Charts
A calculator answers one question about the board in front of you. A chart answers forty at a glance, which is why the good ones end up taped inside a cabinet door. Every figure here is worked out by the same functions the calculators run on, so nothing on these pages can drift away from the tool it sits beside.
Crown molding angle chart
Miter and bevel settings for cutting crown flat on the saw table, for every common spring angle and corner. The last column is the single setting for cutting it nested against the fence.
Rafter length chart by roof pitch
The framing square's own numbers: inches of common rafter per foot of run, inches of hip per foot of common run, the slope in degrees, and the difference between one jack rafter and the next at 16" centres.
Janka hardness chart by species
Side hardness in pounds-force, with density and stiffness alongside it, for the species a shop actually buys. Harder resists denting; stiffer sags less over a span — they are not the same thing.
Wood movement chart by species
How much a 12" board moves across the grain between a 30% winter and a 70% summer. Flatsawn moves roughly twice what quartersawn does, which is most of what this table is for.
Shelf span chart
The longest a shelf can span between supports before it sags past L/360, carrying 25 lb per running foot — about what a shelf of hardback books weighs. Sitting on supports rather than built in at both ends.
Sheet goods weight chart
What a full 8×4 sheet weighs, by material and thickness. The number that decides whether this is a one-person lift.
Stair code quick reference
The 2021 IRC figures a residential stair is measured against, in one place. These are the model code — your inspector is the one who decides.
Drawer slide clearance chart
How much narrower than the opening a drawer box has to be, by slide type. Both sides together — this is the number you subtract once.
Board foot chart
Board feet in one board, by thickness, width and length. A board foot is 144 cubic inches — a foot square and an inch thick — and it is how hardwood is priced.
Concrete bag chart
How many bags a hole or a pad takes, by bag size. Rounded up, because a job half a bag short is a second trip.