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I was talking to a Brit and mentioned "live edge lumber" and when I explained what it was he said, "Oh, you mean waney edge lumber."

Have you ever heard of this?

I Googled waney edge lumber:  https://www.google.com/search?q=waney+ed...8Q_AUIBygC

Yup -  one of a number of lumber defects, at least in some people's eyes.  Others listed here-

http://www.decks.com/how-to/188/lumber-defects-101

"Wane" is a common term describing what we commonly call a "live edge." Webster has this as one of several definitions for the term "WANE":

2 [Middle English, defect, from Old English wana; akin to Old English wan deficient] : a defect in lumber characterized by bark or a lack of wood at a corner or edge

The waney edge


As a young Boy I was taught it was the Wane edge of the wood. wasn't until I started coming to innnnerweb forums that I heard it called "live edge" Laying there it doesn't look so live to me  

Semantics. probably half the discussions in woodworking are not much more than semantics. You call it Poe ta toe, I call it Po Tat oe, it's still a spud      

Wane is the common term in the sawmill sector, and means when the board "runs out" on one edge / corner. Usually because of the taper in the tree. The board grading rules list how much wane is allowed for certain grades, and a smart sawyer can sometimes actually increase the value of the board, by trimming a couple of ft off the end, or ripping the strip with the wane off. The bd/ft measure is then less, but the value of the board is more because it now makes it into a higher grade.

Live Edge would be when you intend to saw a board like that. That's not a defect then, it's a feature, and the grading rules don't apply any more.

But the two terms are likely to have different meanings in different places, like a lot of sawmill terms and slang. Here and in the US the weather boards on the cabin would be called Live Edge, but I can see how they could be referred to as Waney as well

Whoever this wane character is, he surely cuts some crooked edges.

That's cause he was stoned all the time.