starting the bookcase.

PaulT,

In 'old money' if you go for 7" x 1" sawn that's what you'll get - quite literally a rough plank of wood which you machine yourself.

If you go for 7" x 1" PSE or PAR (the both mean the same thing i.e. planed square edge/planed all round) then you'll end up with a piece of smooth finished wood around 6 3/4" x 1 3/4" - and this applies to all PSE timber (you usually 'lose' a quarter of an inch off the sawn size in the machining but this can be more or less depending on the grade of timber/finish you want [these sizes are virtually the same in the metric equivalent]).

Yes there are standard sizes (remembering the above) and these are:

With regards to a standard length of timber - you can also get these (although my memory is a little flaky on the sizes) and they go something like this (again in 'old money') 6', 8' 10' etc up to around 16' - 24' depending on the supplier and again the grade of timber - try and choose a length that gives you the least cutting waste.

Paul, the above is but a brief reply, but if you have a good timber or builders merchant within a reasonable distance, go and talk to them rather than the likes of B & Q as they are far more knowledgeable, have a better range, cheaper prices, machining facilities and a good delivery service which is very often free.

Hope this helps

Brian G

I can't advise on stock sizes especially as it is all in metric but usually a timber merchant will machine wood to whatever thickness and width you specify. So if the exact measurements you want are not a stock size they will machine down the next size up.