US Lumber Sizes?

[Victor Pringle]

Hi
I am a furniture designer in New Zealand. I am shortly going to be in the process of converting some of my designs to use timber that is readily available in the United States. I can not seem to find a definitive list of what sizes of timber is commonly available.
My current designs use dressed pine (I think in the States it is called dimensional) and in metric sizes. I wish to find the nearest US equivalent for them. I would wish to find a close substitute as I don't want the users of my plans to have to rip the timber to the correct size.
If anybody could give me some pointers to a definitive list it would be most appreciated.
I am thinking of mainly Pine and available in home improvement stores like Home Depot (which is the only one I have heard of. I am sure there are others)
One of my plans has been designed utilising the following materials
Dressed Pine 1" x 4"
Dressed Pine 1" x 9"
Dressed Pine 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
Dressed Pine 2-1/2" x 3"
Are these materials available in the States?
Victor Pringle

 

[EPAIII]

Most dimensional lumber in the US is in inch measurement units and in most cases the dressed dimensions are 1/2 inch less than the nominal sizes.But there are exceptions as a 1 inch nominal board would actually be 3/4".

So, looking at your list, a pine 1 x 4 would actually measure 3/4" x 3-1/2".

Boards over 3" wide do not commonly come in odd inch sizes so the closest to your 1" x 9' would be a 1 x 10 which actually measures 3/4" x 9 1/2".

As for your 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" and 2-1/2" x 3-1/2", you could get a 2 x 2 which measures an actual 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" or you would have to step up to a 4 x 4 (sorry, 3 x 3 is not common) which actually measures 3-1/2" x 3-1/2".

A word of caution, most dimensional lumber in the US is sold for home construction and is not intended to be visible. It can have many knots and other voids or be warped and/or twisted.

You can get better grades of pine (clear pine) if you pay more. And you can get any size you want if you order it from the mill.

Other, better woods are available in most lumber yards at higher prices but they tend to be in the same sizes. 1/4" and 1/2" thick boards are commonly available in these better grade woods.

As for length, the most common is 8', but can range from 1' to 16'. Most lumber yards will cut to length, but this will not be a precision cut (perhaps +/- 1/2").