Grade the log - sweep, crook, shell, rot, etc.

[Bibbyman]

Not all of this batch of cherry logs were as bad as the ones pictured. (Just using them as examples for grading and scaling for defect.) Some were nice.  Most were a little "lot worn".  We just came in from sawing about 600 bf out of 9 logs.  I'm sure more than half will go FAS.

As for the red oak, that was a picture I took a couple of weeks ago.  Those logs have done been turned into slabs, sawdust and boards and long gone to market.



But here is four more red oak (3-10' and one 12') we got in on the last two loads of mostly cherry.  Out of two trees,  they are quite nice.  Three real nice hickory stack behind them.

[Bibbyman]

I'm trying with this post to show examples of logs with defect and how those defects are handled when evaluating the grade and scale of the log – and therefore the market value of that log.

Most everything we buy and sale in any volume has rules for determining quality and volume.  Consider walking down the isle of a grocery store and comparing the lowly egg.  They are package in some unit of dozen,  and market with a size, small, medium, large, extra large – have a grade - A,AA,AAA, etc.  Logs,  as a commodity,  also have grades, and units of measure.

I suspect there are many "standards" for grading and sizing logs.  Most depend on the market and type of log and regional practices.  But there are rules so that a buyer in one part of the country can trade with someone in another part of the country in some kind of uniform and consistent fashion.



The USDA has published a guide for these standards for "Grading Hardwood Logs for Standard Lumber".  It tries to remove the art and guesswork in assigning log grade and volume to a science.  With some working knowledge that these rules exist,  and the current market price of logs,  a person is better equipped to buy or market logs.

I also found a PDF version posed on the US Government web site.

Grading Hardwood Logs for Standard Lumber

Disclaimer,   I am not a trained, professional log buyer.  I have been around log yards and witnessed the log marketing process since before I started grade school.