In large lots lumber is ordered thus: 800' (B. M.) whitewood, dressed 2 sides to 7/8", 10" and up. This means that the width of any piece must not be less than 10". Prices are usually given per "M," i. e., per 1000 ft.: e. g.: basswood may be quoted at $40.00 per M.
When thin boards are desired it is often economical to buy inch stuff and have it resawn.
Some lumber is also ordered by the "running" or lineal foot, especially moldings, etc., or by the piece, if there is a standard size as in fence-posts, studs, etc. Laths and shingles are ordered by the bundle to cover a certain area. 1000 4" shingles (=4 bundles) cover 110 sq. ft. with 4" weather exposure. 100 laths (1 bundle) each 1/4" × 1-1/2" × 4'0" cover about 150 sq. ft.
There are several methods of measuring lumber. The general rule is to multiply the length in feet by the width and thickness in inches and divide by 12, thus: 1" × 6" × 15' ÷ 12 = 7-1/2 feet. The use of the Essex board-measure and the Lumberman's board-measure are described in Chapter 4, pp. 109 and 111.
_For. Bull._, No, 41, pp. 5-12, von Schrenk. Dunlap, _Wood Craft_, 6: 133, Feb. '07. _For. Circ._ No. 40, pp. 10-16, Herty. Barter, pp. 39-53. Boulger, pp. 66-70, 80-88. _Wood Craft_, 6: 31, Nov. '06. _For. Circ._ No. 139. _Agric. Yr. Bk._, 1905, pp. 455-464.
MEASURING Sickels, pp. 22, 29. Goss, p. 12. _Building Trades Pocketbook_, pp. 335, 349, 357. Tate, p. 21.
[Footnote *: For general bibliography see p. 4.]
The hand tools in common use in woodworking shops may, for convenience, be divided into the following classes: 1, Cutting; 2, Boring; 3, Chopping; 4, Scraping; 5, Pounding; 6, Holding; 7, Measuring and Marking; 8, Sharpening; 9, Cleaning.
The most primitive as well as the simplest of all tools for the dividing of wood into parts, is the wedge. The wedge does not even cut the wood, but only crushes enough of it with its edge to allow its main body to split the wood apart. As soon as the split has begun, the edge of the wedge serves no further purpose, but the sides bear against the split surfaces of the wood. The split runs ahead of the wedge as it is driven along until the piece is divided.
It was by means of the wedge that primitive people obtained slabs of wood, and the great change from primitive to civilized methods in manipulating wood consists in the substitution of cutting for splitting, of edge tools for the wedge. The wedge follows the grain of the wood, but the edge tool can follow a line determined by the worker. The edge is a refinement and improvement upon the wedge and enables the worker to be somewhat independent of the natural grain of the wood.