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Note that additionally in many metric countries the specified size of a piece of wood is actually the size it is. If I go to the local hardware store and get a

by Doxin 3y ago

Note that additionally in many metric countries the specified size of a piece of wood is actually the size it is. If I go to the local hardware store and get a piece of 100x50mm wood I'm pretty much assured it's that size ± a millimeter or so.

hilbert42 3y ago
OK, even though I've lived in exclusively-metric continental Europe I've never bought much timber there so my experience is of the anglophone world. Presumably, if you go to a hardware store where you are then you're only buying dressed timber. So standardized rough-cut (undressed) sizes must be larger there, that is 100x50mm would have to be at least 5mm larger, if not more. Wherw I am in Australia the main reason for dressed timber being, say, 90x45mm is to ensure that ripsawed/rough-cut (here 100mm) after being properly dressed has no imperfections. From my experience, ripsawing timber (cutting logs along the grain) results in a rough-cut where variations exceed 1mm perhaps even 2mm due varying grain hardness, ripsaws having fewer teeth per cut and drying shrinkage. Also, rough-cut here is likely to have more variation due to the coarser-grained timbers usually encountered here (timbers with a grain strucure similar to, say, Pinus sylvestris/Baltic pine or finer are not as common here, so one expects the allowance for waste to be higher). Still, from what you say, it seems end consumers do better in metric countries than here—you end up with more product. It likely also makes better sense from a marketing perspective as sawmill/wholesale sizes can be kept separate from the retail market.
- Doxin 3y ago
  The rough sawn lumber here indeed comes in slightly larger labeled sizes than the planed stuff. To me it just seems kind of obvious you can't just... lie about the size of what you're selling. Sure it's a natural product and there are variations but you can't just be wrong about the size intentionally.

by Doxin 3y ago

hilbert42 3y ago

OK, even though I've lived in exclusively-metric continental Europe I've never bought much timber there so my experience is of the anglophone world. Presumably, if you go to a hardware store where you are then you're only buying dressed timber. So standardized rough-cut (undressed) sizes must be larger there, that is 100x50mm would have to be at least 5mm larger, if not more. Wherw I am in Australia the main reason for dressed timber being, say, 90x45mm is to ensure that ripsawed/rough-cut (here 100mm) after being properly dressed has no imperfections. From my experience, ripsawing timber (cutting logs along the grain) results in a rough-cut where variations exceed 1mm perhaps even 2mm due varying grain hardness, ripsaws having fewer teeth per cut and drying shrinkage. Also, rough-cut here is likely to have more variation due to the coarser-grained timbers usually encountered here (timbers with a grain strucure similar to, say, Pinus sylvestris/Baltic pine or finer are not as common here, so one expects the allowance for waste to be higher). Still, from what you say, it seems end consumers do better in metric countries than here—you end up with more product. It likely also makes better sense from a marketing perspective as sawmill/wholesale sizes can be kept separate from the retail market.

Doxin 3y ago
The rough sawn lumber here indeed comes in slightly larger labeled sizes than the planed stuff. To me it just seems kind of obvious you can't just... lie about the size of what you're selling. Sure it's a natural product and there are variations but you can't just be wrong about the size intentionally.