One Of The Unhappiest Experiences The Home Furniture Maker Can Run Into Is Buying A Piece Of Wood And Then Finding It's Just A Little Too Short. Because Of Shrinkage And Varying Standards Of Mill Planing, There Is A Difference Between The Actual "net" Size Of Dressed Lumber That You Get From The Lumberyard And The Nominal Size That You Order. However, Plywood Is Sold In The Exact Dimensions As Offered.Board Lumber Nominally 1 Inch Thick Will Actually Measure From 34 To 78 Inch (usually 1316 Inch). And Its Actual Width Will Be 38 Inch Less Than Its Nominal Width, In Pieces Between 2 And 6 Inches Wide; In Wider Pieces The Difference Will Jump To 12 Inch.Similarly, Dimensional Lumber Of 2-inch Nominal Thickness Actually Measures 158 Inches. So Be Specific About The Size You Want, And Check The Extent That The Dressed Lumber Varies From The Rough-cut Size.
