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Hardwood Softwood Lumber Grades & Ways They Are Sold & Priced |
Thursday, 15 December 2005
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In this article I will not go into explaining the rules of grading hardwood or softwood lumber as they are very complicated and lengthy. I will list the grades that are sold, the dimensions that are available and the ways retailers price and sell lumber. Hardwood Lumber Grades In 1897 the National Hardwood Lumber Association {NHLA} was established to regulate hardwood lumber grading. Hardwood lumber grading does not require having a license to grade or even to be certified. Hardwood lumber does not have a system of stamps and symbols indicating to the consumer what grade of lumber it is. The grade is determined by how much clear surface {knot free, clear cuttings} of area is on the worst face side. It is almost always expressed by a certain percentage and is called the yield. The thickness {edges} are never used in determining the grade, only the two face sides of the lumber. There have been only minute changes in the rules of the NHLA since the 1930's. The clear cuttings of a board may not have the following peculiarities that are considered a defect, bark pockets, bird pecks, checks, decay {rot}, neither sound or unsound knots, splits, sticker stains, wanes, worm holes, piths or grub holes. Today There Are Basically Eight Hardwood Lumber Grades Used. FAS "First & Seconds" - Yield At Least 83 1/3% Minimum 6 Inches x 8 Foot I only buy FAS grade lumber. The yield is almost always 95% - 100%. This is the best grade. You can buy this grade with different surface finish combinations. For instance, both the faces and both edges will be planed {2S2E or 4S}, both faces planed and the two edges not planed {rough} {2S}, both faces planed with one edge planed, and the other edge not planed {rough} {2S1E}, both edges planed with one face planed and the other face not planed {rough} {1S2E} and last but not least both faces and both edges not planed {rough} {Roughsawn}. Some retailers take the FAS stock, plane it if needed, then sand all four surfaces, then mark and sell it as A, AA, AAA and AAAA lumber. The 4A being the finest, {almost flawless} that you can buy. FAS 1-Face {F1F} - Yield At Least 83 1/3% Minimum 6 Inches x 8 Foot Select {Northern}, 1-Face {Southern} - Yield At Least 83 1/3% Graded The Same As FAS. Minimum 4 Inches x 6 Foot The better face is FAS and the poor face No. 1 Common. The price is about the same as FAS. No. 1 Common, Common, No. 1 - Yield At Least 66 2/3% Standard furniture grade. No. 2A Common, No. 2 Common - Yield At Least 50% Used as a standard grade for cabinets and millwork. No. 2B Common - Yield 33 1/3% - 50% Used as a standard paint grade. No. 3A Common - Yield At Least 33 1/3% Flooring and pallets. No. 3A common is sometimes mixed with No. 3B Common and sold as No. 3 Common No. 3B Common - Yield At Least 25% Used for pallets and crating Softwood Lumber Grades The American Softwood Lumber Standard PS 20-99, which went into effect September 1, 1999 is what most softwood lumber in the United States is graded by. A lot of softwood lumber that comes from Canada into the US is also graded by this standard. Because of how strong each piece of wood has to be and the safety factors involved in construction you have to be certified and licensed to grade softwood lumber. Softwood lumber has two groups, construction and remanufacture. Construction grade lumber can be further split up into three categories, stress graded, no stress graded and appearance. Appearance and no stress grade lumber is commonly called yard lumber and is what is usually sold at retail lumberyards and is what a lot of woodworkers use. With stress and no stress the most important factor is how strong the piece of lumber is. With appearance it is how aesthetically pleasing the piece looks. Like hardwoods, softwoods are also graded by the worst face. Unlike hardwoods, softwoods are always stamped with the grade. The grades, Appearance Lumber Finish & Appearance Lumber Selects below can be quite confusing. The names of grades are actually an option given the lumber grading agencies and thus are not standardized throughout the United States. In my own experience, I have bought Sugar Pine Appearance Lumber Selects graded B&BTR {B and Better} and it was better than the so called Sugar Pine Appearance Lumber Finish graded B&BTR {B and Better} that another lumberyard had across town. I have also bought 12" wide D Select Sugar Pine, that was perfect on both sides and should of been graded at the least, B&BTR {B and Better} Appearance Lumber Finish Used For Making Fine Quality Softwood Furniture Or Projects Using A Natural Finish. The best grade of appearance lumber is Finish. It is split up into grades designated by letters, combination of letters and names, such as Superior, Prime, B&BTR {B and Better}, C, and D. There is also a grade called S4S {surfaced on all four sides}. Appearance Lumber Selects A, A Select, B, B Select & B&BTR {B and Better} Can Be Used For Making Fine Quality Softwood Furniture Or Projects Using A Natural Finish. Selects is the next best grade of appearence lumber and is designated mostly by letters and names A, B, C, D, A Select, B Select C Select D Select. A and A Select being the best grade, and D and D Select the worst. A lot of times A and B, A Select and B Select are united, and then sold under the grade of B&BTR {B and Better}. A & A Select Does not have any knots, splits, or other visible defects. Supposedly perfect. Used for fine furniture, exposed cabinetry, trim, flooring. B & B Select Has a few, small defects but nearly perfect. Used for fine furniture, exposed cabinetry, trim, flooring. C & C Select Has small tight pin size knots. May be nearly perfect on one side. Used for mostly furniture, shelving, some trim and flooring. D & D Select Has more numerous pin sized knots and more small blemishes. May be used for some furniture, shelving, trim and flooring. There are some variations pertaining to particular species such as Cedar and Redwood, their grade names are Clear All Heart, Clear and Select. Some appearance lumber will have FG for flat grain, VG for vertical grain and MX for mixed grain. Stress Lumber {Dimensional} With this grade, the numbers and letters are standardized throughout the US. The grades for 2" x 4" or wider lumber are in descending order Select Structural, No.1, No. 2, No.3, No. 2&BTR {2 and Better} and No. 3&BTR {3 and Better}. The grades for posts, beams, timbers and such are Select Structural, No. 1 Structural {Douglas Fir}, No. 1 SR {southern pine}, No. 2 SR {southern pine}. No Stress Lumber {Common} The grades in this group are No.1 Construction, No. 2 Standard and No. 3 Utility, No. 4 and No. 5 economy. Ways Lumber Is Sold & Priced Hardwood lumber is sold a little differently than softwood. Some species are not only available and sold kiln dried but also air dried. Yes, hardwood lumber is sold primarily by the board foot 12" x 12" x 1" {144 cubic inches}. Some lumber is sold by the pound such as Snakewood, Pink Ivory, Amboyna Burl, Afzelia Burl and numerous other burls. Certain retailer's sell hardwood lumber priced by the lineal foot, some retailer's even price it by the lineal inch and some on the internet sell it by units of 1/10th. of a board foot. If you want 2 board foot, you order 20 units, 1 1/2 board foot, you order 15 units, so on and so forth. With softwood lumber when you pay for 4/4, you actually get 3/4" thick dressed out and with 8/4 you get 1 1/2" dressed out. This is not necessarily true with hardwood. I have received 4/4 thick lumber {2S} that ranged from exactly 3/4" thick all the way up to 1 1/16" thick and 8/4 thick lumber {2S} that ranged from 1 3/4" thick up to 2 1/16" thick. For example you can buy one board foot of Rosewood from one retailer for $20 and it will be 3/4" thick, then you go to another retailer and find the same species of Rosewood runs $25.00 per board foot but find out the thickness is a full 1". Some retailers sell the more used hardwoods such as Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Mahogany, Cocobolo Rosewood and Purpleheart, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" thick, in lengths up to 6 foot and surfaced {planed} all 4 sides {S4}. Because of the many different species of hardwood that are available, time and space does not allow me to actually go into the different dimensions that one may purchase. They vary so widely and are always changing with each particular species. You can purchase burls weighing from a few pounds to over 1200 pounds in some species and slabs from 18" through 30" wide x 48" through 72" long x 1 1/2" through 4" thick to make tables out of. When ordering hardwood lumber be sure to specify widths and lengths, otherwise it will come in random widths and lengths. The extra charge for specifying widths and lengths varies greatly from one retailer to another. It can run from 5% all the way up to 25% per board foot. Softwood lumber in the majority of lumber yards and home centers is usually sold by the piece. The price per piece is figured by using a board foot price. I have also seen softwood lumber sold by the lineal foot. Softwood lumber is always kiln dried. 1" softwood lumber comes in widths of 2", 4", 6", 8", 10", 12" with lengths up to 16' { 2' increments}. 2" and thicker comes in widths of 2", 4", 6", 8" 10" and 12" with lengths sometimes of up to 24' depending on the species. Softwood 4/4 is 3/4" thick and 8/4 is 1 1/2" thick. 1" x 4" is actually 3/4" x 3 1/2", 1" x 6" is 3/4" x 5 1/2", 2" x 4" is 1 1/2" x 3 1/2". Acknowledgements & References National Hardwood Lumber Association {NHLA}, American Softwood Lumber Standard PS 20-99 Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
Johnny {J W} Morlan
Johnny was born September 18, 1956, in Chillicothe Missouri. When he was about 3 years old his family moved about 90 miles away to Moberly Missouri. This is where he grew up, went to school and graduated from high school in 1975. He moved away from Moberly in 1981.
When he was about 7 years old he started helping his dad who did carpentry jobs. When Johnny was in his teen years his dad would sometimes become extremely irritated with him because he would always want to make the finish moldings and cabinets more intricate. His dad felt their customers might not appreciate or like the more fancy designs. Johnny also enjoyed creating small wooden objects. His dad told him there was not a market for such things, nobody would be interested in them or want to buy them. As he grew older he found out most people also agreed with his dad's statements.
In 1989, Johnny decided to stop listening to all those people and that was when J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts was born. He took 1 year of wood shop class in junior high school where he made average grades. Johnny has always loved and had a passion for working with wood.
Before Johnny started his own business he worked for a contractor that built and refinished cabinets and furniture.
He also worked for five years with a lumber and hardware store in the paint department where he helped hundreds of customers with their home and woodworking projects. He was well known in the area for being able to match a competitor?s stain or paint color well enough to spot paint or stain with it. He did this by using paints or stain bases and adding different colorants to it by eye {no computer matching in those days} until it matched the sample the customer had supplied.
Johnny has worked with unique woods since 1983. People from over 220 countries have viewed and admired his creations. He is a member of the International Who's Who Historical Society {his short biography is featured in the 2001-2002 edition of the International Who's Who of Entrepreneurs}. He is a member of the following organizations and associations: Rainforest Alliance Smart Wood Program, National Arbor Day Foundation, International Wood Collectors Society, Woodworker's Website Association, Woodworkers Book Club and a lifetime member of Handyman Club of America.
He received two honors in 2002, one being nominated for inclusion in the 2002 edition of the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership and the other being nominated by the Governing Board of Editors of the American Biographical Institute for the title Man Of The Year - 2002. In 2003 he was contacted by and did accept being represented by an art marketing agency in London England to market his wood art works throughout Europe.
Some of Johnny's creations were chosen to be featured and sold on the TV show America's Product Showcase. His desk set creations were selected by Home Shopping International to sell on their website {HSI Online.} Some of his designs, woodworking tips and jigs have been published in trade magazines.
To help create quality, unique pieces of work, Johnny has studied hundreds of woodworking magazine articles and more than 220 books on woodworking by as many as 180 authors. In addition he has studied numerous books and magazine articles on art, business, marketing, advertising and web mastering. He consults with both individuals and companies {World Tree Technologies, Impact Group New York, & B. K. Brown Designs} on the best wood, procedures and finishing techniques to use in the production of their wooden projects or products and how to advertise their products.
He has worked more than 500 species of wood. His wood collection he periodically takes to schools and shop classes. There he answers the student's questions, educates them about the sustainable sources for wood and shows them the world of wood that many of them will probably never see.
Numerous motivational and philosophical proverbs hang on the walls of his studio. He lives and teaches them. He Loves teaching people who like and are interested in woodworking the true {Art} of woodworking!
Some of Johnny's creations have been bought by or given as presents to professional people, foreign dignitaries of state, celebrities and even the President and the First Lady of the United States.
Five Star Reviews Magazine's,
Review/Write Up Of J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts,
That Is Featured In Their January, 2005 Issue
Exquisite taste. Beautiful craftsmanship. A continual quest for excellence. These three elements combine to make J.W. Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts one of the finest purveyors of individually-made solid wood items in the world.
Here are the names and some comments of a few of my past clients/customers, who have either purchased an already made creation from me or have had me do a custom made/commissioned piece for them.
Brown Wheeldon Investment Advisors LLP
World Tree Technologies
Jayson A. Wolfe, Attorney At Law
Women's American ORT
Recording Products
Lockheed Martin Corporation
SBR Incorporated
David Syn, M.D.
Coleman & Associates
Helene Grosman
Carol Rients LLC
Mary Kay Zanoni
Luv-N-Care, Ina Wallace
Laura & Doug Welsh
Emspace Design Group
Aaron Glavas
Ginny Peters, President Industrial Drives Inc.
Rex Roten, Roten Law Firm Chartered
Jeff Knoedl, Knoedl Tax Advisory Group
Absolutely the most exquisite craftsmanship
I have ever seen, in any of my travels. Just beautiful!
Patti F - Florida
I am genuinely impressed with your expert craftsmanship and unique vision...so freshly expressed in your superbly executed creations, being, at once, utilitarian and aesthetically satiating....!! Bravo...I am, again, inspired! Dan Owens
Awesome. Just opened it.
Absolutely Awesome. I know she will love it.
Ina W - California
I have my desk set prominently displayed on a shelf attached
to my desk within easy reach for daily use. I love it.
Paul M - Pennsylvania
Yes, he loved the cardholder! He has it on his desk for all to see!
Thank-you so very much for the beautiful work!
Mary Z - Michigan
Your Work Is Fantastic!
Pauline Lionel-Ickenox Art Agency Ltd.
London, England
J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts
8101 Waco Ave.
Lubbock, TX 79423
Toll Free # 1-866-748-9805
Fax # 1-806-748-9805
E-Mail Address morlanwoodgifts@fastmail.fm
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