The New (Lumber) Math: I almost laughed at this. I was in Lowe's buying some lumber. At the beginning of the lumber aisle, they have a sign explaining lumber sizes. For example, "7/16"...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I almost laughed at this. I was in Lowe's buying some lumber. At the beginning of the lumber aisle, they have a sign explaining lumber sizes. For example, "7/16" = 1/2". Nothing is what it seems anymore. I got used to 1 1/2" 2 x 4s, but now plywood is thinner. At least it's still 4' X 8', but 3/4" = 23/32". This is a perfect situation for the metric system.

Plywood.com says this is trivial, and dimensional lumber is also undersized. (If they can do it, we can do it.) Although a reduction of 1/32" in thickness isn't going to matter on a home project, it does matter if you're making plywood. They save 144 cu in on each sheet of plywood. After they make twenty-four sheets, and they get one for free. It's not about manufacturing or furniture; it's about making money. I didn't notice a reduction in the price of plywood when they began making it thinner.

http://theplywood.com/thickness

Yes, I'm complaining about losing 1/32". Ridiculous, I know.

johnsonsjourneys

Unbelievable. So many items have gotten smaller, etc. with no reduction in prices. 😩

dougbev3 Loc: Pueblo, Colorado

So if you had to cut out a section of floor that was 3/4" and you had to replace it with 23/32". it would not be a perfect fit. but they are not selling the 1/32" size, so your project is just off unless you replace the whole floor.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

dougbev3 wrote:

...unless you replace the whole floor.

See? There's always a solution.

moonhawk Loc: Land of Enchantment

dougbev3 wrote:

So if you had to cut out a section of floor that was 3/4" and you had to replace it with 23/32". it would not be a perfect fit. but they are not selling the 1/32" size, so your project is just off unless you replace the whole floor.

Sigh....Been there, done that...

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

jerryc41 wrote:

I almost laughed at this. I was in Lowe's buying ... (show quote)

No, the manufacturer does not save on wood costs. The thickness reduction of 1/32" is due to the slight surface sanding done to bring each panel at time of manufacture to a common thickness. Variations in the individual veneer thicknesses at time of panel manufacture account for variations in individual panel thickness, hence light sanding of each panel to bring the panel to a common thickness. I will not get into the discussion of why 2x4's are 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" today as that is a much longer story usually only understood by someone who has a history over many decades in the lumber manufacturing business here in North America.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

jerryc41 wrote:

I almost laughed at this. I was in Lowe's buying ... (show quote)

Dimensional lumber is sized for consistency in use for construction. 2x4 at one time were rough cut to 2x4, and shrunk to who knows what size after drying. Today lumber is cut so after drying, it can be planed (dimensioned) to consistent standard size, which for 2x4 is 1.5"x3.5".
I've seen this vary by as much as 1/8", but it's not supposed to. Plywood is different, and when I was young 1/2" plywood was 1/2". Eventually, this got all screwed up as you say. It makes a big difference if you have a dado blade that cuts to say 1/4 inch, and you can't make it smaller. Todays dado blades are less than 1/4" and need shimmed out for an actual 1/4", or 1/2" etc. dimension. All wood shrinks and grows with humidity, so rulers are used more than micrometers.

As far as paying the same for less plywood, you could also say you would be paying more if they didn't reduce the size. I'd guess the reasoning is not that though, probably more to do with metric to SAE conversions or something. Price seems to be a non-issue when it comes to lumber and plywood.

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

Hey, Jerry, didn't you have that series of cartoons on "downsizing"? 😁

I realized Lowe's had a problem a few years back, when they had "36-inch yardsticks" for sale! 😳 I tried to get a 37" yardstick, but apparently they were all sold out! 😱

--Rich

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

RiJoRi wrote:

Hey, Jerry, didn't you have that series of cartoons on "downsizing"? 😁

I realized Lowe's had a problem a few years back, when they had "36-inch yardsticks" for sale! 😳 I tried to get a 37" yardstick, but apparently they were all sold out! 😱

--Rich

Yes, I did. Downsizing is ridiculous. I hate it. Of course, they always have excuses and "good reasons," but you still wind up with less product. When Stewart's switches from half gallon to three pints, I'm giving up ice cream.

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

johnsonsjourneys wrote:

Unbelievable. So many items have gotten smaller, etc. with no reduction in prices. 😩

That's what she said.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

RiJoRi wrote:

…
I realized Lowe's had a problem a few years back, when they had "36-inch yardsticks" for sale! 😳 I tried to get a 37" yardstick, but apparently they were all sold out! 😱

--Rich

In the US they will probably start selling 36 inch meter sticks for people who want to convert to metric.

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

DirtFarmer wrote:

In the US they will probably start selling 36 inch meter sticks for people who want to convert to metric.

😂 A lot of what I read is science fiction, so I can translate "meters" to "yards", "liters" to "quarts", etc. Doesn't really matter in these cases. But if I needed more precision, the phone would come out! 😊

--Rich

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

When we were imperial you had to be careful when buying timber. A 2 x 4 is rough sawn but when it is DAR (dressed all round) it became smaller. But still a 2 x 4 DAR.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

jerryc41 wrote:

I almost laughed at this. I was in Lowe's buying ... (show quote)

Losing the 1/32" is bad enough, but then if you are using fixed dimension cutters (router )etc. you now have to buy more cutters.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

I’m waiting for the milk bottlers to push out the 100 ounce gallon of milk.