A Buyer's Guide to Lumber

(Page 3 of 3)

July/August 1987
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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Hardwood

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Hardwood lumber is graded in three categories: factory, dimension parts and finished market products. Only factory grades concern us, because they're based on the proportion of a piece that can be cut into usable pieces, or cuttings, which are divided further into three project grades:

Firsts and seconds (FAS), a combination of the two best cutting grades, is limited to boards whose poorest side yields at least 83% clear wood. All first and second boards must be at least 6" wide and 8' long.

Selects, quality project wood with the good side equivalent to an FAS board, must be at least 4" wide and 6' in length.

No. 1 common, or "shorts," is the lowest grade of project hardwood. Boards must yield at least 66% clear wood on the poor side and can be no less than 3" wide and 4' long.

Note that hardwood comes in random widths, with specified minimums assigned by grade. Standard lengths range consecutively from 4' to 16'. Hardwood is sold as rough (unplaned) or as S2S (surfaced on two sides—top and bottom). Thickness is measured in ¼" graduations, from 1" to 4", and expressed as a fraction... so a 5/4 board is nominally l¼" thick.

UMBER GRADE STAMPSNearly all grade stamps, with the exception of those used for heavy timbers, include at least the following elements: 1. Certification mark: Indicates the association or agency responsible for inspection at the mill.2. Mill identification: The company name, logo or assigned mill number. 3. Grade designation: The grade name or abbreviation, sometimes indicated by number. 4. Species identification: Indicates an individual species or the species group. 5. Seasoning condition: Specifies the moisture content at surfacing; S-DRY indicates 19%, MC 15 means 15% and S-GRN is unseasoned lumber over 19%.

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