Hardwood lumber widths and grades used by the furniture and cabinet industries: results of a 14 mill study

Data on red oak lumber width, length, and grade were collected at 14 furniture and cabinet industry rough mills to identify relationships among these lumber attributes and the degree to which they differ from mill to mill. Also, this information is needed to formulate valid lumber size distributions that will improve the quality of the results obtained in mill and simulation-based studies of rough mill processing and product options. The width of the dry, 4/4 thickness, red oak lumber sample was significantly influenced by lumber grade, lumber length, and mill. The dominant lumber width class was 5.00 to 6.75 inches (47 % of all boards). Boards in the FAS and FAS-1F grades were wider than those in the No. 1, No. 2A, and No. 3A Common grades, and these were wider than the Selects grade boards. There was significant variability in lumber size attributes between mills, supporting the contention that each mill must collect its own data on lumber size and quality characteristics for optimal decision making. Grade-based lumber size distribution charts are given that can be used to compose study samples when conducting rough mill research.

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