Recently bought some rough 4/4 quarter sawn cherry from my typical supplier along with some rough 4/4 and 5/4 flat sawn cherry.
The flat sawn cherry is 1 1/16″ thick, the number that is typical for 4/4 rough stock. All the quartersawn cherry is 1″ thick, is this normal thickness for quartersawn rough lumber, or was my quartersawn stock cut a tad too thin?
Replies
4/4 is 1" but it's going to vary in thickness slightly from thicker to thin. You can't expect it to be exact.
Rough lumber varies somewhat. The process of quarter sawing wastes a lot wood. That's why you pay more for it. It doesn't surprise me that it's thinner than the flat sawed stock. 4/4 means 1", so you got what you paid for. Even if it had been 15/16", it wouldn't be too shocking.
The question is does it fit your project. 4/4 rough should be IMO 3/4" finished. If your off by a 1/16" does it matter or can you just adjust your dimensions for the project by a 1/16th and be done with it. Normally in my history dimensions are rough 4/4 is 3/4 finished, if it's finished and 1" I would say it's 5/4 and so on. I was taught x/4 is rough dimensions and should be reduced by a quarter finished. If this supplier is consistently doing this, I'd look elsewhere. If he fudges 1/16 over a lot of customers, thats some money.
Most dealers I've worked with have had boards close or even a few under (rough). In my case I look at the total picture. If the guy when calculating rounds down or does not include the whole board if it has an issue at the end, I look over it because I figure it evens out over all. The last guy I got from I would always get home and tally the load acording to how I would have figured it and he always undercounted the BF tally, so I would never dream of bringing up an under in a board, but thats just me.
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Edited 12/5/2008 1:11 pm by bones
The rough cut dimension will vary quite a bit, because it is typically cut green, or wetter than when you get it.
If it is a bit over 4/4, or 1-inch when cut, it can be expected to shrink at least a 1/16th, as it dries out after the cutting.
Jigs,
Good point, as quartersawn stock will shink mostly in thickness as it dries.
Ray
As most have already said, it really does vary with the sawyer. If the actual "green" cut is 1", the dried lumber will be less than that. How much less will depend on the type and cut of the wood. My "supplier" usually makes a generous cut so that 5/4 kiln dried ends up about 1 3/16".
Many are not so generous. It will pay well for you to take a good tape measure and look at all of the stock before you buy. Also, especially when buying rough sawn, look for checks and weird grain patterns before running the stuff through a planer.
It is my understanding, based on a conversation with an older gentleman who ran a sawmill operation back about the time of WWII, that the industry standard for sawing hardwoods is for 4/4 lumber to be sawn at 1 and 1/8" thickness - plus or minus 1/16". In other words, when green and straight off the saw, it should not measure less than 1 and 1/16" thick. The idea being that it will actually measure a full 1" thick when dry. Anything which doesn't meet these sawing standards really doesn't meet the hardwood industry's grading standards for the market.
Fine WoodWorking reported, a few years back, an effort by the hardwood industry to change the standard to sawing at 1" thickness. Their major customers, including the furniture industry, stymied the effort. As far as I know, the old standard still prevails.
As to the difference between your plain-sawn and quarter-sawn lumber, Ray may be right about the direction of major shrinkage in the quarter-sawn material. Or, it may be that the sawyers were deliberately cutting closer to the 1 and 1/16" limit in order to maximize the yield of premium material. As long as it measures a full 1" when dry, it probably meets the industry standard.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR
All,Thanks for your comments on the thickness of quarter sawn 4/4 stock. The comments that QTR sawn stock will shrink in thickness during drying makes sense. This is my first foray into explicitly purchasing QTR sawn stock, needless to say it's going to rain on the net 7/8" thickness parade..
Usually I just find the straightest grained flat sawn stock to use for door rail and styles.
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