Sawing Pattern Effect on Lumber Recovery from High Quality Hard Maple Logs

Three measures of yield (surface measure, total lumber value per log, and value, per gross cubic foot) were used to evaluate three sawing patterns and four edging practices. The sawing patterns were live, and grade with and without taper set out. The 1-inch lumber from 21 uniformly high quality logs (butts, 14 to 16 inches in diameter, 12 feet long with 3 or 4 clear faces) was dried to 20 percent moisture content, and surfaced and graded. Results indicated that, for such high quality logs, live or through and through sawing offers the best potential for high lumber value recovery ($28 versus $25 per log for grade sawing), subject to market acceptance of a higher percentage of edge-grain lumber, and that surface area yield was greater for live sawing than for grade sawing (156 versus 140 square feet per log). The traditional belief in the value of setting out taper appears to be unjustified. Comparable differences resulted from variations in edging practice. Optimum, conventional, severe, and wide practices yielded surface measures and lumber values of 143, 147, 134, and 151 square feet, and 28.3, 26.5, 24.5, and 24.2 dollars per log respectively.

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