Alder: from weed to winner

the southeastern states also use sizable quantities of alder resulting in a good market for the western hardwood in that area. The Far East and EuroPe account for "bigger and bigger demands on kiln dried alder lumber," Sweitzer reports.

Western alder thrives in the low, moist conditions of the Pacific Northwest; a prolific, fast growing species. More than 18 billion board feet have been classified as commercial grade. Alder saw timber supply exceeds the total supply of soft maple by 3590, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Alder supplies also exceed supplies of birch, basswood and aspen although there is less alder than poplar, sugar and black maple. Western alder has an advantage in that it is available all year in popular thicknesses from4/14 to l2/4.

Alder took getting used to on the part of the buyers because of several important differences in grading. It is always graded from the best face after kilndrying and surfacing on two sides to l/16" scant of nominal. hit or miss. Unlike eastern species, all kiln and planer defects are graded out.

It is often possible to substitute 4/4 lumber for 5/4 eastern lumber because of the uniform surfacing to 15/16'hit or miss. Kilndried western alder is quoted, invoiced and delivered on the basis of net board footage tallied after kilndrying with no addition of footage for kiln-drying shrinkage.

Western alder is a close or fine grained wood much like cherry, birch and maple. Its density or hardness is comparable to Appalachian soft maple. Because there is no color dif- ference between the heartwood and sapwood, it is a uniform light tan or honey color. The color can stand well on its own, but. beca.use it accepts stains readily, much of the alder used is finished to match another wood. Sap, mineral streaks, dark color and stain are rarely found. Western alder has a light pattern which helps with printing and matching it with any other species of veneers without bleaching.

Workability of alder ranks a high 9 or l0 in all classifications on a scale of 10. This makes it the most consistently workable hardwood across these categories.

Alder performs well in solid cut stock, turning squares, glued up panels and laminated woods as well as in turnings and specialty products. It is often used as the frame in upholstered furniture or exposed in finished wood furniture such as dining room and bedroom suites. Because it

Story at a Glance

Alder outgrows weed tree ori. gin. .market continues to ex. pand. . .important in furniture manufacturing. .ongoing promotion stresses quality, adaptability. Photos courtesy of the Western Hardwood Association finishes well, it is a natural for antique reproductions and cabinets. ln 1977 sales reached $200 million with 146 mbf of alder and 329,m bone dry units of chips selling in the primary market. In addition, the secondary use of alder in Oregon, Washington and California added $145 million to the primary value of the lumber.

Three years later, in 1980, the primary market had grown to $285 million with 159 mbf of alder and 320,000 bone dry units of chips.

Alder sawmills employed 1085 people in 1977 with a payroll of $12 million. In '80 these figures rose to 1240 employees with a payroll of $18 million. The labor intensive secondary alder market accounted for 6961 employees in 19'7'1 earning $69 million. In 1980 the number of people employed rose to 7600 with salaries pegged at $93 million.

Projections for 1984 show lumber

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