Ya Gotta Know the Product!

By Harold Cole MacBeath Hardwood Go. Salt Lake CitY

JN the past two Years or so'

I there have been many articles published in The Merchant Magazine on hardwood. All of these articles have been informative and interesting. This article is written for the purpose of eliminating or cutting down a communication gap between hardwood wholesale distributors and peoPle that sell softwoods, as well as retail dealers.

To begin with, all trees are either softwood or hardwood. BY counting the growth rings on anY tree that is cut down, you can determine the age of the tree.

In softwood trees, the growth ring (the summer wood) has a density many times the densitY of spring wood (the area between the growth rings).

Hardwood trees, too, have a growth ring but the densitY between the spring wood and the summer wood is relatively similar. The live part of the tree, the sapwood, is the part of the tree that carries the food from the root to the leaves. As a consequence, the fibers in the sapwood are Practically saturate.

In the seasoning of Pieces of hardwoods, since there is more moisture to be taken from the sapwood part of the tree than from the heartwood part, a curvature occurs on the edges and faces ofthe boards. This is because the sapwood shrinks in the seasoning much more than does the heartwood. For this reason, hardwood is hardly ever cut to dimensional sizes.

If hardwood lumber were cut dimensional, i.e., 1x4, 1x6, 1x8, it would still have to be jointed and ripped to eliminate the curvature, hence there would be no Percentage in dimensional cutting and not being able to use the board as it was cut.

In softwood lumber, the differ- ence in density between sPring wood and summer wood has a tendency to create a stabilizing effect upon the average board. Yard grades are manufactured for the purpose of using the board as it is cut in it's dimensional size. It is neither necessary nor mandatorY that dimensional softwood be dried to the low percentage of moisture that hardwood lumber is dried to.

Story at a Glance

Good basic tips on the differences between hardwoods and softwoods how best to order hardwoods Plus ways that can save money, time and problems in serving Your hardwood customer.

Therefore, edge bow, warP, and twist are not as serious as theY would be in hardwood. Yard grades of softwood lumber are graded from the standpoint of equivalent defects, pertaining to sPecified dimensional sizes and for sPecific purposes.

Hardwood lumber is graded upon the basis of clear face cutting recovery. The percentages varying according to the grade' FAS, firsts and seconds, a combined grade has to cut 5/6 clear, 1 face cutting recovery in sizes 4' wide and wider, by 5' long and longer in a sPecified number of cuts according to the surface footage.

When a person orders first and second grade lumber, it should be kept in mind that there can be and usually are defects in the board that will not detract from the 5/6 clear 1 face recovery of the board' Also FAS grade is 6" wide and wider by 8' long and longer, random widths and lengths, the best commercial grade available.

Anyone ordering hardwood lumber from a hardwood distributor should keep these two aforementioned facts in mind:

(1) The board has to be jointed straight and riPPed Parallel.

(2) It may or may not be free of defects and imPerfections.

Most hardwood estimators have a standard rule of thumb method to figure waste on comPletelY milled items. For examPle: in PhilIippine mahoganY, 25Vo waste is usually used; in oak or ash, 3070; in birch, maple, cherry or beech, 40 to 45% is usually used. In walnut and butternut, since an inventory stock is usually lower, it maY be necessary to figure 50% waste'

Many times a hardwood lumber company will receive an inquirY from a regular retail lumber Yard asking for hardwood items that are improbable, if not downright impossible to get. There ProbablY aren't a dozen pieces of 1x12x16' clear all black walnut in the western half of the United States, for example. It is therefore prudent that any retail counterman preparing an inquiry to a hardwood Yard should make sure that he asks his customer what the end usage of the material will be.

If he has to have that size and it cannot be glued or end scarffed (end jointed) then there is the possibility that it will not be available.

If a customer that is used to ordering 1x12x16' pine shelving only to be cut in shorter lengf,hs or ripped to narrower widths would tell the counterman the number of pieces smallest size and smallest width and length he needs, the waste factor can be redueed.

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