Author
Woodshop Math Editorial Team
Measurement and estimating content team
The Woodshop Math Editorial Team writes and maintains every calculator explanation and guide on this site. The team works for AUSV SYSTEMS PTY LTD (Victoria, Australia) and specialises in one narrow subject: the arithmetic and measurement conventions behind woodworking, carpentry and material takeoffs.
The team publishes under a collective byline rather than individual names. Every guide it writes carries a publication date, a review date, and a list of the specific publications its figures came from, so the work can be checked against its sources instead of against a résumé.
What the team does not claim is equally important: it does not test products in a workshop, conduct field trials, provide structural engineering review, or offer code-compliance authority. Those limits are stated on every calculator and guide.
Subject expertise
- Lumber and timber measurement conventions, including board feet, linear feet, nominal labels and dressed sizes
- Sheet-goods area estimating, cut-list planning and saw-kerf allowances
- Deck, fence, stair and roof layout geometry for early planning takeoffs
- Wood physical properties published by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, including density and dimensional change
- Translating published standards and handbooks into calculators that state their own assumptions and limits
Published guides
11 guides, most recently reviewed 14 September 2026.
How to Calculate Board Feet
Understand board-foot volume and use it to organize mixed-size lumber purchases.
Board Feet vs Linear Feet
Understand the difference between volume pricing and length pricing for wood projects.
Nominal vs Actual Lumber Sizes
Understand North American nominal lumber labels, surfaced sizes, and when to measure stock.
How to Estimate Sheet Goods
Understand area estimates, whole-sheet rounding, and layout constraints for sheet goods.
How to Calculate Deck Boards
Understand deck-board row coverage, direction, stock length, seams, trimming, and purchasing assumptions.
How to Calculate Stair Stringers
Understand how whole riser counts turn a target riser into actual stair geometry.
How to Calculate Rafters
Understand right-triangle rafter geometry and horizontal-versus-sloped distances.
Miter Angle Guide
Understand common miter angle calculations for frames, trim, and polygon projects.
How Much Extra Lumber Should You Buy for a Woodworking Project?
Understand why a cut-list total is not a purchase total, and how to size a realistic waste allowance.
Saw Kerf Explained: Why Your Cut List Uses More Wood Than You Think
Understand the width a blade removes, how kerfs accumulate across repeated cuts, and when it changes a layout.
Why Wood Expands and Contracts: A Practical Guide to Seasonal Wood Movement
Understand equilibrium moisture content, tangential and radial movement, and joinery that allows for it.