Board silly
I recently argued with a guy over availability of lumber. He said 24 2x4s were common; I thought not, and more or less said youd never find one. Looks like…
I recently argued with a guy over availability of lumber. He said 24 2x4s were common; I thought not, and more or less said youd never find one. Looks like I lose.
And boy howdy, do I hate to lose. Posting the question on one of the woodworking forums, I quickly learned that there were a number of sources for 2x4s that length. To be sure, at most of these places a 2x4 24 long was something they had to special order or custom make; far fewer places actually have them as a stock item. Youre certainly not going to hop down to your local Big Box store, grab a few and toss them in the back of the pickup.
So naturally, the old talk show host in me can easily twist the facts around and present them in such a way as to convince the guy that I was right and he was wrong. I mean, theyre anything but common, and in my rebuttal Im sure I can bamboozle him to forget that I used phrases like, They dont exist, you idiot.
But, exist they do if you really want one. The question that hits me then is why would you ever want a 2x4 thats 24 long? A 2x10 or 2x8, sure, I can see that. Maybe even a 2x6. But what use would there be for a 2x4 that long? Seems to me that itd snap under its own weight. And if it didnt, I cant imagine handling one without it flopping around like a limp piece of fettuccini. Itd take three evenly spaced guys to carry it just to keep it from sagging to the ground. (The mental image reminds me of a bunch of guys holding a giant boa constrictor at full length for a newspaper photo taken at the zoo.)
But for what truly practical purpose would you have for a 2x4 that long?
Discuss.
Till next time,
A.J.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.