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

[gmmills]

 I'm with Ron on scale and grade . Looking at sawing from a purely wholesale standpoint. Position the crotch seam so it's cornered and saw it up. Having the log positioned that way the seam defect will be on the edges of the boards and can be edged off if needed.  You may even get a few FAS boards off of it before the seam and the limb pith cause grade issues.

   It's really hard to judge the bucking of logs with out seeing the whole tree. In the past I've been on both sides of this. Bucking logs on the landing and scaling - grading on the yard. When working the log yard it is real easy to ask yourself. What was this guy thinking!!!! 

[Bibbyman]

I think most of the logs coming into our loglot are bucked up to the most convenient size for handling. 

Sometimes you can find and match up the butt and uppercut logs and you can see where improvements could have been made – from a lumber standpoint.

[KILROY]

  Bibbyman,
  I agree with Ron's grade.  I just want to be sure I read your post correctly. Is the 18 inches the narrow measurement at the fork?  That is the measurement I would use without any averaging. The log would be a #2 and I would use the 8 foot length. That log could not be cut anywhere else. It has to be at least 8 feet long to get any FAS lumber out of it. There is some in that log.
  Two years ago the price we got off the mill was, FAS-$1.50, F1F-$1.45, Select and #1-$1.05, #2-.55 and anything lower they would not buy so was burned. I am sure these were not the highest at the time , but were for TT loads. Hauling the logs to the saw and then the lumber to the kiln were the major expense. If you did not get the grade out of the log you lost money quickly. If you have niche markets for tables and crotches then you can make more.
  When you are buying logs try to get 10 and 12 foot.Be sure they add 6 inches to trim the boards. You will get plenty of 8 foot logs, but there was so much 8 foot lumber on the market it was hard to sell. You will get more cuttings with the longer lengths and this will help on your grade. Study a grade book so you know what you are looking for when cutting. At that time we were giving $1 for clear 3 faces and $.75 for #1 logs a bdft. We could not afford to buy #2 or lower in our circumstances. At best you broke even. You will usually end up with some lower grade logs just to be able to buy the better logs. Clear 3 faces usually sawed out their scale in FAS lumber using a band mill and buying on Doyle scale.

[Bibbyman]

Just so you know we DO get some good logs to saw....



Here are three real nice red oaks.  That's a 60" LogRite on top to give you idea of size.  No chalange to scale or grade these.!

[KILROY]

  Bibbyman,
 Those are some nice logs. After working your way through that cherry, those oak logs will be fun to cut.  You are right about scaling and grading those logs.

[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.