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    NHLA Grading Rules For North American Hardwoods

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    cobra_negra69
    The document summarizes the NHLA grading rules for North American hardwoods. It describes the measurement systems and defines the standard grades based on the percentage of clear cut defect-free wood on a board. The highest grade is FAS, requiring a minimum of 83% clear wood, followed by F1F, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 3A Common, each with progressively lower minimum clear wood percentages. Board thickness and sizes for clear cuttings are also specified for each grade.

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    NHLA Grading Rules For North American Hardwoods

    Uploaded by

    cobra_negra69
    177 views6 pages
    The document summarizes the NHLA grading rules for North American hardwoods. It describes the measurement systems and defines the standard grades based on the percentage of clear cut defect-free wood on a board. The highest grade is FAS, requiring a minimum of 83% clear wood, followed by F1F, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 3A Common, each with progressively lower minimum clear wood percentages. Board thickness and sizes for clear cuttings are also specified for each grade.

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    NHLA Grading Rules for North American Hardwoods

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    NHLA Grading Rules for North American Hardwoods

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    The document summarizes the NHLA grading rules for North American hardwoods. It describes the measurement systems and defines the standard grades based on the percentage of clear cut defect-free wood on a board. The highest grade is FAS, requiring a minimum of 83% clear wood, followed by F1F, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 3A Common, each with progressively lower minimum clear wood percentages. Board thickness and sizes for clear cuttings are also specified for each grade.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    177 views6 pages

    NHLA Grading Rules For North American Hardwoods

    Uploaded by

    cobra_negra69
    The document summarizes the NHLA grading rules for North American hardwoods. It describes the measurement systems and defines the standard grades based on the percentage of clear cut defect-free wood on a board. The highest grade is FAS, requiring a minimum of 83% clear wood, followed by F1F, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 3A Common, each with progressively lower minimum clear wood percentages. Board thickness and sizes for clear cuttings are also specified for each grade.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The key takeaways are that NHLA lumber grades are based on the percentage of clear defect-free wood on the board face and measured in clear cutting units. Grades include FAS, F1F, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 3A Common.

    NHLA lumber grades are determined based on the percentage of clear cut surface area on the poor face of the board. This clear cut surface area is measured in cutting units which are the width times length of the clear section.

    FAS requires a minimum of 83% clear cut surface area. F1F and Selects have combined grade requirements. No. 1 Common is 66% clear cut surface area minimum. No. 2A Common is 50% and No. 3A Common is 33% clear cut surface area minimum. Minimum board and cut sizes also vary by grade.

    NHLA GRADING RULES FOR

    NORTH AMERICAN HARDWOODS


    The NHLA grades are based on the percentage of clear-defect free
    wood on a board. The measurements of this percentage are referred
    to as clear-cuttings. Other than the FAS grades, the grade of the board
    is determined from the percentage of these clear cuttings and do not
    consider defects outside of the clear areas.

    MEASUREMENT
    The NHLA grades are determined on an imperial measurement system
    using inches and feet. Additionally, the rules were developed with
    random width and length lumber in mind. A board foot is the unit of
    measurement.

    B.F.: one foot long, one foot wide, one inch thick
    (One foot = 0.3025 meters; one inch = 25.4 mm)

    To determine the board feet in a board:


    Multiply the width in inches by the length in feet and divide
    by 12. If the lumber is thicker than one inch, multiply by the
    thickness.

    Surface Measure (S.M.) is the surface area of the board in square feet.
    The percentage of clear wood required for each grade is based on the
    surface measure (S.M.) not the board feet, thus all boards, no matter
    the thickness, are graded the same.

    To determine S.M.:
    Multiply the full width of the board by the standard length of the
    board and divide by 12, rounding to the nearest whole number.

    Examples of determining S.M.:


    6 ½” x 8’ / 12 = 4 1/³ = 4’ S.M.
    8” x 12’ / 12 = 8’ S.M.
    10” x 13’ / 12 = 10 10/12 = 11’ S.M.

    Once grade is established, multiply S.M. x thickness to get board feet.
    Example: 6 ½” W x 8’ L x 2” TH = 8 BF

    Note: The grade is based on S.M., not board feet.


    METRIC CONVERSIONS
    1” = 25.4mm 1m3 = 424 board feet (B.F.)
    1m = 3.281 feet 1m3 = 35.315 cubic feet (Cu. Ft.)
    1,000 B.F. = 2.36 cubic meters
    (MBF) (m3 )

    STANDARD THICKNESS FOR


    ROUGHSAWN & SURFACED LUMBER
    Thickness of rough sawn lumber is expressed in quarters of an inch.
    When grading rough sawn lumber, defects such as checks, stain, and
    warp are not considered if they will surface out at standard surfaced
    thickness (S2S). The standard thicknesses and surfaced thicknesses
    with their metric equivalent are shown below.

    Rough S2S Rough S2S


    3/4 19mm 14.2mm 8/4 50.8mm 44.4mm
    4/4 25.4 20.6 10/4 63.5 57.2
    5/4 31.8 27 12/4 76.2 69.8
    6/4 38.1 33.3 16/4 101.6 95.2

    MEASUREMENT OF KILN DRIED LUMBER


    Net Tally: Actual board feet after kiln drying
    Green Tally: Actual board feet before kiln drying
    Shrinkages: Widths can be ¼” below minimum required.
    Thickness can be 1/16” below minimum required.
    THE STANDARD GRADES
    All boards are graded from the poor face. The clear face
    percentage for each grade is determined by measuring the width
    of the clear area in inches multiplied by the length of the clear
    area in feet. The total is referred to as cutting units.

    FAS
    Minimum percentage clear: S.M. x 10 or 83 1/³ % (10/12)
    Minimum size board: 6” x 8’
    Minimum size clear cuttings: 4”x 5’ or 3” x 7’

    Example: Determine S.M.


    Determine poor face
    Measure clear cutting available
    Compare with required clear percentage

    12’

    8 ¼”
    8 ¼” x 10’
    8 ¼” x 12’ / 12 = 8’ S.M.

    Clear cutting: 8 ¼” x 10’ = 82 cutting units


    Required cutting units = S.M. x 10 = 80 cutting units
    Grade of the board is FAS

    Note: Both faces must meet this Minimum Requirement.


    FAS = FAS on two faces.

    FAS ONE FACE (F1F) AND SELECTS


    Minimum size board: F1F: 6” x 8’ Sel 4” x 6’
    These two grades combine the standard grades of FAS
    (on the better face) and No. 1 Com (on the poor face).
    NO. 1 COMMON
    Minimum percentage clear: S.M. x 8 or 66 ²/³ % (8/12)
    Minimum size board: 3” x 4’
    Minimum size cuttings: 3” x 3’ or 4” x 2’

    Example:
    14’

    6” 6” x 4’ 6” x 7’

    6” x 14’ /12 = 7’ S.M.

    2 clear cuttings = 6” x 4’ = 24 c.u. 6” x 7’ = 42 c.u.


    66 cutting units total

    Required cutting units = S.M. x 8 = 56 c.u.


    Grade of board is No. 1 Common.

    Note: Both faces must meet this Minimum Requirement.


    No. 1 Com. = No. 1 Com. on two faces.

    NO. 2A COM
    Minimum percentage clear: S.M. x 6 or 50% (6/12)
    Minimum size board: 3” x 4’
    Minimum size cuttings: 3” x 2’

    Note: When No. 2A Com. on poor face, the better face does
    not matter.

    NO. 3A COM
    Minimum percentage clear: S.M. x 4 or 33 1/³ % (4/12)
    Minimum size board: 3” x 4’
    Minimum size cuttings: 3” x 2’
    FAS F1F SEL 1Com 2ACom 3ACom
    Minimum 6”x8’ 6”x8’ 4”x6’ 3”x4’ 3”x4’ 3”x4’
    Board
    Minimum 4”x5’ 3”x3’ 3”x2’ 3”x2’
    Size 3”x7’ Better face 4”x2’
    Cuttings
    must meet FAS
    % Clear SM x 10 requirements. SM x 8 SM x 6 SM x 4
    (83 1/3%) Poor face must (66 2/3%) (50%) (33 1/3%)
    # Clear SM/4 meet No. 1 Com SM/2 Unlimited
    SM+ 1/3
    Cuttings requirements.

    When specified for export, a comparison can be made


    respectfully between export grade names of Prime and Comsel
    with the NHLA grades of FAS and No. 1 Com. It is necessary to
    consult with your supplier as to the exact specifications being
    applied to these export grade names.

    NHLA is a member of AHEC.

    National Hardwood Lumber Association


    PO Box 34518 | Memphis, TN 38184-0518 | 901-377-1818 | 901-382-6419 (F)
    www.nhla.com

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