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Yes, that shit is warped and has knots in it. Yes, if you want the shit that doesn't have warping and knots, you do indeed have to pay more money.
This is how all commodities, products, and services have worked, since the first time someone had the idea of trading one resource for another resource.
Please try to wrap your head around the concept. Better things cost more. This should NOT be blowing anyone's fucking mind.
Old structures weren't built with the cheapest possible lumber. The ones that were? They, uhhhh, they fell apart before they got to be old structures. This is called survivorship bias.
Pointing to an old building with quality lumber in it does nothing to refute my point. All we know about an old building that survived for a long time is that it had pretty good lumber. We don't know what anyone paid for it. So, at best, there's neither refutation nor support for any position that's being debated, here.
If you find the receipt for the lumber inside the walls, and it becomes clear that the building was built with the cheapest possible hardware store wood, then we'd have something to talk about.
No I've taken apart some terrible, rotted messes. Junk. I understand survivorship bias.
Besides, don't take my anecdote for it, just go look up industry discussion on age of timber stocks, and rapid to-market silviculture vs old growth
If you're saying there are real, trustworthy statistics that say modern lumber is from newer growth, then I will provisionally accept that maybe I'm incorrect.
I still don't think that maps directly onto some Boomer looking at a warped 2x4 in Home Depot and declaring that he used to be able to use hardware store lumber as a straight-edge, back in 1970. Boomers DEFINITELY remember shit incorrectly. That's a hill I'll die on.
You also have to remember that there are differences in the way that lumber is treated now. There used to be a fairly long drying process prior to milling. Now things are kiln dried, and may still be quite wet when they get milled. That means that the lumber is going to tend to warp pretty badly as it dries more. I've personally gotten wood at box stores (which, TBH, are usually pretty good) that was double what the moisture content should be. But the flip side is that, without kiln drying, it takes a lot longer to get lumber to market, which would significantly screw up your ability to respond to changes in the market.
For people that make fine furniture now, there's still a long normalization process before you use your lumber. Typically you want to store your lumber inside your work area for 4 months to a year--depending on the thickness-before you start jointing and planing; otherwise you're likely going to see some bowing, twisting, or cupping. And you still might, depending on the grain.