1. Understanding Lumber & Identifying Materials
Al Borland, Name that wood

2. Objectives Explain the difference between hardwood and softwood tress
Identify the common terms associated with the surfaces and dimensions of lumber
Identify defects within a piece of lumber
Identify the various parts of a tree that lumber is cut from and their terminology
Explain the difference between various grades of lumber

3. Softwoods vs. Hardwoods
Conifers
Many bear cones and needles
Hardwood
Deciduous
Shed their leaves
This classification can be confusing since many hardwood trees produce a softer wood than some softwoods

4. Wood also varies in…
Weight
Strength
Color
Texture
Grain pattern
Odor

5. Surfaces and Dimensions
The dimensions are given for the length, width and thickness.
Surfaces
The surfaces of a board are referred
to as the end, face and edge.
4/4, 5/4, and 6/4 ?
Material will often be listed like this, it simply means that the thickness of the material is measured in quarter of an inch increments, hence 4/4 is one inch thick, 8/4 is two inches thick.

6. Lumber Dimensions
S4S - This means that the material is finished on all four sides, for example what we refer to as a 1 X 4 was a piece of rough sawn material 1" thick and 4" wide and is reduced to 3/4" X 3 1/2" when run through a planer.

7. Lineal Ft. vs. Board Ft. Lineal Foot
Lumber priced by the linear foot means that you pay for each running foot of the material, prices will increase proportionately for wider or thicker material.
Board Foot
One board foot equals 144 cubic inches of material. To calculate board feet multiply the width in inches by the thickness in inches by the length in inches and divide by 144.
The advantage to suppliers is that only one price has to be given for each grade and species of material since length and width are covered in the volume calculation.

8. Board Feet
The chart below gives the board feet in various lengths and widths of material one inch thick, for thicker material multiply by the thickness of the material, always round the thickness up to the next whole inch.

10. Annual Rings and Shrinkage

15. Grades of Lumber
Depends on the size of pieces and amount of clear cuttings that they contain
Softwood is divided in to three size classifications
Boards, Dimension lumber, and Timbers
Each size classification has several grades within it

17. Review What is the difference between a hardwood and a softwood tree?
What is the difference between heartwood and sapwood?
How does lumber change when exposed to moisture or dried?
What is the difference between lineal feet and board feet?

20. Emerald ash bore video
Ash bore video 6min