Softwood lumber grading

[Mrshuntin]

Wondering tricks of the trade and if there is a website you prefer with grading softwood lumber in Canada

[Brucer]

You can buy the "Standard Grading Rules for Canadian Lumber" and the "Canadian Lumber Grading Manual" (a training manual) from the NLGA. The price for both publications is quite reasonable. Check out their website at WWW.NLGA.ORG.

[Don P]

there is a tedious free download;
http://nlga.org/en/publications-for-download/

if you are needing to know in the bureaucratic sense, a grader is an independent third party certificate holder, his grading is official, your grading would not satisfy that requirement if that is a necessity.

All you need to know, quarter, third, half.
#1 is defects that compromise one quarter of the good straight grain in the cross section.
#2 is up to one third of the grain in that are, #3 is up to half.

Then read the description of how to judge the other controlling defects, length or width of measurement is usually about that rule of thumb.