I’m looking at hammocks online to buy one for my husband, and there are kits for sale to make a hammock stand. Comments from customers indicate that the kits require actual 4x4s, not whatever modern lumber tends to be–3.5x3.5?
So they comment that purchasers should be aware they need to find true 4x4s. Would that an easy thing to do in nowheresville Ohio?
Try to find a private sawmill. Look in the yellow pages, ask around non-big box hardware stores. Good Luck.
Your lumberyard might be able to take a 6x6 (actually 5.5x5.5) and rip it down.
No, it’s not an easy thing at all. You might have to have them custom cut, actually. All the lumber measurements are off - they’re named after their rough cut size, not their dressed and seasoned size, and they’re not even off by a standard amount., but there are *minimum *standards.
Just find another hammock stand. Anything that’s going to need custom lumber right off the bat isn’t a well made or thought out product. There’s no such thing as a “true 4x4” unless you were to plane it down yourself. Never buy anything that doesn’t work with standard stuff, IMHO.
Try the Hammock district.
I would guess that it’s because the metal thingies that hold the posts are designed to hold lumber that’s exactly 4 x 4, to make a snug fit when you slide the posts into it, otherwise it’ll wobble around, and no amount of shimming would make it stable enough to be comfortable.
I would assume that any halfway competent lumberyard could cut you pieces of lumber the appropriate size–but it won’t be as cheap as simply running down there and getting 4 x 4s off the rack. Custom lumber is never cheap, IME.
You could start by asking one of your Ohio Lowe’s if they do custom lumber.
Wouldn’t it be easier to go to the 4x4 district?
Not as easy as it sounds for the type of hammock I’m wanting to buy.
I’d check with the maker of the hammock.
Even a “nominal” 4x4 is awfully strong with respect to the job of supporting a hammock. Do the comments you mention give a reason why extreme strength is needed?
If it’s that, it should be quite straightforward to use the next size of available timber and simply cut the ends to tenons that fit the sockets.
I’m sure my primary school teacher explained to the class years ago that you could buy timber according to various specifications: as rough-cut , as “planed all round”, and as finished timber - and in the last case the dimensions given were the actual size, whereas “planed all round” was labelled up according to its rough-cut dimensions, and was actually smaller by some way after it had gone through the planer. Unfortunately I don’t know [list=a]what the actual terms are[]whether they’re still current[]whether they applied in the US.[/list]
It used to be that dimensional lumber was cut out of the trunk to the stated dimension. After that, it may have been dried and finished. For at least the last 50-75 years or so, lumber has been cut to the smallest dimension that will dry and finish out to approximately the nominal dimension. Today’s 4X4s never measured 4" by 4" in cross section.
You could call around and find a millworks in your area that could quote you a price for the finished lumber, but it will cost quite a bit more than regular dimensional lumber.
Lowes and Home Depot will order milled lumber. If you have a local lumber yard near you, they will probably have the saws and planes needed to make true 4 X 4s from 6 X 6s, probably cheaper and certainly quicker than the big chains.
If your local yard won’t do it, try some lumber mills directly. I have a vague recollection that you live in the Hocking Hills area, so I used Nelsonville as my search location. You can change that if needed. I have bought some custom poplar trim boards from Superior Hardwoods on that list and was pleased with the product, price and service, but I don’t know if they are a good source for what you need. Good luck.
Actually, Nowheresville, OH is one of the easier places to find a custom sawyer. Check here.
But, that may be overkill. As mentioned by others, if the kit requires a true 4x4, the path of least resistance is to purchase something larger and have a local woodworker saw and/or plane it down to the size you need. Check for cabinet makers locally. You also might check a local lumber supplier other than one of the big home improvement places.
If I were closer, I would be happy to it for you in the garage.
If you’re only using this for a hammock stand, something like a single eight foot length, it might be much cheaper and easier to buy some 6x6 and find someone with a table saw to rip it down for you, rather than trying to custom order dimensioned lumber. It’s quite possible a lumberyard or Home Depot will be happy to sell you a 6x6 and rip it down themselves right there.
Or someone could take a 6x6 and plane that down for you, did you think of that? 
I once needed 2x2’s. When I took my paid ticket around back (to the actual lumber yard), what did they do? The ripped 2x4’s to fulfill my 2x2 need. In my case, I wasn’t shooting for exact 2x2 dimensions; I only mean to point out that lumber yards are equipped and accustomed to doing this type of work on demand.
You could just get a 6x6 and cut it down to size with one of those 1920’s style death rays.
The people who cut down the 6x6s will be listening to Rio by Duran Duran.