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Admin
Me too.
Not four-by-two?
All those measurements are wrong, BTW. It's closer to 80x35 or something like that. I don't know why, probably something to do with the width of a horse's arse or something.
Admin
The nominal dimensions are as-sawn (rough surfaced). Milling/sanding the wood smooth removes about 1/4 inch (7-ish mm) from each side.
Admin
TIL. That makes it more like 85x35 which is close to what I said. Seems like a lot of material to remove just to make a smooth surface though. So much sawdust! Too many trees dying in vain!
Admin
Yeah. ISTR reading that with modern process control, they can saw them closer to the finished size, so less waste, but the finished dimensions remain what they have historically been.
Admin
Forgot to mention: Storing width as cm doesn't save you from decimal because some tapes will be < 1cm and most will not be an integer number of cm wide.
Admin
Store it in micrometres! 32 bits can precisely represent both metric and imperial/statute sizes (there is an exact mapping) up to a size large enough for nearly any construction job. The construction jobs that are over that are able to put up with the cost of using 64 bit arithmetic; it'll be peanuts in comparison to the quantity of concrete required.
Admin
Sawdust has all kinds of other uses.