Replies

1. 
   HowardAcheson | Jul 30, 2002 07:23pm | #1

   WOOD Magazine has some excellent info on this subject. Go here: http://www.woodmagazine.com/default.sph/wcontent_user.class?FNC=subcat__AcategoryS_html___7___47___126

   Click on "Buy Cabinet Grade Lumber".

   But, when it's all said and done, nothing beats taking a look at it and making your own choice. The way grain runs in cherry has a big affect on how much blotching you will have to deal with. Try to specify "no sapwood".

   Be aware that purchasing wood at differing times will almost always lead to varying colors.

1. 
   davsco88 | Jul 30, 2002 08:11pm | #2

   Thanks so much for the info/link!  When buying rough lumber, then, is grading out of the question, and we're just taking a chance?  What do most people do, buy rough or buy finished?  thanks again!

1. 
   Adrian | Jul 30, 2002 09:59pm | #3

   Rough lumber is graded; you have, starting at the top and according to the NHLA (not counting pattern grade, which we wouldn't normally use), FAS (first and seconds; pretty much clear both sides); often sold in a mix with one of the next two grades, usually 80/20 FAS to the other grade

    then there is a grade called FAS One face (F1F)....the good face is FAS, and the other face is Number 1 Common

   then there is Selects; the distinction between F1F and Selects has to do with board size, but both require one FAS face. In the Northeast and Canada, this is more common than F1F, and we often use Select and Better when buying....everything has to have at least one FAS face, but some will have one face that grades #1C.

   Then there are #1Common and #2A Common. #1C is sometimes called cabinet grade. As with all the others, grade is determined by the number and size of clear cuttings you can get out of a board.

   There are some other grades out there too, like Prime and Comsel, but they are outside of the NHLA regs, and I've never run into them. NHLA has more info on their website at http://www.natlhardwood.org, and the American Hardwood Export Council has great stuff at http://www.ahec.org. They also have a very nice guide, the Illustrated Guide to American Hardwood Lumber Grades, which shows examples of different species by grade, which really helps clarify things.

   You ever hear the term 'run of the mill'? That refers to buying a volume of wood that is not sorted into grades...some of it is good, some great, some not very good....all averages out. Just throwing that in there if you haven't made that connection before.

   S2S and S4S are millwork abbreviations; they don't have anything to do with grade, just what level of machining has been done.cabinetmaker/college instructor. Cape Breton, N.S

2. 
   HowardAcheson | Jul 30, 2002 10:10pm | #4

   No, rough lumber is graded, it's just it takes some experience to be able to look at rough sawn lumber and "see" what the surface will look like when planed. Hardwood lumber is graded for defects which are knots, wane and other defects. It is not graded for "prettiness" and in most species, for color.

2. 
   exhibitor | Jul 30, 2002 10:20pm | #5

   Always...always handpick your lumber from the pile.  If its in the rough and you don't know how to read the board, take a smooth plane along and test out a section or two...important...leave the pile stacked neater than you found it...