American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series

November - December 2009

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series

March/April 2009

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series: article 10

By Bob Sabistina, Grading consultant to the American Hardwood Export Council

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series: article no. 7

March 2008
by Bob Sabistina, Grading consultant to the American Hardwood Export Council

The Grading Rules for North American hardwood lumber were established 100 years ago by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), which is now headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. I have been writing a series of articles for the last year, answering a variety of questions pertaining to the application of those grading rules. This month’s article will deal with grading issues that originate at the sawmill and the procedures that shipping inspectors must go through before the lumber is loaded in to a container for shipment.

We learned that the Appalachian region is the best producing area for quality hardwood. We always request that the hardwood supplier is from this area. How can we make sure that the supplier keeps their commitment and only sends us lumber from this region?

Most importantly, when purchasing American hardwoods, you need to build a relationship with your supplier. This begins with a trip to the United States and visiting the areas you want to buy from. The Appalachian region extends through most of the eastern third of America and covers the vast majority of the US hardwood resource. Buying from a reliable supplier, such as a member of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), doesn’t always guarantee success, but these are suppliers who are committed towards export markets. What truly guarantees a profitable transaction is doing business with a company who you have established a relationship with and they in turn have a keen interest in your company.

As far as the Appalachian region being the best source for American hardwoods, it very much depends on the type of product you are producing, or if reselling, the type of end-user you want to target. For example, if you are a manufacturer, and you are making a line of maple kitchen cabinet doors, where colour is critical, you will probably have more success buying from a northern company, as this is where hard maple is more consistently white in colour. Conversely, if you are producing maple kitchenware, such as butcher blocks, cutting boards, or wooden utensils, colour is not as important and price will be more of an important consideration.

As a buyer of US hardwood, you really need to invest some time and money and visit the USA in order to get a good feel for what is available and from where. Most importantly, you need to establish some good relationships with potential suppliers. Oh, and by the way, with the current weak dollar, it is an extremely good time for you to come and visit!

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series: article no. 6

February 2008
by Bob Sabistina, Grading consultant to the American Hardwood Export Council

The Grading Rules for North American hardwood lumber were established 100 years ago by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), which is now headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. I have been writing a series of articles for the last year, answering a variety of questions pertaining to the application of those grading rules. This month’s article will deal with grading issues that originate at the sawmill and the procedures that shipping inspectors must go through before the lumber is loaded in to a container for shipment.

  
Can you describe the procedures taken in the American sawmill to produce my container of FAS red oak lumber?

First of all, it is important to consider that all lumber must be graded and sorted when it is freshly sawn.. This means that an inspector must look at everything that is coming out of the sawmill. This production includes any or all of the following; all of the Standard Grades from FAS to No. 3 Common, which would be used for furniture, flooring, or any traditional application for hardwood lumber; boards below No. 3 Common that can only be used for pallets or crates; various thicknesses in each grade; special sorts for special orders; timbers or cants for industrial type uses; mis-cuts and lumber mis-milled etc. Also, consider that an inspector is asked to grade a minimum of 12,000 board feet per day and you can imagine the multitude of decisions needed to be made every time that chain is turned on. Also keep in mind that the FAS grade is probably not more than 20% of the total production of an average run of logs.

After the inspector grades a piece of lumber, he puts a mark on the board to let the men down the chain know which package to put the board in. The lumber is not only sorted by grade but by length, thickness, and sometimes by colour and width, depending on the species and upcoming order file. These upcoming orders will also determine if the lumber will be placed on drying sticks for kiln drying or simply flat piled to be shipped green. If the lumber is to be shipped green, the packages are banded with strapping and put on a truck as soon as possible and shipped out.

Can you expound a bit on the kiln drying process?

Your FAS lumber that is to be dried at the mill has been put on kiln dried sticks and must begin the slow process of drying. Regarding the sticks used: not only are they dried, but they must be of uniform thickness and most are moulded into a detail that reduces contact between the stick and the board. These must be placed uniformly one on top of the other and supported by crosspieces from one package to another. Improper sticker alignment will lead to warped and twisted lumber. Depending on a number of factors, most importantly species and thickness, the lumber is put in air-drying sheds or directly in the dry kiln. To give you an idea of time, a 4/4 or one inch thick red oak board will take approximately 3-4 months to be properly dried. An 8/4 or two inch red oak board could easily take up to a year to properly dry to the desired moisture content of between 6-9%. This sounds like an awfully long time, but any shortcuts in the drying process can result in a number of undesirable outcomes, which may ruin your FAS lumber.

OK, my lumber has gone through the drying process, is it ready for me?

Almost. The lumber needs to be taken off the sticks and graded again. This dry inspection will insure that no boards have degraded in the drying process. The inspector might have to trim off a bad end or edge a board to insure that you receive the FAS grade you are paying for. The lumber is then sorted for length, flat piled and banded with steel strapping. At this time most companies will have a tally man to end tally the lumber, taking into account the widths and lengths. This tally can then be converted in board feet, cubic metres, or whatever form of measurement agreed to in the sales contract.

Is there a limit to the amount of splits I receive on my FAS lumber?

Yes, there are six defect limitations that will disqualify a board from the FAS grade. These defects must be considered first by the inspector when the lumber is freshly cut. Usually, they are trimmed or edged off when the lumber is green, insuring that the FAS grade is maintained throughout the drying process.
 
Splits are limited in length to twice the surface measure (SM) or one lineal foot of standard length, whichever is greater. For example a board that is 6 inches wide and 8 feet long would have a 4 foot SM. The maximum length of split allowed would be 12 inches or one foot. A board that is 8 inches wide and 12 foot long would have an 8 foot SM and the longest split on the board cannot exceed 16 inches. The general rule of thumb when grading fresh sawn lumber is to trim back any splits in excess of one foot. The idea here is that during the drying process the likelihood of the split increasing is greater and its removal will help out on the dry inspection. On your dry lumber though, the rule stands as described above. Remember, the board must still yield FAS outside of the split area so it will not affect the clear area you are paying for.
 
This brings up a comment I want to make with regards to the other five defects restricted in the FAS grade, which I will discuss in great detail next month. I was at the AHEC European Convention in Amsterdam last October and a buyer asked why he receives an FAS, 10 foot board, that has a one foot split on it. “Why can’t my supplier just cut this one foot off and give me a well manufactured FAS board without this waste?” An AHEC member who is a large supplier of hardwoods around the world replied, “My buyer wants me to cut this off and then he wants to restrict me to a small percentage of 9 foot lengths I can include in a shipment. Even though this board makes the NHLA grade, my buyer wants it cut off. I need to adhere to the NHLA grades to be competitive and maximize my yields to keep the price in line.”
After reading the process an American supplier goes through to bring this valuable and renewable resource to markets around the world, some compassion, understanding, and appreciation of this wonder of nature is needed. To be good stewards of the forest we need to respect wood as the gift it truly is.

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series: article no. 5

January 2008
by Bob Sabistina, Grading consultant to the American Hardwood Export Council

I started this column one year ago because of my close relationship with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and the response has been very positive. Through AHEC and their promotional efforts around the world, I was able to give grading seminars in over fifteen countries last year. This year, our efforts will be in cooperation with the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), the rules-making Association for North American Hardwoods. I urge you to contact AHEC’s office in London to locate a seminar coming to your area. If you have a question regarding the rules for grading American hardwood lumber or if there is any other topic you would like to see in future articles pertaining to hardwoods from the USA, please contact me at: bshardwoods1@yahoo.com.

American hardwood lumber grading Q&A series: article no. 4

November 2007
by Bob Sabistina, Grading consultant to the American Hardwood Export Council

This month's article will continue to answer questions I have received from buyers throughout the world. If you have a question regarding the rules for grading American hardwood lumber or if there is any other topic you would like to see in future articles pertaining to hardwoods from the USA, please contact me at: bshardwoods1@yahoo.com.

We recently received a shipment of No. 1 Common white oak and there seemed to be quite a few pieces where the edges were not square and the ends were not trimmed very well. What is the ruling regarding this type of lumber?

As you are probably aware, the grading rules for North American hardwood lumber fall under the guidelines established long ago by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). The NHLA grades are based on the percentage of clear, defect-free wood available on the board. The No. 1 Common grade is required to yield a minimum of 66 2/3% clear, defect-free wood on the poor face of the board. Outside of this clear percentage, only the structural centre of the log (pith) is considered in determining the grade.

What you are describing sounds like wane, which is defined as bark or lack of wood. Wane is limited in the upper grades (Selects, FAS1Face, and FAS), but not limited in the Common grades. The thinking here is that the Common grades are designed to yield a limited number of shorter clear cuttings or pieces when the lumber is re-sawn in the manufacturing process. An edge or end that has wane present is calculated in the measurement of the board but not included in its yield. Paragraph 8 in the NHLA Rule Book talks about lumber production: “ It (lumber) should be edged and trimmed carefully to produce the best possible appearance while conserving the useable product of the log. If the supplier trimmed all the Common lumber to simply produce the best possible appearance, his yield would suffer which, in turn, would have a direct influence on the price. Most importantly is that the Common grades yield the buyer 66 2/3% and better clear area when run through the manufacturing process.”

I am always forced to buy random widths and lengths from American suppliers. Can I purchase fixed widths and lengths?

Yes, there are a number of AHEC suppliers that are doing special sorting for widths and lengths. The thing you must keep in mind is that a premium will be added to the price for this service. A careful study of your yields and waste factors through the factory will assist you in determining if it is worth the premium.
At this point, It is worth mentioning that special sorts can also be made for colour. Other than for hard maple, which has several colour sorts, which relate to the sapwood content (these were featured in my April Q&A series article), the NHLA rules do not address sapwood or heartwood colour sorts. However, many suppliers offer colour sorting in cherry, tulipwood, ash, even red oak. Working closely with your supplier, making sure you have a good understanding of regional differences and having a working knowledge of the hard maple sorts should allow you to specify sapwood or heartwood content that is workable for you and your supplier.

Please explain the difference between the FAS1Face and Selects grades.

The difference between these two upper grades is the required minimum size board. For FAS1Face (F1F), the required minimum size board must be the same as for FAS, for whatever species you are grading. For the most part this is a 6 inch wide and 8 foot long board. There are a few exceptions to this requirement which would also apply to the F1F grade. For example, FAS white hard maple needs to have a minimum size board of 4 inches wide and 8 foot long, which means that F1F white hard maple would also need to be 4" wide and 8' long. To meet the Selects grade, the requirement is a minimum size of 4 inches wide and 6 foot long. Other than this minimum board size, the grades are the same. Both need to yield FAS on the better face and not below No. 1 Common on the poor side.

Historically, the Selects grade has been primarily applied to the Northern United States and Canadian species. These regions of North America have shorter growing seasons than the rest of the country and generally produce slower growth, smaller diameter timber. As you move through the Midwest and Appalachian regions and, certainly, the Southern regions of the US, you are more likely to see the F1F grade being used.

Where can I get more information regarding the American grading rules?

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Osaka, Japan, Mexico City and Washington DC. They hold grading workshops throughout the year which range from a couple of hours to several days. I have been working with them on this for over a year and the response received after each workshop is extremely positive. AHEC also distributes a range of free publications on species, products, lumber grading, structural properties and architectural references. You can contact them directly or email me for the location in your region.

The NHLA, which is located in Memphis, Tennessee has numerous publications including the official Rule Book available for a small fee. They also hold one of the most important courses for the North American hardwood industry at their Inspection Training School. This is an intense 14 week programme, which is held twice a year in Memphis. The course acts as a stepping stone for anyone interested in making a career in the hardwood industry. The student will not only learn the grading rules, but will also benefit from exposure to the workings of the trade and will make contacts that will last a lifetime. You can visit their website at: www.natlhardwood.org for more information.