# How thick is too thick?



## arkyrick (Feb 13, 2008)

When one is cutting rough sawn lumber is there a common thickness to saw to allow for finish planeing? I always thought you would cut at 1" thickness to allow at least a 1/8" plane on each side, now I got this idea from hearing an old timer say when I was a kid a 2x4 was a 2x4 and a 1x6 was a 1x6 but the other day my buddy was cutting all his boards at 7/8 I asked him why and he said he liked to waist as little as possible. I suppose it's just up to the individual but I intend to cut a 1x6 at 1x6 any comments?:smile:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Well...it depends on the tangential,radial, and longitudinal shrinkage of wood (rule of thumb is 8%, 4% and 0.1% respectively) BUT, those numbers go out the window when sawing wood that is prone to movement during drying (cup, bow, twist,warp) . Some species for example move more (sweet gum, persimmon...) than others so milling for final planed dimension has to be taken more into account than the norm. And "stress" logs of a dimensionally stable species hardwood like walnut/cherry for example should be milled thicker (little cherry logs can give you fits, big ones dry flat). Softwoods like cedar, which I think you have experience with, are a piece of cake. I saw it 1.10" and get marketable 4/4.
Framing dimensions are totally different than furniture grade lumber ("a 2X4 is 2X4" is not the case...an 8/4 hardwood board better be 2" thick)
I could go on, but I think the short answer is...get to know you wood, your mill and know your customers. In that order, wood first. I have guys come to me and pay more for 4/4, because it is well sawn. They could pay a less at other mills, but it may be 4/4 _somewhere_ on the board (wavy cuts, defects, etc.), but the time they spend planing cost them more money than a good sawyer. Sorry, I guess that was not a short answer.


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## joasis (Sep 15, 2006)

I always mill at 1 inch. Daren gave the basic reasoning above, but it is also a time honored tradition.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

If you are milling lumber for inventory that's one thing, but if it is for a specific purpose there are things to consider. If it is a custom milling job and your customer hasn't given you "all" the information you should be asking questions before you tell him the order is ready and he shows up with his tape and says "Oh, I should have told you when I said 2 x 4 I meant nominal to match what is already there. Can you take a half inch of two sides of all these?" :blink:


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## arkyrick (Feb 13, 2008)

"Well...it depends on the tangential,radial, and longitudinal shrinkage" 

Ha! I love it when you talk dirty!:laughing: I see there are many things to consider and each type of wood may be different, I'll play it by ear and practice a bit, Thanks for the input.


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

TexasTimbers said:


> If you are milling lumber for inventory that's one thing, but if it is for a specific purpose there are things to consider. If it is a custom milling job and your customer hasn't given you "all" the information you should be asking questions before you tell him the order is ready and he shows up with his tape and says "Oh, I should have told you when I said 2 x 4 I meant nominal to match what is already there. Can you take a half inch of two sides of all these?" :blink:


Texas has a very good point. Some people build their structures with "true dimension" lumber, in other words not finish planed. So, if they came and asked you to mill them a bunch of 2x4 they would be expecting lumber that actually measures 2 inches by 4 inches. Of course, most structures built in this day and age are finished lumber, and measure about 1/2 inch less in each dimension.

Always seemed like a bit of a gyp to me.

My brother almost always mills to true dimension, and then it is up to the customer to determine wether or not to send it to the planer. I have been quite amazed at the finish on his boards without any planing. He has a Woodmizer.

Gerry


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