16 ms·

For the unfamiliar, a "board foot" is a unit of lumber volume representing a square foot of board with 1 inch thickness. So an 8' long board 12" wide and 1" th

For the unfamiliar, a "board foot" is a unit of lumber volume representing a square foot of board with 1 inch thickness. So an 8' long board 12" wide and 1" thick is 8 board feet. Or half as wide and twice as thick (6" x 2") in the same length is also 8 board feet. You get the idea.

em3rgent0rdr 3y ago
metric system is so much easier: m³
- hartator 3y ago
  I don’t think you can have a 1m^3 of wood. Life is not Minecraft.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - candiddevmike 3y ago
    If you buy logs you probably can
  - tinco 3y ago
    If you're purchasing gross lumber here in The Netherlands it is definitely priced per m3. For example here: https://inlands-hout.nl/houtsoorten-en-prijslijst/ https://inlands-hout.nl/houtsoorten-en-prijslijst/ Just like with board feet it doesn't say anything about the actual dimensions. Also, I don't think it's much better as a unit than board feet either, both have very unclear relationship to the actual amounts you need. You'll always need to do a pretty complex calculation to figure out how much you'd need to buy. The pricing is mostly useful as a comparison to look at relative or day to day pricing differences.
    - singleshot_ 3y ago
      And for what it’s worth, the board foot cost of a 2x4 and the board foot cost of a 2x12 are wildly different.
  - mtmail 3y ago
    Germany uses Euro per Festmeter as measure, a Festmeter is 1m^3. Trees are round of course but Festmeter is on the invoices and pricing tables.
  - mrcode007 3y ago
    Unless you’re making infinitely thin two dimensional planes made of wood you always get a cubic volume of wood. Always. No exceptions. What do you think W x L x H stand for?
  - Jedd 3y ago
    A foot is a (variable) measure of length. A board foot is a measure of volume - with an implicit third dimension. So you could just use the SI unit for volume. A board foot ~= 2.4 litres. This seems a bit silly though, as timber is not fungible in the way you'd expect a volume of something to be. As noted by sibling comments, you very much can buy timber in cubic metres - a convenience for costing / transport - but you're not going to buy timber without knowing dimensions of the individual lengths.
  - m463 3y ago
    I think you would need old growth for true 1m³
  - Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago
    I don't think most replies got the idea you mean a cube with sides measuring one meter.
  - applied_heat 3y ago
    In forestry road use agreements payments are made based on m^3 of wood hauled in the format of logs
  - extraduder_ire 3y ago
    Would litres make more sense? It is kind of vague though, since you'd be paying for the cuts you have to make and material you'll lose.
    - RamblingCTO 3y ago
      No. Cubic meters is a volume measure, just as liter is. 1cm = 1000l
- jpitz 3y ago
  Metric makes the math easier, but it is much easier for me to relate to 40 board-feet of lumber than to 0.0944 cubic-meters.
  - olyjohn 3y ago
    Just like temperature. F is easier for me to relate to. 0 is very cold. 100 is very hot. We like it pretty warm, so 70-72 is great. Also F has a much finer scale for adjustments. I don't have to set my thermostat to 22.5 degrees to be comfortable. I don't really care about the boiling point or freezing point of water in my day to day life.
    - osigurdson 3y ago
      I bet you likes miles, feet and country specific gallons too. Enjoy your unit system!
    - applied_heat 3y ago
      I am quite interested in knowing if it is going to rain or snow, if there might be ice on the road, if my hot tub might freeze if it is not turned on, etc.
singleshot_ 3y ago
When you say one inch wide, do you mean one of the twelve things in a foot, or one of the two things in the width of a 2x4?
- yojo 3y ago
  I believe you’re referring to “nominal” vs “actual” size. For anyone who doesn’t know, a 2x4 is actually ~1.5”x3.5” Dimensional lumber is the original shrinkflator
  - derekp7 3y ago
    Just like a quarter pound burger is 1/4 lb before cooking.
- BoiledCabbage 3y ago
  The "smallest dimension is 1". So in a 10ft long 2x4 it would be the actual size of a 2x4 (1.5"x3.5"x10'). A standard board foot would be (1"x12"x12"), or any other math that makes up the same volume.
angry_moose 3y ago
To elaborate a little more: Board thicknesses are measured in the "quarter system" - 4/4 (pronounced "4 quarter", that is 4 quarters of an inch) is a 1" thick rough-rough sawn board; 8/4 (8 quarter) is a 2" thick rough board. As this is rough sawn (super rough and unsightly finish), you usually lose at least 1/8" while finishing the board, so a 4/4 rough board gives you something around 3/4" finished product. This leads to 5/4 being another fairly common dimension, as you can get a 1" finished board out of it. 6/4 and 12/4 are somewhat common as well. It might seem like an "ugly dimension" compared to something like m^3, but its really built around speed. Watching someone skilled price out an enormous stack of mismatched lumber (width, thickness, and length) in seconds with a lumber rule is always a fascinating process to watch (https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/the-lumber-rule/ https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/the-lumber-rul...). Usually the $/board foot increases slightly at higher dimensions as thicker lumber is harder to produce. I got some 4/4 black walnut for $12.80/bdft last week; 8/4 was closer to $16. Edit: This is also why 2x4s are actually 1.5"x3.5" - historically they were 2x4 rough sawn lumber, but .5" is lost in both dimension when producing finished boards you purchase in the store.
- anarazel 3y ago
  Isn't the loss for dimensional lumber more due to drying than finishing?
  - angry_moose 3y ago
    That is some of it and it varies a lot based on the species, though I'm a lot less knowledgeable there. In the hardwoods I usually work with (walnut/maple/padauk) its fairly minimal. A nominally 4/4 board usually comes in about 1/16" small; which is a lot less than I lose running it through the planar. Some of that could be the sawmill skimping out too and cutting just a bit undersized.... I'm finding quoted numbers between 2-8% volumetric shrinkage (https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/ https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shri...), which is still quite a bit less than you find in the small dimension of a 2x4 (2"-> 1.5%, or ~33%)
  - PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

em3rgent0rdr 3y ago

metric system is so much easier: m³

hartator 3y ago
I don’t think you can have a 1m^3 of wood. Life is not Minecraft.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- candiddevmike 3y ago
  If you buy logs you probably can
- tinco 3y ago
  If you're purchasing gross lumber here in The Netherlands it is definitely priced per m3. For example here: https://inlands-hout.nl/houtsoorten-en-prijslijst/ https://inlands-hout.nl/houtsoorten-en-prijslijst/ Just like with board feet it doesn't say anything about the actual dimensions. Also, I don't think it's much better as a unit than board feet either, both have very unclear relationship to the actual amounts you need. You'll always need to do a pretty complex calculation to figure out how much you'd need to buy. The pricing is mostly useful as a comparison to look at relative or day to day pricing differences.
  - singleshot_ 3y ago
    And for what it’s worth, the board foot cost of a 2x4 and the board foot cost of a 2x12 are wildly different.
- mtmail 3y ago
  Germany uses Euro per Festmeter as measure, a Festmeter is 1m^3. Trees are round of course but Festmeter is on the invoices and pricing tables.
- mrcode007 3y ago
  Unless you’re making infinitely thin two dimensional planes made of wood you always get a cubic volume of wood. Always. No exceptions. What do you think W x L x H stand for?
- Jedd 3y ago
  A foot is a (variable) measure of length. A board foot is a measure of volume - with an implicit third dimension. So you could just use the SI unit for volume. A board foot ~= 2.4 litres. This seems a bit silly though, as timber is not fungible in the way you'd expect a volume of something to be. As noted by sibling comments, you very much can buy timber in cubic metres - a convenience for costing / transport - but you're not going to buy timber without knowing dimensions of the individual lengths.
- m463 3y ago
  I think you would need old growth for true 1m³
- Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago
  I don't think most replies got the idea you mean a cube with sides measuring one meter.
- applied_heat 3y ago
  In forestry road use agreements payments are made based on m^3 of wood hauled in the format of logs
- extraduder_ire 3y ago
  Would litres make more sense? It is kind of vague though, since you'd be paying for the cuts you have to make and material you'll lose.
  - RamblingCTO 3y ago
    No. Cubic meters is a volume measure, just as liter is. 1cm = 1000l
jpitz 3y ago
Metric makes the math easier, but it is much easier for me to relate to 40 board-feet of lumber than to 0.0944 cubic-meters.
- olyjohn 3y ago
  Just like temperature. F is easier for me to relate to. 0 is very cold. 100 is very hot. We like it pretty warm, so 70-72 is great. Also F has a much finer scale for adjustments. I don't have to set my thermostat to 22.5 degrees to be comfortable. I don't really care about the boiling point or freezing point of water in my day to day life.
  - osigurdson 3y ago
    I bet you likes miles, feet and country specific gallons too. Enjoy your unit system!
  - applied_heat 3y ago
    I am quite interested in knowing if it is going to rain or snow, if there might be ice on the road, if my hot tub might freeze if it is not turned on, etc.

singleshot_ 3y ago

When you say one inch wide, do you mean one of the twelve things in a foot, or one of the two things in the width of a 2x4?

yojo 3y ago
I believe you’re referring to “nominal” vs “actual” size. For anyone who doesn’t know, a 2x4 is actually ~1.5”x3.5” Dimensional lumber is the original shrinkflator
- derekp7 3y ago
  Just like a quarter pound burger is 1/4 lb before cooking.
BoiledCabbage 3y ago
The "smallest dimension is 1". So in a 10ft long 2x4 it would be the actual size of a 2x4 (1.5"x3.5"x10'). A standard board foot would be (1"x12"x12"), or any other math that makes up the same volume.

angry_moose 3y ago

To elaborate a little more: Board thicknesses are measured in the "quarter system" - 4/4 (pronounced "4 quarter", that is 4 quarters of an inch) is a 1" thick rough-rough sawn board; 8/4 (8 quarter) is a 2" thick rough board. As this is rough sawn (super rough and unsightly finish), you usually lose at least 1/8" while finishing the board, so a 4/4 rough board gives you something around 3/4" finished product. This leads to 5/4 being another fairly common dimension, as you can get a 1" finished board out of it. 6/4 and 12/4 are somewhat common as well. It might seem like an "ugly dimension" compared to something like m^3, but its really built around speed. Watching someone skilled price out an enormous stack of mismatched lumber (width, thickness, and length) in seconds with a lumber rule is always a fascinating process to watch (https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/the-lumber-rule/ https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/the-lumber-rul...). Usually the $/board foot increases slightly at higher dimensions as thicker lumber is harder to produce. I got some 4/4 black walnut for $12.80/bdft last week; 8/4 was closer to $16. Edit: This is also why 2x4s are actually 1.5"x3.5" - historically they were 2x4 rough sawn lumber, but .5" is lost in both dimension when producing finished boards you purchase in the store.

anarazel 3y ago
Isn't the loss for dimensional lumber more due to drying than finishing?
- angry_moose 3y ago
  That is some of it and it varies a lot based on the species, though I'm a lot less knowledgeable there. In the hardwoods I usually work with (walnut/maple/padauk) its fairly minimal. A nominally 4/4 board usually comes in about 1/16" small; which is a lot less than I lose running it through the planar. Some of that could be the sawmill skimping out too and cutting just a bit undersized.... I'm finding quoted numbers between 2-8% volumetric shrinkage (https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/ https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shri...), which is still quite a bit less than you find in the small dimension of a 2x4 (2"-> 1.5%, or ~33%)
- PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago