hdwarner Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 i feel sorry for carpenters , they pay for a two by four and they get a 1.75 by 3.75 we metalworkers would never tolerate that would we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Mayo Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I don,t know where you buy your lunber but for at least the last 20 years a dressed 2x4 at a lunber yard has been 1.5 x3.5 so your carpenter is getting a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 2x4 is the prekiln dimensions. After drying it shrinks by that much. I don't know about dressing after the drying but it sure is consistent in the amount of shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 The 'downsizing ' of lumber gets pretty nutty when you try to buy 1/2 in. plywood and can only find 7/16in, thickness........or 3/4 in.( which is sometimes 23/32 in. thick. Also,don't take it for granted that OSB or plywood is square either.(Just because it's in nice 4 x 8 ft. sheets. We've seen some that had to be re-squared to be used. Mobile home manufacturers have their own dimensions for wall studs or rafters. Sometimes(not always) what they call a 2 x 4 is a 1&1/4 x 3 in. piece of lumber. There is a bewildering assortment of size conversions that carpenters have to deal with. Makes my head hurt just thinking about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mills Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 And it is not nearly so easy to heat it up and bring it down just a scosh. and it has been increasingly difficult to get a good welding that is suitable for pine or oak let alone birch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Carpenter goes in to lumber store and asks for some 2x4s.. Yardman says, how long do you want them? Carpenter says: Long time, I'm building a house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Czar Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 dried? they dont dry lumber anymore semi-kiln junk wholesaled to big box retailers and sold to idiots that best get it into a wall before it actually dries. Worked for a building materials precycling / architectural salvage project for a few years. What size your lumber is depends on its vintage.History of Yard Lumber Size Standards (pdf) Early concepts called for rough lumber to be of a full nominal size often in a dry condition. After World War I, the increasing demand for construction lumber led to the first national size standard in 1924. This was revised in 1926, 1928, 1939, and 1953, while still another revision is proposed in 1964. (this was published in 1964) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 now they make 2x4 and 2x6 with finger joints. You can break them to length over your knee. their structural strength comes from the application of the drywall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Forks Forge Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 here in Quebec we have a different name for everthing.....for example a 2x4 is actually a 2 x twice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Mulholland - Tetnum Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 thwe have mystery steel thats hard to find out what it is. and they have mystery dimensions and a tape measure i think those with mystery steel probly got it a little worse than again they cant just weld on more wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Pound for pound wood is stronger than steel. It doesnt matter if your stud is 2by4 or 6by6, carpentry is math and common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironrosefarms Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 I enjoy a bit of wood working, but the planning makes my head hurt... Once I have all my math done and the project mapped out then I can proceed... not always so with hot metal, I often grab a piece of scrap heat it up and beat on it till something useful comes out with no drawn plan or sketch... I enjoy working from "native" lumber as when I take logs to a local saw mill I get true 2x4's and 1"X whatevers... I get exactly what I ordered. I also like that my home was built with the same logic although I was only 2 years old when it was built... it has made a few projects amazing easier and a few much harder as you can NOT drive a nail into those wall studs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 What were your studs cut from? I use a minimum 22 oz framing hammer for 2by 4 studs and a 4 pound for spikes 6-8 inches. If the wood is so hard that the nails bend i dip the tip in oil or i pre drill , last but not least u can rub it in your hair ( i do it sometimes lol).of course if i could afford a air nailer i would use it;);) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confederate Forge Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Rough cut lumber is the right size. A rough cut 2x4 really is 2x4. I love carpentry. We use to get boxes of nails to drive for christmas when we were kids. We would drive nails in anything and everything for hours.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 It is easier to be a blacksmith than a carpenter. If you cut a piece of lumber too short it is always too short. If you cut a piece of steel too short you can always stretch it a bit :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confederate Forge Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 It is easier to be a blacksmith than a carpenter. If you cut a piece of lumber too short it is always too short. If you cut a piece of steel too short you can always stretch it a bit Thats why there is a major rule in good carpentry. Measure twice cut once. I was putting up boxing on a house once and sent the ground man to cut me a board. I got a little upset when he brought it back to short because he swore he could read a tape measure. So I tell him to go cut me another one and give him the measurement again. What does he do but bring back another one that is still to short. Then he looks at it like it shrunk on the way to me from the saw. Glad I wasnt the boss man having to pay for all the wasted wood. When in doubt get down and cut it yourself. lol.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironrosefarms Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 The original lumber in the walls of my home are of various varieties... I have identified tulip poplar, red oak and white oak with a good level of surety. I have a couple rafter truss boards that I swear are persimmon? Other woods may be mixed in as well. My brother in law works construction and has some very nice pneumatic nail guns and he gave up and went to screws as well (drilling pilot holes in some cases). When I remodeled my daughters room (the first room I tinkered with) I found quickly that nails are simply a futile attempt at accomplishing anything productive, the nails that required pulling often ended up being removed via an angle grinder. The man who built our home in 1973 has since passed away so I have no way of knowing where he got the lumber or any other details of interest. All I can tell you is a good many studs are hard enough to resist any good attempt and on a couple cases bent the nail while still inside the nail gun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Ah i knew you had hardwood in there hehe, Good thing its already built. Im guessing the man who built it do so with green or semi green wood. -Failling to plan is planning to fail-, saw this in the local newpaper thought id share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Thats why there is a major rule in good carpentry. Measure twice cut once. I was putting up boxing on a house once and sent the ground man to cut me a board. I got a little upset when he brought it back to short because he swore he could read a tape measure. So I tell him to go cut me another one and give him the measurement again. What does he do but bring back another one that is still to short. Then he looks at it like it shrunk on the way to me from the saw. Glad I wasnt the boss man having to pay for all the wasted wood. When in doubt get down and cut it yourself. lol. One job I was working construction on the cut-man had a tape that was almost 1/2 inch different than the tape the guy calling measurments. About a 1/2 dozen boards got cut with each accusing the other of not knowing how to read a tape until it got figured out. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironrosefarms Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 I was working with a guy at a scout camp once my tape measure was pretty standard with each inch broke into 8th of an inch segments... However the other guy had stopped to pick up a new tape measure on his way and after about four boards that didn't come out the right length we figured out his tape measure was broke into 10th of an inch segments! Talking about goofey, it also had metric on the opposite side. It would have worked great if it was a whole inch measurement needed... but the difference between 1/8" and 1/10" is plenty to mess everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 So true, But as with a blacksmith, a good woodworker can almost always hide his or her mistake. Rule of thump is that fine furniture is not fine unless its precise to 1 /64 inch, Cabinets and general woodwork is around 1/32 to 1/16 inch, Barns and houses are 1/4 inch. Those are the room of error mesurements. Right now i work in the woodtruss industry and our trusses are off 1/8 inch at the most, If its 3/16 off then the boss gives you the lOOk lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrous Beuler Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Actually those carpenters must be some pretty crafty fellows. It has got to be really tough to get a 2x4 up to forging temps without it burning up, just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I like to get 2X4's up to forging temps as it makes the shop warm. We had freezing temps here in the Phoenix area and I was a wishing for some 2X4's to burn.:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Without blacksmiths carpenters would use a lot of pins, trunnels and glue.... and stone tools.... but without carpenters....blacksmiths work outside in the weather with a hole in the ground full of water to quench in..... play nice... I am a little of each...wood butcher and iron mangler.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Rule #1, iron fabricating or WWing, compare rulers to start with, lesson hard learned over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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