Understanding Lumber Terminology
If you're lucky enough to have a hardwood lumberyard nearby, consider yourself fortunate. It's a great opportunity to access a variety of wood species in different widths, lengths, and shapes. Some lumberyards might even offer live edge slabs! However, purchasing lumber can feel overwhelming if you're new to it or unfamiliar with the terminology. In today's post, I'll share some tips to help you educate yourself before heading to the lumberyard so you can ask informed questions and better understand what the staff might be asking you.
Types of Lumber
When buying lumber, there are primarily two categories: rough-cut and dimensional. Rough-cut lumber is freshly milled wood that hasn't been processed further, meaning it hasn't been surfaced. Rough-cut, or rough-sawn, lumber is quite raw and typically used by consumers who plan to dimension the lumber themselves—either manually or with machinery. Even with rough-cut lumber, you can sometimes find partially surfaced options. This leads us to the next set of terms: Surfaced on one side (S1S) and Surfaced on two sides (S2S). These terms mean exactly what they suggest. S1S is rough-cut lumber that has been planed on one side, while S2S indicates it has been surfaced on both sides—the top and bottom faces. Additionally, you can usually get the boards surfaced on one edge or both edges (S4S), which means surfaced on all four sides. With rough-cut lumber, the more surfacing the mill does, the higher the cost per board will be. Most lumberyards charge an additional amount per linear foot, such as $0.20 extra per linear foot. Keep in mind that these boards may still vary in width, so they aren't uniform like dimensional lumber.
Dimensional lumber refers to wood that's cut to standard, uniform widths and thicknesses—think pine 2x4s or 2x6s. Dimensional lumber has been surfaced and processed to meet regulated standards and is commonly found in construction-grade woods for houses and framing, like what you'd find at big-box stores. On a cost basis, dimensional lumber tends to be pricier than rough-cut lumber per board foot. "What's a board foot?" you might wonder...
How Rough-Cut Lumber is Measured
Rough-cut lumber is priced and sold based on something called a board foot. Think of this as the volume of a piece of wood—width times length times thickness. There are plenty of online calculators to help you figure this out, but you can easily calculate it yourself too. For instance, let's say you have a 1-inch-thick board that's 6 inches wide and 72 inches long. Your calculation would be: (1 x 6 x 72), which equals 432 cubic inches. To convert this to board feet, simply divide by 144, leaving you with 3. So, that board equals 3 board feet.
Now, we need to take a moment to discuss another aspect: quarters. When you buy dimensional lumber, you might already know that a "2x4" isn't actually 2 inches by 4 inches but is instead 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Rough-cut lumber operates differently and is based on quarters, which refer to the thickness of the rough, unfinished surface. So, you have 4/4, which is 1 inch thick; 5/4, which is 1.25 inches thick, and so on—6/4, 8/4, 12/4. This is important because that quarter-inch is typically milled away to give you your final, finished dimension. For example, once you surface and mill a 4/4 piece of lumber, its optimal finished thickness will be 0.75 inches or 3/4 of an inch. So, if you're building a table and want a top that's 1 inch thick, you would buy 5/4 lumber and mill it down to 1 inch.
Conclusion
As you're sketching out your next project and wondering, "How much lumber do I need?" you can break the components of the project into their "quartered parts," meaning, "How many of my project pieces are made from 4/4?" or "How much 8/4 lumber do I need?" Then, you can convert that information to board feet and estimate roughly how much your project will cost in terms of wood. This is incredibly useful when someone asks, "Hey, how much would it cost for you to build me a Coffee Table?" Now you can work backward to determine that cost. Hopefully, this has helped you understand the terminology used at the lumberyard and how they calculate the cost of your lumber.
Any other tips or suggestions? Feel free to share them in the comments!
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[Image: Various quarters of rough-cut lumber]
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Laying Out Parts on Rough Lumber
When planning your project, it's essential to lay out the parts on rough lumber carefully. This ensures minimal waste and efficient use of materials. By visualizing the cuts beforehand, you can maximize the yield from each board, saving both time and money.
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[Image: Parts laid out on rough lumber]
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Tools and Resources
For those looking to enhance their woodworking skills, here are some tools and resources to explore:
- [Highland Woodworking](http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp): A comprehensive resource for all things woodworking, offering tools, supplies, and expert advice.
Feel free to use the search form below to find specific tools or products tailored to your needs:
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