2x4s -- Straight, Strong, and Clear

If your local lumberyard is like most, the quality of the 2x4x8s in the commons bin sucks dead toads. Most are shot through with defects, visual and physical, that affect strength and stability. What do you do when you need a strong, reasonably clear, visually attractive 2x4? The answer lies in another bin, and a little work on your part. Nick shows you where to look and what to do.

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Music: Longings
Artist: Justnormal

[WorkshopCompanion]

The quality of construction lumber in America has declined since the last century. The reasons are many and complex, but much of it is due to the disappearance of old-growth forests and the increased reliance on tree farms with much younger trees. In the 1940s, most construction lumber was cut from trees that were decades old, today they may be as young as 9 years old. As a result, the 2x4s in the commons bin in a typical American lumberyard are cut from small, fast-growing trees, mostly "white wood" (SPF on the stamp -- spruce, pine, fir).

With younger trees being lumbered, many mills have relaxed grading standards. The folks I have talked to who buy lumber from and for lumberyards consistently tell me that what we consider #2 grade lumber today (a common construction grade) would have been classified as #3 not long ago. Furthermore, boards are not graded for twists and bows. Carpenters are expected to "crown" the studs in a wall so the boards all bow in the same direction and the wall appears flat. The result is that even though the wood may be suitable for construction, the overall appearance of common 2x4s sucks dead toads.

And if the lumber’s appearance is not bad enough, there are other problems you may encounter that are not so visible:
• Fast-growth wood is more likely to rot.
• Young trees have poor dimensional stability – they may even shrink lengthwise. Boards cut from these trees are also more likely to have "wane" -- areas showing the living edge of the tree where the board is smaller than its advertised dimensions.
• The sugar in the sapwood may attract fungi and insects.
• If the wood is dried quickly, it’s more likely to develop checks, shakes, honeycomb, and other drying-related defects.
• Young wood is more likely to have “reaction wood” that bows or warps as you cut it.

Recently, Travis and I built a new two-story workshop -- see our video in the "Community" posts on this channel. When it came time to put in the stairs, we could not find a single 2x4 at our local lumberyards that we would want to use as a hand rail. Not only did they look bad, there were none that we could trust not to throw splinters – a problem you definitely want to avoid in a hand rail.

But I did notice that the 2x12s that we used for the steps and stringers were of a much higher quality. Because they were wider, there were necessarily cut from bigger, older trees. They weren’t perfectly clear, but there were fewer knots and defects than in the 2x4 stock, and the knots tended to be tighter. So we bought some 2x10s* and ripped our 2x4 railings from them – it worked wonderfully.

*Why not 2x12s where you can get three 2x4s out of each? Because you have to use the middle board, and most of the defects, especially the pith, are closer to the middle than the edges. Furthermore, the outside boards tend toward quartersawn and riftsawn grain, which is a good deal more stable than the plainsawn middle.

As a bonus, the 2x10s were lumbered from Southern Yellow Pine (“SYP” on the stamp), a much stronger wood than the white wood 2x4s. If you want the numbers, the specific gravity of Ponderosa Pine (a common SPF) is just 0.38 on the average, compared to Southern Yellow Pine at 0.59, making SYP much denser and harder. Ponderosa Pine has a bending strength (modulus of rupture) of 1.29 Mpsi and a stiffness (modulus of elasticity) of 9, 400 psi; while Southern Yellow Pine stands at 1.98 Mpsi and 14, 500 psi respectively.

[WesternCommie]

I was renovating my home and found some old 2x4 under the floors just left. These were true 2x4 of old growth pine and were free of damage. They weren't even warped.
I wish we could have that level of quality again.

[Charlielizard]

What a brilliant way of getting what is needed. As I was passing through my local big box store, I saw a number of 2x4's in carts some were purchasing. I have not seen anything so warped and trashy in all my years. Truly appreciate your videos!

[SoloClone]

Hardware store guy here, this man helps make me into the kind of guy all the contractors and DIY folks need most.

[RobertWill-uqiv]

He really knows his shit on both particle physics and time travel, so I always take his advice on lumber. Thank you for your service, Mr. Einstein.

[lander]

I recently got a job where they make wood trusses. I noticed the lumber they have is amazing. Its perfect. The "scrap" is better looking that what I can buy in a hardware store.

[wearthedead]

When I was in carpentry. My boss was just like you. He taught me so much and made it easy to get it the first time. Love your content. He was like a dad to us guys.

[JeremyS]

over the summer i actually decided to try one of these small time guys out in the country who cut their own lumber. i was surprised at the quality and price.
a true 2x4

[zenbooter]

Hello Nick. Tommy from years ago here. Your clamping squares were a feature in one of the leading woodworking magazines that I needed to put together a number of cabinets. I made 8 pairs and they helped make the job go faster and neater. I still have them and I’ve seen many copies over the years. Going to get aboard your website. Thanks.

[Kingzsy]

I love watching older skilled gentleman talk like this man.. I’ve never had a grandfather and have always yearned to be able to have one to teach me things or just listen to his stories. I love older folks sm 🥺

[cianmoriarty]

This is wild. Because growing fairly knot free pine quickly was worked out completely in the late 80s early 90s. It just requires a specific trimming regimin. That it's not being done means there's labour or skills shortages.

[ryaneden-kozs]

This guy is like the handyman/woodworker dad I never had 😢 thank you sir!

[johnsorensen]

I got yellow pine 2x4’s in Florida for a loft project. Having used white pine for years, I was really impressed with how hard, clear and straight these boards were. When finished, the loft felt like it was constructed with iron and concrete!

[donaldready]

Best argument for buying a table saw I've ever heard so concisely put.

[ronblack]

my supplier sells premiun 2x4's as well as regular. got a skid when they were out of the regular. wow what a difference . they were all square edge, straight and looked beautiful.

[KH-qyfm]

Great tip! While on the subject of purchasing rough lumber, you should try to avoid having it delivered whenever you can. I understand it’s simply not practical for a lot of folks but, if you leave it to the lumber yard, they’ll always try to sneak in a couple of the worst pieces to get rid of them. Many places will refund them if taken back but if you had the lumber delivered in the first place most likely you have no way of bringing them back.

[AHersheyHere]

Unless it's a fresh bundle then the top layer has been picked through a hundred times, leaving the most dinged, warped, and dirty of lumber pieces.
Sizes not so commonly used in construction will not be so finely filtered.

[MrAlexandre]

Old guys like this are absolutely brilliant...

[LutherBaker]

This is genius! This technique also allows for ripping more custom sizes to order as well as having a more "square" shape for potentially "nicer" furniture.

[eel]

I don't really do any woodworking, but I love your content. Just kind of gathering knowledge for the day when I do have the time and equipment to start building stuff.