sawing grade lumber

[lumberlady]

we are going to start sawing some grade lumber and selling it ,any tips that you can offer would be greatly appeciated.we have sawed grade lumber before but now we are going to be sawing for a bigger company.

[Bibbyman]

I'm not sure if they'll go along with it,  but if you could spend a couple of hours on the grader's green chain looking at lumber with him/her you'll have a much better idea of how to saw the lumber.  

It's easy to throw away a lot of bf and grade by edging too much.

Find out what thickness they will take.  I've heard some places will take 4/4 down to 1" some 1-1/16", etc.  The difference is a couple of boards a log.

Find out if they will take lumber bundled in mixed lengths.  They'll probably want it bundled in 4'-5', 6'-7', and so on.  

They may pay a premium for bundles pre-sorted by grade.  But unless you have your own grader,  that's not practical.

[lumberlady]

thanks bibbyman,i do know the thickness and what to bundle. thats a good idea i think i will visit the yard and see how they like the lumber cut. i hope to learn more about this cuz every tip might make me money :D :D :D

[Ron Wenrich]

What most buyers look for above all else is well manufactured lumber.  That means that there isn't excessive wane, ends are trimmed, and there isn't a great deal of variance in the thickness.

We have a buyer who sends his grader to the mill.  We have a personal relationship with him, and he treats us really fair.  He will upgrade any board, and pay for the upgrade.

Other operations have mills send the lumber to them for grading.  They buy by the grade when received.  Any upgrade is in their pocket.  

[lumberlady]

hey ron thanks for the information. i have a question, what are you meaning when you say upgrade? and you mentioned something about end trim, this guy said not to end trim does this make a difference in the price?

[Ron Wenrich]

Upgrade means to take a board from a lower grade and make it into a better grade, without losing too much footage.  

Sometimes this can be done by a little closer edging, in the case of wane rules, and sometimes it can be a matter of trimming.  

End trimming simply means to clean up the end of a board.  Sometimes you'll have a defect on the end of the board.  That may be a knot, rot or a split.  Removal may bring a 2 Com up to a much higher grade, depending on other defect.  Easiest money you can make.

Double end trimming means to trim both ends of the board, usually to a predetermined lenght, ie 8'2", 10'2", etc; instead of letting the length run.  Some buyers like letting the length run, and this may well be what this company wants.  They get some extra length which can increase their yield.  You may get better grade on some of the boards.  You use the whole board to get a grade.

Make sure you understand the trimming standards for your buyers.  If they want untrimmed, will they upgrade the board or beat you because it wasn't trimmed?  Like Bibbyman pointed out, go over to their operation and get a good sense of what they want,,, and ask questions.

You should also know the basics of grading lumber.  Try this link in the knowledge base:  

https://forestryforum.com/tips/tips.cgi?display:1046685722-28345.txt

[Bibbyman]

Our buyer wants all same species in a bundle made in 2' increments i.e. all red oak 6' and 7' long in one bundle - 9'-10' in another, etc.  If we end up with a few short boards, rather than make a bundle with only a few boards in it, we'll add them to the top of the shortest bundle. They've not complained about that.

He takes it un-trimmed and will upgrade by recording the width a little narrower or cutting back the length, etc.  Say we have a board that's a little Coke bottle shaped - We'll edge it to the widest width and send it on.  The grader my look at it and decide to buy it as a 1x6x8' FAS/1F or cut it back to a 1x10x6' 1C.  We trust he is making the best decision that will result in the best price for us.  He says he is.

We mix or grade because we don't have enough to pre-sort by grade.  Our buyer was paying the pre-sorted price for pre-sorted or mixed but has not started to pay less for mixed grades.

We do cut back some boards were there is obviously no usable wood.