View Full Version : Shrinking lumber dimensions?
Clamp
June 2nd, 2009, 9:43 pm
So how long has a 2 X 10 been 1 1/2 X 9 1/4? They were 1 1/2 X 9 1/2 for years, but I'm doing a staircase with PT for a landscaping hell at my house and happened to stick a rule on one of them for the exact width.
When did the extra 1/4 inch go away?
ThrowCop
June 2nd, 2009, 9:55 pm
So how long has a 2 X 10 been 1 1/2 X 9 1/4? They were 1 1/2 X 9 1/2 for years, but I'm doing a staircase with PT for a landscaping hell at my house and happened to stick a rule on one of them for the exact width.
When did the extra 1/4 inch go away?A wihle back they started rating them by strength as far as thickness went. Stupid me for setting up my router for a half-lap joint using the manufacturer's listed thickness, huh? :mad:
I really despise the US conventions for timber measurements.
Clamp
June 2nd, 2009, 10:12 pm
A wihle back they started rating them by strength as far as thickness went. Stupid me for setting up my router for a half-lap joint using the manufacturer's listed thickness, huh? :mad:
I really despise the US conventions for timber measurements.
I've gotten in the habit of eyeballing the router at the bit before the final cut. I've saved a few bucks from "misroutes" when I was doing some oak trim in the office.
Bring back the true 5/4 ! :)
ThrowCop
June 2nd, 2009, 10:29 pm
I've gotten in the habit of eyeballing the router at the bit before the final cut. I've saved a few bucks from "misroutes" when I was doing some oak trim in the office.
Bring back the true 5/4 ! :)While working for a truely old school cabinet maker, I learned the metric system. It was funny learning it from a guy who spoke like he just crawled out of the woods, but I did.
I have never looked back. I don't even think in US standard units anymore.
Samm
June 2nd, 2009, 10:38 pm
So how long has a 2 X 10 been 1 1/2 X 9 1/4? They were 1 1/2 X 9 1/2 for years, but I'm doing a staircase with PT for a landscaping hell at my house and happened to stick a rule on one of them for the exact width.
When did the extra 1/4 inch go away?
It was sometime in the early 70s if I remember right... at same time as all the other lumber dimensions "shrunk." My house was built in 1976 and has 2x10 floor joists... that physically measure 1-1/2 x 9-1/4.
Clamp
June 2nd, 2009, 10:49 pm
While working for a truely old school cabinet maker, I learned the metric system. It was funny learning it from a guy who spoke like he just crawled out of the woods, but I did.
I have never looked back. I don't even think in US standard units anymore.
Cabinetry is on the list... :)
I have no qualms with the metric system, but when it comes to lumber, I'm used to the old ways...
Celsius throws me off a bit from time to time too still...Hewlett Packard monitoring is all in Celsius...
Clamp
June 2nd, 2009, 10:50 pm
It was sometime in the early 70s if I remember right... at same time as all the other lumber dimensions "shrunk." My house was built in 1976 and has 2x10 floor joists... that physically measure 1-1/2 x 9-1/4.
Eeesh... '76? I must have missed something... :)
Alaric
June 2nd, 2009, 11:02 pm
While working for a truely old school cabinet maker, I learned the metric system. It was funny learning it from a guy who spoke like he just crawled out of the woods, but I did.
I have never looked back. I don't even think in US standard units anymore.
I use the metric system day in and day out in my profession (engineer). I despise working in USCU units, and when I encounter them I convert to SI units. But for some reason when I get home and decide to putter in the wood shop I'm back to the imperial system. Maybe its just because my TS and planer are calibrated in inches and all the lumber comes in imperial dimensions. IMO, our collective intransigence over metrication hurts only us.