ALSC Minutes

[Don P]

These came out yesterday. If you're a wood nerd this was a pretty busy and interesting meeting.

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks for post that.
Can you give us a simple update?

Jim Rogers

[Don P]

Hem-Fir is undergoing an In-Grade review. They have collected 8,600 samples of 2x4-2x10 to test and compare to what it should be.

SPF has been going through a similar audit and hit a snag which may or may not be one of those statistical red herrings or it might be the first signs of a quality drop.

In any of these if the resource does change they will go back and double check then figure out what the new design values are. Some of you might remember SYP #2 having its design values lowered in 2013. That was a result of these audits.

Pacific Lbr Inspection Bureau has a new glue manual for engineered wood products under their stamp. While the director was reading the new manual he realized that now, especially I'm guessing with cross laminated timber, there can be gluelines hidden from inspection after the piece is assembled. They have some thinkin to do.

Item VII is a good description of testing done on DF-L. I think I have pics in my gallery of Dr Cheung breaking SYP samples with our grading class in his lab at TP. I saw this observation,

Mr. Chapman complimented the explicit description of sampling present in the Sampling and Testing plan. Mr. Chapman commented that it is viewed by the Board of Review to be a best practice for the sample to be gathered before the Home Center or Contractor grades have been removed.

Their "prime" grades pull out "pretty" boards and distort the grading a bit. Contractor grades can be the remaining ugly #2's.

They realized something about this world travelling import export lumber monster they were cheering on for the past decade or two. Their auditors might very well get shot at in some of those places.

 When the Soviet Union collapsed we encouraged lumber trade with the former republics. It was a way they could generate dollars. Now, with recent events, they have drafted a policy. If the state dept threat level hits Moderate, they are out of there and all lumber trade stops. That has serious implications for quite a few people.

In other news it looks like we might be moving to a bit more truth in advertising in new grade names. I suspect more than a few people were not happy to see some of that european lumber wanting to co-opt the SPF group label. It looks like anything non US/Canadian will have an I at the beginning of the group designation.

OK, reading that, maybe it's just me :D

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks for posting that.

Jim Rogers