How to get all the hardwood you pay for

Bl Gage McKinney Contributing Editor

This is the first in a series of orticles on hqrdwood being writtenfor this maga' zine by Coge McKinney, one of our contributing editors, who has wide experience in the hsrdwood industry-ed.

AVE YOU ever felt cheated after buying a load of hardwood lumber? Have you ever suspected that you didn't get as much footage as the invoice showed? Have you ever asked a hardwood dealer for satisfaction and gotten nowhere?

Unfortunately you're not alone. Hardwoods are a complicated Product. And while most hardwood dealers are honest, there's plenty of opportunity in the hardwood trade for an unscrupulous dealer to take advantage.

Still, you don't have to be an authority on hardwoods to keep the shady dealer from getting the best of you. By following a few simple steps and by using common sense, you can assure that you get all the hardwood you pay for.

First, always insist that your hardwood dealer quotes and ships on the basis of a NET TALLY. A net tally is a count of the actual Product You receive without any addition for kiln drying shrinkage-the percentage of footage that is theoretically lost when hardwoods are dried.

Sometimes hardwood dealers offer a seemingly low price based upon what they might call a "mill tally" or "green tally." In some cases selling lumber on such a tally is legitimate. But the addition of a fixed percentage for shrinkage, an essential feature of this type of sale, gives the shady dealer an opportunity to rip you off. The most effective way to take that opportunity away is to say, "I only buy lumber on a net tally."

Second, when you give a hardwood salesperson an order, tell him you expect a piece tally with the packing slip. A piece tally shows you the number of pieces in a load, the footage per each piece, and the total footage. By asking for it, you make the hardwood dealer accountable for every piece of lumber he ships.

The high labor costs associated with hardwoods, and a very competitive market, have caused some dealers to ship units or containers of hardwoods using block tallies tallies that estimate the footage within a load. Since these tallies are only estimates, you can't be sure you're getting all the footage that shows on

Story at a Glance

Insislon both net and piece tallies. .check loads upon arrival. .leam to use a tally stick .ask questions. .deal with reputable suppliers.

your invoice. To be sure, insist on a piece tally.

The one species of hardwood that may not require a piece tally is alder. Unlike most hardwoods, alder is manufactured in relatively uniform widths and lengths, and so units of alder are uniform in footage. Block tallies on loads of alder from reputable dealers or sawmills can be remarkably accurate.

Third, always inspect loads of hardwoods carefully when receiving them. Estimate the footage in the load by roughly calculating the average board footage in four or five tiers of lumber, and then multiply that average by the number of tiers in the load. Count the number of pieces in the load and compare your count to the piece tally. If your results don't ap proximate the dealer's figures, take an exception to the shipment.

Even the busiest lumber yard or manufacturing plant must take the time to make at least this type of rudimentary inspection. Make it part of your receiving procedure. lf you don't inspect lumber when you receive it, you have no recourse later.

Finally, if you're not completely satisfied that you have received everything you're entitled to, ask questions. And keep asking questions until you are satisfied. There's nothing confusing about frguring board footageit's a simple mathematical formula. And remember, as the

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