lumber
The instructions to a DIY project asks me to purchase something described as:
8-foot ¾-inch clear pine 1 x 8
What exactly does this mean. Here's my guess
I'm also asked to get
4-foot 5/4-inch clear pine 1 x 8
Same idea? Is the "5/4-inch" a typo that should be "3/4-inch"?
I would cut off the timber in the ground using a Sawzall type tool (reciprocating saw) that has a long rough cut blade installed. You can get blades as long as 12 inches that can easily reach into tight spots and cut the wood. Soil will wear the teeth away fairly quickly and so be prepared to replace the blade.
I've used this technique to cut roots free from stumps when removing a tree. Works very well.
I'm using a system which is basically a set of heavy-duty shelf brackets mounted to the wall; the lumber then acts as its own shelves. Each of the woodworking tool catalogs I get has their own version of such a system, with different tradeoffs between price, adjustability, weight capacity, and so on.
Best Answer
Technically, the 1x8 is 3/4" THICK, not "high". That's nitpicking, though. A 1x8 is always specified as a "1x8", never by actual stock thickness in softwoods (ie pine). A nominal 1" plank will always be 3/4" thick after planing, a nominal 2" plank will always be 1-1/2" thick after planing. Width is a little different, but follows generally the same rules - an "N"x2 is always 1-1/2" wide, an "N"x4 is 3-1/2" wide, an "N"x6 is 5-1/2" wide, BUT an "N"x8 is only 7-1/4" wide. Wider planks than nominal 6" are narrower by 3/4" instead of 1/2".
The "5/4" (pronounced "five-quarters") is correct, very commonly used for hardwoods and occasionally for "presentation grade" softwoods. That's a plank that begins life rough-sawn at 1-1/4" (5/4") thickness and is planed to 1" thickness.
"Clear" - no knots or bark inclusions.