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1. Dimensioning - cutting rough sawn
hardwood (planks, beams, cladding etc) to size: Useful for jobs where a
rough finish is required, e.g., exterior cladding, or where dimensioned
pieces are going to be worked with hand tools to make turned articles,
carvings or small items of furniture.
2. Thicknessing and/or planing - reducing the thickness of a board to
the required size and taking the rough surface off before sanding and
finishing. Hardwood is cut in certain thicknesses. Common thicknesses
include 1/2", 1", 1 1/4" 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", 3" and 4". If you need a
board of wood measuring, for example, 6' long by 8" wide by 3/4" thick,
when it's finished, you will have to start with a board measuring 1"
thick and reduce the thickness as required. Thicknessing is also used
to straighten boards that are uneven on one or both faces. Planing will
remove the rough sawn surface including saw marks from a piece of sawn
hardwood; the resulting surface will - depending on the quality of the
planer - be much smoother, but not as smooth as a sanded surface.
Planers also sometimes leave marks on the wood, slightly raised areas,
especially if there's a chink out of the planer blade (which there
shouldn't be).
(Less there be any confusion, the length of a piece of wood is measured
along the grain, the width is measured across the grain, and the
thickness is the measure between the two largest surfaces of a plank or
board.)
3. Moulding - manufacturing cladding, panelling, flooring, skirting, architraves, beads etc.
Useful for architects or builders who are working on projects that
require particular specifications on cladding, flooring etc. Moulding
is usually done to order from the mill's own stock; but most mills will
run hardwood from other sources through their machines.
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