Question

[bronzehydra]

When I'm looking at woods and stuff, they say "4/4" and "8/4". etc.

What does that mean?

 

[bongomania]

That's the ideal time signature for the instrument to be made from that wood. A lot of people don't realize that individual basses have an inherent time signature.

 

[fretlessman71]

While you're contemplating the sarcasm level of bongo, how about you post a few links to examples of what you're talking about?

 

[bronzehydra]

For some reason I dont believe that Bongo

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200281607369

Theres something I found as an example, but I saw signs at the exotic wood shop that said "8/4 African Mahogany" and "4/4 Purpleheart"

 

[Slax]

Sorry, Bongo & fretlessman's posts were hilarious back to back.

A 4x4 is 4'' by 4''. Most beams in your house are probably 2x4's. That's 2'' by 4''. It's just the thickness and width of the wood.

 

[bronzehydra]

Wow, I feel silly for asking that question then.
For some reason I thought it was something else.

 

[fretlessman71]

WAITAMINNIT! I saw what bronzehydra was talking about! And I found an explanation too.

http://www.advantagelumber.com/sizes.htm

Basically, it's the thickness of the wood in inches, using an improper fraction. 8/4 refers to a board that is two inches thick, 4/4 is one inch, 6/4 is an inch and a half.

And 7/4 is a Pink Floyd song that was big in the 70's called Money.

 

[Slax]

Wow, I feel silly for asking that question then.
For some reason I thought it was something else.

Never feel silly asking a question. Check out fretlessman's post above mine. Seems I wasn't 100% right in this situation. This will make a good search thread for later on.

 

[bronzehydra]

YES! There we go. Now I understand it.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[tjclem]

Those figures in most cases refer to rough lumber. an 8/4 board won't be 2" once it is smooth enough to use. Just FYI

 

[Larry Davis]

What Tom said!! It's a technically correct reference to ROUGH lumber only and not surfaced lumber. Rough 8/4 lumber can actually be 2.125 thick and after surfacing can be as thin as 1 13/16 and still be sold as 2" thick. Lumber surfaced to 3/4 or thinner are required to be sold by the square foot and not board foot. None of this means a seller is accurately describing his wood dimensions....especially eBay people.

 

[fretlessman71]

That makes sense. A 2x4 isn't exactly two inches by four inches once the consumer gets his hands on it; why should this be any different?

 

[kgrundy]

yeah I buy my lumber rough sawn and it come in 4/4(1") 6/4(1.5)8/4(2") roughly...that is how I order when it comes from the lumber mill but if you ask they can usually plane it down to whatever thickness you want if you don't have a planer and my supplier hasd done it for me at no charge

 

[bronzehydra]

Thanks for the info guys

Another question I had was:

Before I start building my bass for real, would it be a good idea to build like a test bass body in my woodshop class? (I have an idea on how to build a bass, but never done it before)

 

[bongomania]

It wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if you take very accurate measurements.

 

[mikeyswood]

A 2x4 has an actual size of 2" by 4" when first cut. It ends with a nominal size of 1.5"x 3.5"

That 1/2" decrease stays until 8" when the nominal size moves to 3/4" under (7.25").

Also FYI the rough size of lumber is measured in quarters: four quarter, eight quarter, ect
much the same way that rebar is measured in bars :: fun side note - a bar = 1/8"; 5 bar = 5/8"

That is because you cut the tree to 8/4 when wet and shrinkage makes is just a BH under 2" thinkness.





...or perhaps it is a swim in a cold pool