Dimensional Lumber for Dummy DIYers

Nominal 2-by lumber

There are dummies out there, and then there are dumbasses. At the Antisocial Network, we think the difference is that a dummy admits it when he or she doesn't know something. For us, a dumbass is someone who doesn't know anything but babbles on about it anyway. Take, for instance, Cheryl Ess (fake name number 771) of eHow.com, who clearly knows nothing about dimensional lumber yet collected her fifteen bucks from Demand Media for misinforming readers in "What Is the Radius of the Edges of 2X4 Lumber?" (now safely ensconced at HomeSteady.com)

How do we know that Cheryl's a dummy who wouldn't know a 2-by-4 if one hit her on the butt? because of mangled explanations like this one:

"Lumberyards specify a radius edge board, which was made from a 2X straight edge board, as 5/4X because the straight center portion of the edge measures 1.25 (five-fourths) inches..."

That's bull: in dimensional lumber parlance, 5/4 refers to the thickness of radius-edge boards commonly used for decking; which have a nominal thickness of 1-1/4 inches and a milled thickness of approximately one inch. The term has nothing whatsoever to do with 2-by-4 dimensional lumber. Not content with that misinformation, Ms. Ess continues by concluding that

"The difference between the 1.5-inch straight edge thickness and the 1.25-inch radius edge center thickness is due to the two corner quarter-circles. Each has a radius of 0.125 inch (one-eighth inch or 3.2 millimeters)." Amazing as it may seem, this blind pig found an acorn: according to the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB: people who actually use wood instead of trying to write about it are probably accustomed to seeing these letters stamped on pine dimensional lumber),  "Eased edges means slightly rounded surfacing on pieces of lumber to remove sharp corners. The standard radius for ... 2"... nominal thickness lumber shall not exceed..., 1/8"..."

Cheryl may have stumbled over the "acorn" of a correct measurement, but her explanation is just plain bullshit, written by someone who not only didn't know the answer but also didn't understand the question. In our book here at the Antisocial Network, that makes her a dumbass - a Dumbass of the Day.

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