If you buy S4S what do you expect?
 

I placed an order for some Curly Cherry. I paid extra to have the boards finished S4S. I asked for and expected them to come in all the same thickness. They did not. Should I expect this in S4S?

Now the wood was nice. no complaints about the nice wood and the service was fast and friendly. I paid for almost 40% more rough material to allow for the waste in the planing and sanding to S4S. Anyway , when you order a "lot" of 4/4 finished to 3/4 inch S4S do you expect to get the whole order at the same thickness?

If you ordered X board feet of rough stock, and then ordered it to be finished for a charge, then yes, it should all be 3/4. Otherwise you would have paid for the finished stock only, which may have been picked off a rack and not been milled at the same time, resulting in the differentiations. So it is on the finisher, IMO. 40% sounds a little high on the waste, but each lot is different. And most of the waste comes from the jointing or straightening as opposed to the planing. Cherry stock coming off my planer needs no sanding either. Either way, it sounds like it didn't happen the way you paid for it to happen....

s4s
 

I am surprised that they took ht eorder without a thickness specified. S4S is just that, stock finished all sides to a spec'ed thickness. Some of the more figured wooods may require more thickness to get what you want. I usually spec 13/16" thick, one edge straight line rip, on some pieces one side may not be fully surfaced, but still the tickness is as ordered.

Ed

I did specify the 3/4 inch and I paid for the milling service to get the S4S.

No big deal. They are not off by a lot and I can belt sand it out or use a hand planer + sand. Just wondering what to expect in the future from most dealers who do milling services.

I'd expect it to be within a few thousandths of a inch

maybe they did run a few and took some off the rack
if you can sand it, you shouldn't have a problem but I'd let them know it for the next time you place an order

I agree with Slip, it should have all been run at once. With anything you have to measure with it should be the same dimension. The biggest problem is if it has been sanded is you can't now plane it lightly without dulling your planer blades.

I have a 38" drum sander if you want to come by my shop in worcester to get them exactly the same.
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Thanks for the info. I would say there may be up to a 64ths difference in some. My guess is they did not run them all on the same set up but did as Slip said with some off the rack or ran some , changed the set up for something else , then reset it back for the remainder of my order which resulted in them not being exact.

Good tip about not using the planer after the sanding. I don't have a bench planer but I do have a hand power planer i was considering using.

Maybe I'll take you up on that offer when the time comes Jackbass. i'm still a ways away from that stage but I'll keep it in mind , thanks for the offer.

Any time just shoot me a pm
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