Materials Explained

Material Insight

Wood is a natural material and by its very nature may contain different characteristics and defects that need to be understood and allowed for in any given application. The grading of sawn wood into categories as it is processed helps to determine to a large extent the value and potential use possible for each board of sawn lumber.

Material I Choose

Best woods for furniture

Maple Wood Furniture. Maple may be the ideal furniture wood. ...
Oak Wood Furniture. Oak is a very durable wood that is typically used for tables, chairs and kitchen furniture. ...
Cherry Wood Furniture. ...
Pine Wood Furniture. ...
Cedar Wood Furniture.

Things You Didn't Know I Do

My hardwood grading rules are quite complex and require study. A very simplified, condensed overview of the steps I use for grading a piece of hardwood lumber is as follows:

Determine the species. Some must be processed according to special rules.
Determine the surface measurement (SM). SM is the width, in inches and fractions, times the standard length in feet with no fractions or rounding, divided by 12 with the answer rounded to the closest whole number.
Determine the poor face, which is the side with the lowest grade.
Assume a trial grade for the piece of lumber and then see if all the conditions for that grade are met.
Determine if lumber size requirements (length and width) are met for the chosen grade.
Determine the number of clear cuttings that are permitted.
Determine the cutting yield required by multiplying the surface measurement (SM) by the grade values respectively. The required yield is expressed in cutting units. A cutting unit is 1 inch wide by 1 foot long.
Locate cuttings to obtain the maximum area; then calculate the cutting area. Make sure the cutting sizes are not below the minimum size for the trial grade.
When the piece grade is No. 1 common, I check the reverse side to see if the reverse is FAS grade. If so, and if a few other requirements are met, then the piece is Select or FAS 1-Face.
Check to make sure that the piece qualifies for the anticipated grade in all other respects, which include the amount of wane, the amount of pitch outside the cuttings and so on.
Not as simple as one may assume, but an essential step on every project.

Grades Defined

FAS: Shorthand for “First and Seconds”. FAS is the highest of the hardwood lumber grades.
FAS 1-Face (abbreviation: F1F): A “Select” piece of lumber which is six inches and wider.
Select: A No. 1 Common piece of lumber (the poorer side of the wood piece is assigned as No. 1 Common grade) and the reverse side (the better side) grades FAS. The price of Selects and 1-Face is usually the same as FAS. Often, Select grade lumber is used in the Northern U.S., while 1-Face is used in the South.
No. 1 Common is the standard furniture grade lumber and provides a good selection of long, medium and short cuttings at a reasonable price.
I don't use any lessor grade material so I won't list all the others!