Hardwoods are graded by the national hardwood lumber association. Lumber weights weights of green, kiln dried and pressure treated lumber boards maximum floor joist span no. And with its lower price, lesser lumber might be the best buy in the store. American lumbers super common hard maple is designed to maximize your lumber yield and provide you the most fiber per 1 common board.
A lower grade can be perfectly acceptable, depending on placement and usage. The illustrated guide to american hardwood lumber grades. Hardwood lumber grades and grading rules have been established and are governed by the national hardwood lumber association nhla. In canada, the national lumber grades authority nlga is responsible for the establishment of canadian lumber grading rules and standards and publishes the ngr in the nlga standard grading rules. The standard thicknesses and surfaced thicknesses with their metric equivalent are shown below. Gluing thin pieces of wood together to form a thicker one was used by ancient egyptians, but plywood as we know it was born in the 20th century. Lumber is graded based on the quality and appearance of the wood. This guide will teach you about lumber terms, measurements and grades so you can. The highest grade boards are long, wide and free of defects.
How to choose plywood for builtin projects better homes. In contrast, most export markets are more familiar with a metric standard. Construction lumber is lumber that will function as graded and. Nhla grading rules for north american hardwoods gutchess lumber. The nhla grading system, which is used by buyers and sellers of hardwood lumber, describes the amount of usable clear material in a board. For purposes of grading, softwood lumber may be categorized into two categories of intended use. Whether youre building builtin shelves or a bookcase, well offer tips and information on softwood plywood, hardwood plywood, product grades, and more. Why is walnut lumber graded lower than other hardwoods. National hardwood lumber association home facebook. For over 100 years, the national hardwood lumber assn. Hardwood lumber grading explained the simplified process. This grade is most often recommended for furniture creation, and is more than capable of becoming a quality shelf.
They were established over 100 years ago by the newly formed national hardwood lumber association nhla. A quick reference guide to american hardwood lumber grading, courtesy of ahec and the nhla. Standard dimension lumber, as well as pressuretreated stock, is sold in a wide array of twoinch pieces again, the dimensions refer to sizes before planing, so nominal twoby stock is actually. For example, consider a piece of lumber that is 6 and 716 inches wide and 10 feet 9 inches long figure 1. Once these requirements are mastered, practice grading and continued study of the rul e book will give the novice an appreciation of hardwood l umber grading. Lumber grades yellawood is available in multiple lumber grades to meet the needs of any job you can find the grade noted on the ink stamp that is applied by the sawmill. Although it is available in several thicknesses less than 1 inch, 34 inch 19 mm is the best choice. Hardwood lumber is cut from deciduous trees such as balsa, maple, oak and cherry and is not necessarily harder than other woods, despite its name. Oct 15, 2009 for over 100 years, the national hardwood lumber assn.
It is not intended as a replacement for the national lumber grades authority nlga standard grading rules for canadian lumber and must not be relied upon except as. The illustrated guide to american hardwood lumber grades the nhla lumber grading rules adopted by the u. Can be used for cabinets, interior furniture, shelving. Most building supply stores stock only a few grades of lumber, but a wider variety of grades can be special ordere. Before you grab a saw and begin a diy bookshelf project, there are a variety of. The naming of wood grades can be confusing, but for building shelves, we recommend sticking with no. The national hardwood lumber association developed the uniform system of grading with the c. Standard still used for panelingshelving, also found in crates, fences, siding, sheathing and some industrial use. Introduction to nhla american hardwood lumber grading hardwood lumber is usually graded on the basis of the size and number of cuttings pieces that can be obtained from a board when it is cut up and used in the manufacture of a hardwood product. Other good grades include selects, one face, and firsts and seconds. These depend on various factors like the type of wood used and the number and types of defects, if any. Learn how to choose the best lumber for your diy projects.
Learning to grade softwood dimension lumber spib blog. For information on construction grading, special grading, etc. Dec 04, 2014 thats true, and a very important point to make. Introduction to nhla american hardwood lumber grading. In 1898 the national hardwood lumber association was established, with the express purpose of establishing a uniform system of grading rules for the measurement and inspection of hardwood lumber. The grading rules are quite complex and require study. Worldwide, hardwood lumber producers grade their lumber, assuring downstream consumers of the lumber of the lumbers quality for the intended use.
Lumber mills inkstamp each board with a lumber grade. But bookcases in the living room, which were much bigger, wider, and also made with 12inch mdf, the 1. For a builtin desk and bookcase, for example, specify uppergrade hardwoods for visible areas, such as the desktop and cabinet doors. Jan 01, 2020 in hardwood lumber grading, part 2, well look at how socalled defects can spice up the system, but for now, lets at least understand that the system is not perfect. Unfortunately, plywood is not very pretty, so look for primed, cabinetgrade.
Jan 11, 2017 by eco relics blog hardwood lumber january 11, 2017 when selecting hardwood for your next woodworking project, consider the size of the boards required. Allowable stress ratings are published for each grade, and vary by species or species mix, as are evidenced in span tables. Higher grades of lumber, which have few, if any, character marks, generally are preferred for applications such as fine tabletops and cabinet doors. The southern pine inspection bureau is pleased to announce spib elearning. The grading of sawn wood into categories as it is processed helps to determine to a large extent the value and potential use possible for each board of sawn lumber. Washington seattle 20205 59th place south kent, wa 98032 phone.
Lumber grades american hardwood information center. Grading designation depends on the number of defects in a board. However, if you plan on frequently moving the bookcase. Now the first thing is if you think lumber grading is going to be an exact science, get that idea out of your head right now its an art and it involves more judgement than science, especially out there on a planer chain. I do think on a bookshelf this small, i could have gotten away with using 1. This system for grading hardwood logs was first proposed by the forest products laboratory in 1949 in laboratory report 1737. When grading rough sawn lumber, defects such as checks, stain, and warp are not considered if they will surface out at standard surfaced thickness s2s. The american softwood lumber standard, voluntary product standard. The steps for grading a piece of lumber are straightforward. Grade hardwood sawmill lumber sawmills thompson hardwoods, inc. A simplified explanation of the nhla grading system, which is the national standard for the u.
This is the heaviest type of wood, has distinct grains that are easily accented by stains or varnish and is resistant to scratches and nicks. Some of the basic concepts and grading requirements or rules are given in table 1. The grade of the wood, there are a number of grades, select the best quality and strongest to utility the lowest quality and least strength. Jul 10, 2014 grading designation depends on the number of defects in a board. Apr 11, 2016 a few weeks ago i ordered 300 board feet of 12. Today the nhla has over 2000 members worldwide, and the nhla rules are still the national standard for the us hardwood industry and form the basis for grading of export lumber. The illustrated guide to american hardwood lumber grades by. This chapter will summarize the information on the properties and grading of 2inchthick dimension lumber resulting from research studies conducted since about 1990. To assure that you have no surprises regarding your yield expectations, we grade only after drying, and furthermore most of the production is preplaned before grading. American lumber company hardwood lumber custom grades.
The american softwood lumber standard was d eveloped by the american lumber standard committee alsc in accordance with the procedures for the development of voluntary product standards of the u. Guide to the different lumber grades lampert lumber. Unless you learn to speak the language, a trip to the lumberyard can seem like visiting a foreign country. In many situations, smaller boards or lower grades are a more economical choice than the higher grades if small, clear pieces are required. Also keep in mind that except for a few white pines, redwood, and cedar, most of the time youll be working with hardwoods. The standard grades of hardwood lumber as defined by the nhla in descending order of quality are fas, fas 1face f1f, selects, no. Before we get into the different grades of lumber, lets take a look at the various defects you may find in a piece of lumber common lumber defects. Even considering the subjective nature of fas grading standards, they still provide a helpful system for evaluating lumber. When the nhla national hardwood lumber association came up with central grading standards over 100 years ago, they helped create order from chaos across the lumber industry. Grades refer to the quality, strength and appearance of the wood.
The rules are based on grading rough lumber from the worst side. The material species, sypsouthern yellow pine, dfir douglas fir, rd redwood, etc. A set of online lumber grading courses to supplement onthejob experience, classroom training and accelerate education of lumber graders, lumber quality technicians, dealers, and others in the lumber and construction industries. In fact, the nhla grading rules form the basis for much of the international hardwood lumber trade. Hardwood lumber grades, yield and cost woodworking network. Grading designation here depends on the number of defects in a given length and width of hardwood boards. This allows us to see anything that a rough surface may hide, and to look at every board with the eyes of an end user. Best wood to use for diy bookshelves this old house. The first thing to realize about cabinetquality lumber is that the rules you probably know about ordering dimension lumber the type you use for carpentry work dont apply. Grading and properties of hardwood structural lumber. What kind of wood works best for building a bookshelf.
648 276 362 446 1505 373 428 112 1213 993 1515 236 862 1373 322 425 114 859 1136 114 1089 421 748 294 995 1267 656 1211 1268 1143 631 1034 180 297 113 338