Curly maple blanks?

Al killian

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Floydada, Tx
Well I have this milling gig that leaves me with maple shorts. All are FAS grade and alot of it has good curl. Most are 5/4 finished by 30" long. Just wondering if I should set aside some of the nicer curly stuff for planks? If no one is intrested, then they will proably will end up in the stove.
 
I have seen the terms 5/4 and 4/4 a lot lately when trying to buy from lumber mills. Could someone please explain the terms and what they mean?

The term 4/4 and 5/4 refer to the thickness of the material. 5 1/4 would be 1 1/4 inches and 4/4 would be 1 inch. I have been told that many moons ago the sawyer who operated the carrage used to cut the lumber had a lever to set the thickness of the lumber and ever time he moved it up a notch it would change the thickness by 1/4 of an inch. thus 4/4, 5/4 6/4 etc. I couldn't swear to the truth in that but maybe Frank Fusco will confirm it for us...:rolleyes:
 
Oh, to wish we were closer, I'd be a knockin' at your door for a chance at your castoffs...

BTW Back in the golden days... Wood thickness was measured in the 1/4" (quarter inch) incruments. How many quarter inches thick? 4/4, 5/4. 6/4 etc. :thumb: I think it was due to the notches on how far the saw could be adjusted... quarter inch was as fine as they could adjust, so it became the "Standard"
 
Will get pics saturday when I sort out the pallet of rejects. They dont go to waste. I will save some for drawer boxes and cabinet parts. The curly stuff does not work for this, so id rather pass it on to others or burn it.:D
 
Sorry for the delay. I will get the picture the end of this week. Had my one cleint call and move up the delivery by a week, so I will be busy in the shop till wensday.
 
The term 4/4 and 5/4 refer to the thickness of the material. 5 1/4 would be 1 1/4 inches and 4/4 would be 1 inch. I have been told that many moons ago the sawyer who operated the carrage used to cut the lumber had a lever to set the thickness of the lumber and ever time he moved it up a notch it would change the thickness by 1/4 of an inch. thus 4/4, 5/4 6/4 etc. I couldn't swear to the truth in that but maybe Frank Fusco will confirm it for us...:rolleyes:

If you said it, it must be true. ;)
Actually, I don't know. Might be a good explanation in one of my Roy Underhill books.
 
I have seen the terms 5/4 and 4/4 a lot lately when trying to buy from lumber mills. Could someone please explain the terms and what they mean?

Drew, in case any of that wasn't clear, (I just learned this myself) that's how lumber is measured and described when you buy it *rough* from a lumberyard. It's not finished or smooth, so it won't be as thick once it's finished. So you can plan to finish it yourself or you can ask the lumberyard to do it for you for a price. If they finish one side it's called S1S, 2 sides is S2S, 3 sides is S3S and all 4 sides (which is what I bought) is S4S.

When you buy rough lumber your price is calculated by the "board foot" (explained here) or bf, and the lumber you buy will be all different widths and lengths.

I hope that helps,
cynthia
 
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