314
submitted 3 days ago by mko@slrpnk.net to c/woodworking@lemmy.ca

I hope it’s not against the rules here, just saw this woodworking related xkcd that I enjoyed and thought it might be appreciated here:)

https://xkcd.com/3138

top 32 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] BlindFrog@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

I reflexively cringed with my whole face seeing "lumber" and "measure" in the same sentence.

Look up what the fuck Board Feet is. Then imagine trying teach other people how to measure for board feet. Then imagine everyone misremembering and misinterpreting how to do it.

Fuck board feet.

[-] RougeEric@lemmy.zip 71 points 3 days ago

Have you hard of our lord and savior, the metric system?

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)
[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 days ago

We have but Canada sells so much construction supplies to the US that we don’t use metric for it.

[-] BlueEther@no.lastname.nz 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Even metric is under-sized on dressed timber 4x2" ~ 100x50mm => 90x45m dressed

[-] AvocadoSandwich@eviltoast.org 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Yeah, but then we just use the 90x45mm as a measurement...

Also if I remember correctly it's sold as 89x44. 45mm was only used for I-joists

[-] Zwiebel@feddit.org 55 points 3 days ago

Wait 2×4s are not 2×4?? What is wrong with americans??

[-] Eq0@literature.cafe 39 points 3 days ago

They were 2x4 before drying the wood (that’s what I heard)

[-] ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 47 points 3 days ago

Not only drying, but sanding and straightening.

But in reality anymore they aren't even cut to 2x4 initially.

[-] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 58 points 3 days ago

The hardware stores seem to pre-twist the lumber for you.

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Nah, it’s just they buy wet wood and it twists as it dries. Also, places like Lowe’s likes to stack a lot of wood vertically, so they get that nice bow in them for all those rocking chairs people want to build.

[-] bluGill@fedia.io 8 points 2 days ago

You heard wrong. They use excuses like that, but truth is they can make the final size anything they want, for many years every different sawmill decided their own final size. You start by cutting wet wood to a size, you might or might not dry it, then you plane it down to an exact size. Some sawmills started by cutting to 2x4 and then planning different amounts off. Others cut bigger so when they planed it down they finished with 2x4. Everyone did something different and so if you bought a 2x4 you better pray that sawmill remains open for when you want to remodel and need more. Eventually enough people got sick of this and decided to make a standard, the current measurements are what was decided, it was arbitrary, but at least everyone follows the same standard so you can buy from different sawmills. Exactly 2x4 is also arbitrary.

[-] Carvex@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

Anything to fuck us out of our money and quality products a little bit harder.

[-] excursion22@piefed.ca 17 points 3 days ago

The American way.

[-] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 days ago

They are until they're planed to smooth them, at which point they are approx 1.5" x3.5"

[-] KingOfTheCouch@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 days ago

Just like 50x100's are usually more like 40x90's, or something even more insane - 39x86? Like I'm sorry, but the unit of measurement is NOT the problem, it's the centuries old "traditions" and "standards" to normalize dimensional lumber that are the problem.

At any rate, one should look at the names of boards as the ratio of their dimensions and leave the inches and mm out of it and it starts to make more sense.

[-] CompostMaterial@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

2x4 is the rough cut not the finished cut that is sold in the store. If you shopped at a proper lumber yard, you can usually get rough cut lumber if you want to finish it yourself.

[-] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

you know what, fuck that name. how about you dicks call it something better?

[-] litchralee@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Although I suspect this particular quirk of dimensional lumber stems from the British, the result is not too unexpected for modern-day America. After all, we (insanely) deal with sales tax the same way, where the advertised price is pre-tax, and consumers have to do math if they want to compute the final bill before reaching the checkstand.

So having to measure the lumber to acquire its actual dimensions is entire above-board [pun intended] for anything beyond putting together a wood-frame structure.

[-] AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

Lee Valley used to sell a blank tape measure, for pure, real-valued metrical madness.

[-] OhioComrade@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago
[-] thenextguy@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

Can I get some dimensionless lumber?

[-] badcommandorfilename@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Best I can do is interdimensional lumber

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 13 points 3 days ago

Except that all of the board length measurements will not work out.

[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 days ago

A nightmare if you're following written measurements or working with other people, but as long as you use the same tape to measure how much you need and how much you have/are cutting, it should work out alright.

[-] Placid@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

Unless you're building anything with speced sizes . Oops I framed the walls too short.

[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago

That would be the following written measurements I mentioned.

[-] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 days ago

Damn creative measuring.

this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2025
314 points (100.0% liked)

Woodworking

7872 readers
6 users here now

A handmade home for woodworkers and admirers of woodworkers. Our community icon is submitted by @1985MustangCobra@lemmy.ca whose father was inspired to start woodworking by Norm and the New Yankee Workshop.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS