Talk on Hardwoods

By Don F. \X/hite, Whlte Brothers, San Francisco

Before the 5-Day Products Course o[ the Lumber Merchants Association of Northern Calilornia, at the Whitcomb Hotel, San Francisco, May 5-9, 1952 rTl l ODAY I am gt-rin.g to give you a little information on hardrvoods and I shall try to cover briefly the basic differences l;etn'een hard'lvood .tncl softu'ood in merchandising, handling and servicing of ihose of yotlr customers u'ho require hardrvoods.

Every lumber yarC has a call for hardn'oods and a knorvledge of hardn'oods is necessary ancl desirable.

The technical ditTerence betn'een hartlt'oods and softu'oods is botanical. Hardt,ood trees are broad leafed. Softwood trees are nee.lle leafed. The n.raples, oaks, poplars, rn'alnuts, mahoganies, etc. have broacl leaves. The pines, firs, redu'oods and cone bearing trees have needle leaves. The term hardrvoo:! does not necessarily mean the u'ood is hard.

Hardr.voods fall into tl-o rottgh classes as far as tlseage goes. 1-The cabinet u'oods, those s'hose figure, color and ability to take a fine finish make them desirable for furniture. fixtures and cibinet l'ork. Z-Those hardrvoods that are used r.r.rainly for strengti.r as hickorv, or the degree of irardness o: softness such as maple or balsa. Son.re hards'oods fall into both c:rtegories, u'here thev are used both ior finish and trim or strength. Oak is one of these. Some .f the oldest castles in Europe are paneled and r'r'alled of fine E,uropean oaks of unsttrpassecl beauty, rvhile n.rost u,<ioden ships, old a-ncl nel' have stttrdv oak timlters for their strerrgth llroperties.

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ALL u'o,rcls have 'itrips of cells that run at right angles to the fibres radially in the tree to conduct sap across the grain. These rr.n orrt like spokes from the heart of a tree to',r'ards lhe bark anrl are called rays. medullarv rays. In some species of l'ood the ravs are extremely surall-invisible to the naked eye. In others, such as sycamore and oak, thev {orm a conspicuous flake or silver grain on cluarter sau't-t surfaces. Thus n'oorls like oak are sometimes quarter sarved ()r sawn so that the {ace of the boards run parallel or nearly so to the ray. In n'oocls such as mahogany and Philippine rluarter sar,r,ing brings out a ribl>or-r figttre. n'hich enhances their beauty. Quarter sarving hardrvoods generally 1>roduces nuch narrorver boards than plain sau'n luntber.

Hardu'ood lumber is graded accordir.rg to the rules of the Natior-ral l{ardn,oo I Lumber Association. This is an o:i4anization u'hose membership inclrrdes the greater part of rhe hardu'ood lumber manufacturers. rvholesale and retail lumbermen in the United States and Canada Its primary purpose is to formulate rules for grading and inspecting lrard'ivood lumber and to maintain inspectors r.vho will grade Iumber. for quality and quantity and give certiflcates of inspection rvhich must be accepted by its members under certain specified corrditions. It is irnpossible now to give the errtire grading rrrles of the National Hardrvood Lumber Association, as the book of rules, u'hich it publishes, 'contains 103 pages. The folorving, holvel'er, is ;i general description. The gra.les are : First and Secon.',s combined, Selects, No 1 Common, No. 2 Con.mon. Tbere are lnore grades of cor'rrse.

T"r, method of determining the gracle is by estimating the anrount of clear lur,ber n'hich a board rvill produce outside of permissible def e.:ts, such as knots, splits, rvane, bird pecks, grrrh holes, season checks and cupped lurnber. The number of cuttings necessary to make this clear lumller in a boarcl of a specified size determines the grade.

The highest gradi' itr harcln'oods is termed first and seconds, and this is the grade universally stocked by the dealers on the Pacific Coast. Lorver grades are carried in some n'oods. Ir, the majority of n'oods. tl-re grading rules of firsts ancl seconds ''equire stock to be (1" and u'ider and 8 to 16 feet long. Because of the high grade. demanded by the trade here, the percentage of u'ide s'idths and long lengths is lirnited. For this reason, stock 12" and wider and 12 leet and longer lakes a premium in price. To secure a better run of stock. and at a much lorver price it is advisablc to buy narro\\' siock, and short lengths, n'hen possible. To make reallv the most satisfactory bargain, give your cutting sizes, u-hich u'ill enable the dealer to fiIl your order to better advantage.

A feu' l'oods ur'-iv be had in lengths from 18 to 48 feet long. These length; are tnuch higher in price than standard lengths. Occasittnally, n'e receive orders for stock 18 ft. long, out oi s'hich a cttstotner intends to cut 2, 3, 6 ot 9 feet lengths, the same applying to even longer lengths. This is noi econorniczrl.

C)ne important Doint to remember is that FAS is not clear. There is no comparable grade in ha:dl'oods to-for

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