", 1", etc. Length is what it is and width is typically about a half inch narrower than the stated side as someone already mentioned. A "one by four" is ~3.5" wide. A "one by 8" is typically ~7.5" wide. This material is often sold by linear foot, not board feet. It's also the most expensive way to buy lumber, but necessary in some situations.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sasha Kern View Post
    Hi Glenn. Thanks for the help. I'm buying it from a local lumber yard. I'll be buying poplar 5/4 and perhaps some oak as well. If the widths and lengths are approximate I'll just be sure to bring a tape measure and find what I need.

    Good plan. I do a lot better at the yard when I take my parts list with me (and ALWAYS a tape; I keep one in the truck glovebox for when I forget). A board that may not look all that great can turn out to have just what I need for those two stiles and a couple of drawer sides. That is, instead of looking for perfect boards I look for boards that will yield the parts I need ;-)
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


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  11. For what its worth, in our area of town, from 1 x 8 and wider comes 3/4" narrower than stated width. 1/2" narrower on 1 x 6 or less.

  12. #12
    A few years back I built kitchen cabinets out of hickory for my inlaws. Bought 3 or 4 hundred board feet of it from Renneberg hardwoods in central minnesota. Got about 3/4 done and realized I was about 80 -100 board feet short ,went back and got 100 BF more which I did not measure because I trusted them. . Brought it home laid it out and found it was only about 75 BF. When I called them they said I did not understand how they sold lumber. Apparently they charge for the waste they cut off also so a 6 in board gets sold as an 8 in and so on. Found another supplier and NEVER WENT BACK.
    PS , Their prices were not cheap either!

  13. #13
    I suppose there are some occasional shenanigan's but in my experience when buying lumber that is already dimensioned (S4S or surfaced-four-sides) it is always going to measure slightly smaller that what it is labeled. They measure the dimensions PRIOR to milling and that's what put in the description. So a 4" wide board that has been milled flat, straight, and smooth could measure 3.75 or 3.5" wide, or less. When buying rough lumber the described width should more accurately reflect the actual width of the board. When I buy rough lumber I always make sure to get boards 1-2" wider than the maximum width I want for the project since when I mill the boards (jointing, planing, ripping) some of the width will be removed in the process. So always be specific to what you need when ordering by phone, or bring a tape measure to the yard. Milled/dimensioned lumber is usually sold by the linear foot and rough lumber is usually sold by the board-foot. The exception might be when you purchase rough lumber by the board-foot from the yard and pay extra to have it dimensioned at the lumber yard. Then you will end up with boards a little thinner and not as wide as they were when in the rough state.

    Scott

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamil mehdi View Post
    Rough cut, 5/4 should be 1.4" to 1.5". 10 foot lengths should be around 10'-6". 6" wide should be 6.5" to 7".
    Jamil, that statement is only correct for green lumber. No milling operation that I'm aware of sells 6/4 dry lumber (1.5") as 5/4.

    Different milling operations may sell on "green measure" versus "dry measure". Green measure is based upon the rough sawn dimensions off of the sawmill and before shrinkage. The industry standard for milling thickness is 1-1/16" to 1-1/8" green for 4/4 lumber. It will shrink down to 1" - 1/16" when it's dry.

    A good formula to use for estimating shrinkage is 6% / 12%. As an example, green flat sawn oak will shrink 6% in thickness (1/16" per inch of thickness) as it dries, and 12% in width. So an oak board milled green at 12" wide will come out of the kiln around 11". Quartersawn is the exact opposite - it shrinks more percentage wise in thickness than it does in width.

  15. #15
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    a lot of the S4S sold in local lumber yards tends to end up a bit thin (4/4 tends to measure at 3/4 or thinner, and worse if you need to flatten it any further yourself). I think it is primarily intended as hardwood trim, rather than for furniture.

    If you have a planer, rough 4/4 can often be milled thicker than this -- somewhere between 3/4 and 7/8" finished thickness.

    Board widths will vary.
    You might get an extra 1/4" on width; I've also seen a yard just lay the boards out in a panel and measure the resulting width.

    You will want some extra width to deal with edge defects, select for grain you want, and to allow for edge jointing.

    You will also want some extra length in case there are any checks in the ends, or if you get any snipe when milling.

    Keeping the yard's stacks neat is good advice.

    Matt

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