What are the grades of wood?
Softwood Lumber Grades
- Nonstress Lumber Grades. Contains moderate number of tight knots. ...
- Appearance Lumber Grades. With appearance lumber, there is additional emphasis on the physical look of the lumber given that it may be exposed once installed, e.g. ...
- Stress-Graded Lumber Grades. ...
What does FAS mean in lumber?
What does FAS mean in lumber? FAS: (first and second grade) This stands for the highest grade of lumber.FAS grade includes some defects but is considered the premier lumber for furniture and cabinet making. #1 & #2 common: These two grades will have a fair amount of allowable defects and color variations.
What is FAS grade lumber?
Hardwood grades are: FAS (First and Second) is the highest grade of hardwood lumber. It’s usually 6-inches x 8-inches and is 83 percent defect-free on its best side. Select is 4-inches x 6-inches and 83 percent defect free on its best side. What is the highest grade of hardwood? There are eight hardwood lumber grades in widespread use at this time.
What is 84 Lumber?
84 Lumber is an operated American building materials supply company. Founded in 1956 by Joseph Hardy, it derives its name from the unincorporated village of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place 20 miles (32 km) south of Pittsburgh, where its headquarters are located.
Is FAS the best grade of hardwood lumber?
Grades are based on the amount of usable clear material in a board. The highest grade boards are FAS and Select, followed by #1 Common and #2 Common.
Is FAS better than select?
The difference between the two grades is the better face: When grading No. 1 Common, the better face is the same or better than the poorer face. When grading Select, the better face must grade FAS, which means that the better face of Select must be clearer than the better face of No. 1 Common.
What is FAS lumber?
FAS: (first and second grade) This stands for the highest grade of lumber. FAS grade includes some defects but is considered the premier lumber for furniture and cabinet making.
What is the best wood grade?
Hardwood grades are: FAS (First and Second) is the highest grade of hardwood lumber. It's usually 6-inches x 8-inches and is 83 percent defect-free on its best side. Select is 4-inches x 6-inches and 83 percent defect free on its best side.
What is FAS quality?
The FAS grade, which derives from an original grade “First And Seconds”, will provide the user with long, clear cuttings – best suited for high quality furniture, interior joinery and solid wood mouldings. Minimum board size is 6” and wider and 8' and longer.
What are the 3 grades of hardwood?
We already know the three most common types of oak hardwood flooring: Select, #1 Common and #2 Common (a.k.a., rustic grade). Flooring manufacturers have their own grading standards, others may also comply with national grading rules, and some flooring styles have no grade at all — antique flooring, for example.
What is FAS walnut?
Grade: First and Seconds (FAS) Above grade Walnut can be found in wide and long boards, but you will pay a premium for it. This is the highest grade, and NHLA states for all lumber the following: 83.3% clear of defect on both faces.
What is FAS White Oak?
WHITE OAK (FAS) 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, 10/4, 12/4, 16/4. Flat-sawn White Oak is when it is cut parallel to the width of the board. Flatsawn is the most economical of cuts for White Oak.
What is the highest grade of hardwood?
FAS: Shorthand for “First and Seconds”. FAS is the highest of the hardwood lumber grades. FAS 1-Face (abbreviation: F1F): A “Select” piece of lumber which is six inches and wider.
What is FAS 1F?
The upper grades, which will include FAS, FAS-One-Face (FAS/1F) and Selects, are most suitable for long clear mouldings, joinery products such as door frames, architectural interiors; and furniture applications, which require a heavy percentage of long wide cuttings. The Common grades, primarily Number 1 Common (No.
What is the cheapest wood?
Pound for pound, the cheapest wood to buy is maple. Poplar, Alder, white oak and beech are also quite inexpensive. Maple, specifically, is one of the most common woods among entry-level woodworkers and general-purpose woodworks because of its affordability and availability.
What's the strongest 2x4 wood?
Doug-Fir. Douglas-fir, popularly known as Doug-fir, is undoubtedly the best and most common structural lumber. It is most architects' and engineers' go-to lumber species and this is not just because of its remarkable dimensional stability. It is also among the strongest and most durable softwood lumbers.
What is grading lumber?
Worldwide, hardwood lumber producers “grade” their lumber, assuring downstream consumers of the lumber of the lumber’s quality for the intended use . Put simply, lumber grading serves quality assurance needs.
How to grade hardwood lumber?
Some species must be processed according to special rules. Determine the surface measurement (SM). SM is the width, in inches and fractions, times ...
What is FAS 1?
FAS is the highest of the hardwood lumber grades. FAS 1-Face (abbreviation: F1F): A “Select” piece of lumber which is six inches and wider. Select: A No. 1 Common piece of lumber (the poorer side of the wood piece is assigned as No. 1 Common grade) and the reverse side (the better side) grades FAS.
What is the difference between 1 face and 1 select grade lumber?
Often, Select grade lumber is used in the Northern U.S., while 1-Face is used in the South. No. 1 Common is the standard furniture grade lumber and provides a good selection of long, medium and short cuttings at a reasonable price.
What is SM in lumber?
SM is the width, in inches and fractions, times the standard length in feet with no fractions or rounding, divided by 12 with the answer rounded to the closest whole number. Determine the poor face, which is the side with the lowest grade. Assume a trial grade for the piece of lumber and then see if all the conditions for that grade are met.
Is sawn wood a natural material?
“Wood is a natural material and by its very nature may contain different characteristics and defects that need to be understood and allowed for in any given application. The grading of sawn wood into categories as it is processed helps to determine to a large extent the value and potential use possible for each board of sawn lumber.”
What is softwood grade?
Softwood lumber grades are divided into categories based on the lumber’s use. Since softwood is so versatile, it can be used for almost everything from supporting and framing a house to paneling it. Having different categories of softwood lumber grades helps make it easier to pick the correct grade for your application, ensuring the proper strength and quality of your build.
What is a lumber grade?
Lumber grades are a standardized way to judge the quality of a wood or piece of lumber. Both softwood and hardwood have separate grading scales. Softwood specifically has a larger variety of grading options depending on the intended application for the lumber.
What is appearance lumber?
Appearance lumber is any softwood lumber that’s used in applications where it will be seen, such as furniture building. As such, the appearance of the wood is important. It is divided into two categories: Select and Common, each of which can be broken down into their own specific grades.
What is non stressed lumber?
This first category of softwood lumber is primarily considered in building, for applications that don’t require a great deal of structural support, but that also aren’t highly visible.
Why is softwood more affordable than hardwood?
It’s lighter, less dense, and tends to be more affordable, due to the fact that softwood trees grow more rapidly and are more abundant than hardwoods. Softwood is ideal for construction because it features a straighter grain, ensuring adequate strength for building components and framing.
Why is hardwood more durable than softwood?
Since hardwood forms more slowly than soft wood, it has a higher density, making hardwood lumber stronger and more durable. For this reason, hardwood is most commonly used in construction applications where longevity and appearance are both major factors, like flooring, cabinetry, furniture making, and more.
What is 2A lumber?
2A and 2B Common grade lumber is used for paneling and flooring applications, No. 2A & 2B lumber must yield 50 percent clear face cuttings on boards at least 3″ wide with a length of 2′ or more.
What is hardwood grade?
Hardwood grades are based on the size and number of clear pieces that can be obtained from a board when it is cut up to be used to make a product. Grades are not determined by gut reactions to what a person thinks the grade should be, but actual measurements of clear sections and definitions for defects.
What is hardwood lumber grading?
Hardwood Lumber Grading#N#Hardwood lumber grading is a complex process using rules maintained by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA: www.natlhardwood.org ). The NHLA rules were designed to provide the furniture industry a mathematically measurable method to grade lumber for its amount of clear, defect free wood.
What is the best grade of hardwood lumber?
The standard hardwood lumber grades are summarized below: Firsts and Seconds (FAS) The best and most expensive grade. Boards 6" and wider, 8' and longer. Yields 83-1/3 percent of clear face cuttings with minimum sizes of 4" x 5', or 3" x 7'. Board is graded from the poorer face.
What size board to use for FAS?
No. 1 Common. A typical thrift or "shop" grade. Boards are 3" and wider, 4' and longer. Yields 66-2/3 percent clear face cuttings with minimum sizes of 4" x 2', or 3" x 3'.
What is the best grade for molding?
The upper grades, FAS, F1F and SEL, are most suitable for mouldings, joinery products such as door frames, architectural interiors and furniture requiring a high percentage of long wide cuttings. It should be noticed that FAS - the highest grade - is not synonymous with being 100% clear material.
Is lumber graded select?
Lumber sold by Woodworkers Source, unless marked otherwise, is graded “Select” or higher; however, some boards may be cut for shipping or to make “Packs”. In these cases your yield will exceed the National Hardwood Lumber Association standard. Some imported woods are available only in small cuttings.
What is hardwood grade?
Hardwood grading for lumber considers the size and number of pieces (or cuttings) which may be yielded during the creation of a hardwood product. The grading system is based, therefore, on the measurable percentage of clear wood that is defect-free for each of the grades.
What is the highest grade of appearance lumber?
With appearance lumber, there is additional emphasis on the physical look of the lumber given that it may be exposed once installed, e.g. used to make softwood furniture. The highest grade of appearance lumber is designated as finish, followed by selects and common. There is some variation in these terms and grades depending on the agency responsible.
What is stress graded lumber?
Softwoods that are stress-graded are used as beams, posts, studs, rafters, and joists, for example, where the material is functioning in a load-bearing capacity and working stresses will be applied. The stress gradings may be determined either by visual means or through mechanical testing according to ASTM standards and procedures, establishing standard working values for mechanical properties such as the modulus of elasticity and the bending moment. These pieces are referred to as structural lumber.
Which is lighter, hardwood or softwood?
These trees are ones which usually have needles and cones as opposed to leaves. Softwood lumber tends to be lighter and has a lower density than hardwood, owing from the fact that these trees that exhibit a higher rate of growth than hardwood trees.
What is the difference between stress graded and appearance lumber?
Appearance lumber is judged mainly by the overall visual quality, whereas stress-graded or nonstress-graded lumber is more concerned with the structural integrity of the wood. Retail lumberyards typically sell nonstress-graded and appearance lumber, which is collectively referred to as “yard lumber”.
What is the best wood for framing?
Some of the most commonly used softwoods that are created into lumber include: Cedar – both red and yellow most commonly. Fir – often called Douglas Fir. Pine.
What is lumber made of?
Lumber is a wood product, sawn and shaped from timbers of harvested trees. By its nature, wood is not of uniform consistency and therefore will contain defects that impact the appearance of the lumber that is created from the wood material, and which may impact the structural characteristics as well.
How many grades of hardwood are there?
Other than slight modifications every once and awhile, the rules have been relatively stable since that time. There are eight hardwood lumber grades in widespread use today.
What is the difference between higher and lower grades of lumber?
In short, the higher grades of lumber have more large clear area than the lower grades. The basic concept of grading is that the grade of all lumber is determined from the poorest face or side of the lumber, with a few cases considering the better face as well.
What is the NHLA grading system?
Today, NHLA grading rules are not only the dominant grading system for hardwood lumber in the United States, but also form the basis for much of the international trade in hardwoods. Most hardwood lumber produced in this country is graded using the rules developed and maintained by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA).
What is the ratio of the volume of parts to the volume of lumber called?
When cutting hardwood lumber into a usable piece of wood, often referred to as parts, the ratio of the volume of parts to the volume of lumber is called yield, and is usually expressed in percentages. In general, the higher the grade of lumber, the higher the yield.
What is 1 face lumber?
1 Common (often called Common or just No. 1) is the standard furniture grade lumber, and provides a good selection of long, medium length, and short cuttings at a reasonable price.
Do you need a certified lumber grader to grade hardwood?
Unlike softwood lumber, where the grade reflects the strength and therefore the load carrying capacity and safety of a particular piece when used in construction, hardwood lumber grading does not require a certified or licensed grader.
Is hardwood lumber a grade?
Also, unlike softwood lumber, hardwood lumber is not marked with a uniform system of symbols or stamps indicating the grade, although there may be some crayon marks that make sense to a grader or a particular mill. The grading rules are quite complex and require study.
Why are some trees graded differently from others?
It also must be said that some species are graded differently from others due to natural factors in how that tree grows. Check out this post on Walnut for more information on that topic. Bark Inclusions are not accepted in NHLA lumber grading, but can be used for character by some.
Does gum streak affect lumber?
Gum Streaks. These elements do not effect the structural integrity of the lumber and in many cases can be seen as appealing character depending on the industry and final use. It is this variance of opinion that NHLA grading systems cannot possibly take into account and therefore where the system begins to break down.
Is hardwood lumber a higher grade than furniture?
It is much higher grade than the furniture maker needs, but perfect for millwork. For more than a century, the hardwood lumber industry has held to a central grading standard established by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). Thanks to the foresight of the early founders of the NHLA in 1898, some order has been added to the chaos ...
