When working with lumber, terminology such as “Rough-sawn Lumber”, “S2S”, “S3S”, and “S4S” are commonly used throughout the industry. These categories are simply a way to understand how much the board’s surface is dressed or pre-surfaced. Before lumber can be used in a project, its surfaces need to be straight and smooth. As there are four sides to every board, the S-x-S indicates how many sides have been pre-surfaced.
- Rough-Sawn = all surfaces are rough and uneven
- S2S = surfaced two sides
- S3S = surfaced three sides
- S4S = surfaced four sides.
Each stage requires a specific tool to complete the process of smoothing and straightening board faces and edges. When purchasing lumber, a woodworker's capabilities, time constraints, and available tools help determine which stage is best for their project. Boards are offered at each stage to help save time on pre-surfacing or save money by DIY-ing stages.
What is S2S Lumber?
S2S is short for “surfaced on 2 sides”. This signifies that a board was run through a planer to make the faces smooth and straight. However the edges of the board are untouched and rough. So, before this type of lumber is usable for a project it needs to have a straight edge for cutting.
S2S lumber is mainly for woodworkers who don’t have a planer machine but have a jointer and a table saw. Furthermore, S2S lumber is only recommended for those who have both of these tools and experience. A jointer machine or a straight line rip jig on a table saw is necessary for creating at least one straight edge. After the straight edge is created, that edge can be placed against the table saw fence to rip boards into preferred width.
The price of S2S lumber costs less than lumber that already has a straight edge ripped for you. However, the amount of savings is typically very small. Additionally, Sawmills are particularly equipped to handle large amounts of lumber to save time on big projects.
What is S3S Lumber?
S3S is short for “surfaced on 3 sides” or "surfaced on 2 faces and 1 edge”. This signifies that, just like S2S, a board was run through a planer to make the faces smooth and straight. Then the process was taken a step further where one side was ripped to give 1 true edge with a jointer. The other edge is still untouched, rough, and ready for a table saw or straight line rip saw. Typically, setting a rough edge against a table saw fence won’t provide a great result. Which is why a jointer is essential for creating a straight, smooth edge to use as a base.
S3S lumber is perfect for saving time on surfacing boards or for woodworkers who don’t have a planer and a jointer machine. Woodworkers can skip part of the time-consuming milling process and start ripping boards into preferred width(s). As stated above, the cost savings between S2S and S3S is minimal. However, the cost difference between S3S and the finished product S4S is significant. Furthermore, since S3S lumber provides woodworkers a bit of flexibility in board sizes, they can order quantities for multiple projects.
What is SLR1E and SLR2E?
SLR in lumber stands for ‘straight line rip’. This is the technique used to render a board’s edge straight and smooth. 1E means one of the board’s edges has been cut to make a clean, straight edge to place against a table saw fence for ripping. In other words, SLR1E creates S3S Lumber. 2E means two edges have been cut to create a board with straight edges on both sides, in other words - S4S lumber.
What is S4S Lumber?
S4S is short for “surfaced on 4 sides”. This signifies that the board undergoes:
- the S2S process of creating straight faces,
- the S3S process of ripping a straight edge,
- And finally, the S4S process of ripping the other edge to a specific width
So a final product of S4S lumber is a board that has both faces and both edges smoothed and straightened. S4S lumber has uniform thickness throughout the board with two parallel faces and two parallel edges. As the milling process is completed, the board is ready to be used in any woodworking project.
S4S lumber is the most popular type of lumber and is commonly found at home improvement big box stores. Keep in mind however, the cost of S4S lumber at big box stores generally is significantly higher than purchasing directly from a local sawmill. Additionally, S4S boards are supposed to be perfectly square, flat, with parallel edges on all four sides. So why are the boards at these big box stores so warped? This is because they are unequipped to store these materials properly. Kiln dried hardwoods can easily become bowed and difficult to use without a lot of waste.
Natural Hardwood S2S Lumber, S3S Lumber, and S4S Lumber from Heritage Oak
A quality lumber dealer is essential for finding boards that don’t make your project harder than it should be. So why waste time digging through a pile of s4s lumber at a big box store? At Heritage Oak, we take great pride in creating high quality hardwood products. Every hardwood that goes through our hands is properly managed and stored in our warehouse! So you can rest assured your hardwood S2S, S3S, or S4S lumber is of the highest quality. S4S boards from Heritage Oak are thoroughly finished on all four sides and offered in varying lengths. Reach out to us today and see how S4S boards can enhance your project!