About Sawdust Math

Every woodworker has the same bookmarks folder: a shelf-sag page that looks like it shipped with Windows 98, a segment calculator hosted on someone’s personal PHP page, and a forum thread from 2011 with the formula buried in reply #43. The math in those places is usually right — the experience is stuck in the past.

Sawdust Math rebuilds those tools properly: fast, mobile-friendly, free, and open about where the formulas come from. Where a number has a source — the Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, machining references, standards documents — we cite it. Where it’s a rule of thumb, we try to say that too.

How it’s made

Each calculator starts from a published formula or reference table, linked on its page where one exists. Where published worked examples or tables exist, we compare the results and show the comparison. A few of the more complex tools also have automated tests. The line under each tool’s title, headed “Checks”, says what was and was not verified for that tool, and the page shows when it was last reviewed. When a reader reports a discrepancy, we re-check it and correct the page if it is confirmed.

Corrections

If a result here disagrees with your build or your reference book, we want to know. Write to us via the contact page, and include the inputs you used and the source you are comparing against.