Learn

Short, practical explainers — the math on one side, the material on the other. Each one stands alone; together they're the thinking behind the planner's numbers.

Or skip straight to the calculatorThe planner applies all of this math for you, part by part.

The math

Board feet, log scales, and the arithmetic the trade runs on.

How to calculate board feetThe one formula that covers every board, worked examples for 4/4 and 8/4 stock, and the three rules — rough thickness, waste, real widths — that keep your math matching the bill. Board feet in a logFull Doyle and International 1/4″ tables for logs from 8″ to 30″, and the century-old argument that explains why three scales give three answers for the same log. Printable lookup sheetA one-page black-and-white reference made to print and hang by the saw: board feet for every common 4/4 size, with multipliers for 5/4 through 16/4 stock. Nominal vs actual sizesWhy a 2×4 measures 1-1/2″ × 3-1/2″: the full softwood and hardwood size charts, plus the 1924 and 1964 standards that locked the numbers in.

The wood

What the boards themselves are up to — treatment, moisture, and the angle of the saw.

The green boardsWhat pressure treatment actually is, above-ground vs ground-contact ratings, why it corrodes ordinary fasteners, why boards shrink after installation, and the safety rules that matter. Wet woodFree water vs bound water, how dry a board needs to be for where it will live, acclimating stock before you mill it, and checking moisture with or without a meter. How boards are cutWhat flatsawn, quartersawn, and riftsawn mean, how each cut looks and moves, and how to read a board's end grain at the rack so you pick on purpose.

The safety

Habits and machine rules built from sourced facts, not shop folklore.

Shop safety basicsThe habits that cover every tool: eyes, ears, the gloves rule, dressing for spinning machines, setting up the shop to rescue you, and knowing when to quit for the day. Wood dust: the slow injuryChips are gravel; fine dust is smoke. What the invisible fraction does to lungs and sinuses, the exposure limits nobody agrees on, the order of defenses, and which respirator filter matches which job. Fire in the shopOil-soaked rags start fires with no spark and no warning — the mechanism, the two safe ways to dispose of them, dust and sparks as fuel and ignition, and the gear for the bad day. The table sawKickback is geometry, not bad luck: how the rising rear teeth throw a board, what the riving knife actually does, the fence-or-miter-gauge rule, and where to stand. The jointerThe machine that erases instead of cuts: push blocks always, the minimum-length rule, light passes, and why the spring guard is never in your way. The planerThe only machine that feeds itself — which means hands stay outside, stock spans both rollers, nobody stands in the ejection line, and reclaimed wood gets scanned for metal first. The bandsawThe polite saw — it pushes down, not back. Where that reputation ends: round stock that rolls, guides left high, backing out of curves, and fingers in the cut line. The miter sawOne hand runs the saw while the other holds the wood — so the whole discipline is where that other hand lives: the no-hands zone, short offcuts, the lift that flings, and never crossing your arms. The routerThe only tool that votes on direction: feed against the bit's rotation or it feeds itself. Climb cuts, bit speeds by diameter, trapped cuts, and the end-of-cut moment at the router table. The circular sawEvery cut is a controlled collapse — plan which side falls. Support geometry that keeps the kerf open, blade depth, the guard that must snap back, and the coasting blade. The drill pressThe machine that never looks dangerous — until the bit grabs and the workpiece becomes a propeller. Clamping rules, speed by bit size, breakthrough, and the chuck key. The latheThe one machine where the wood moves and the tool holds still — faceshield territory. Inspecting blanks, the speed rule, the firing line at startup, and sanding without snags. The nail gunThe word "gun" is not a metaphor: 37,000 ER visits a year, and a trigger choice that doubles or halves your risk. Sequential vs bump firing, deflected nails, and clearing jams. Chisels, knives & hand toolsThe quiet majority of shop injuries: smaller than machine wounds, far more numerous. The one geometry rule behind all of them, why sharp is safer, and what to do with spent blades. The angle grinderThe fastest wheel in the shop: matching wheel ratings to spindle speed, why the guard and side handle stay on, pinch kickback in cutoff work, and a plain warning about chainsaw-tooth carving discs.