Surfacing Terminology

Common This grade covers lumber with clear cuttings of medium length and width. It is best suited for furniture, cabinets and other solid wood products. This grade includes a range of boards which will yield 66-2/3% to 83-1/3% clear wood with cuttings at least 3”long or 4" wide and 2' long.

FAS This grade is reserved for the clearest lumber available. It will provide the user with long, wide, clear cuttings. Lumber of this grade is best suited for high quality furniture, interior trim, millwork and solid wood mouldings. Boards with this grade will yield from 83-1/3% to 100% clear woods with cuttings at least 3" wide and 7' long, or at least 4"wide and 5' long.

Grading Hardwood lumber is graded using an industry standard governed by the National Hardwood Lumber Association. The grade takes into consideration Split, Wane, Checks, Stain, Cup, Warp and Knots. (See our Wood Terminology for a discussion of these terms.) In addition, a very important grading factor is the size and number of "cuttings" or pieces that can be cut from a board when it is used in the manufacture of products such as furniture, flooring or architectural millwork. The clearer wood in a board, the more cuttings it will yield and the higher will be its grade.

Hit and Miss These boards have been planed just enough to reveal the grain and figure of the board. They will have rough spots, and will be thick enough to allow further planing to S2S while still yielding a board that meets or exceeds the thickness required for the normal board thickness. For example, a 4/4 board in its rough state will measure approximately 1" thick. Surfaced Hit and Miss (or H/M) it will measure 15/16" thick with sufficient material to allow careful milling to S2S or at least 25/32".

Measuring By tradition, the thickness of hardwood lumber is stated in terms of quarter inch increments in the rough state before any surface finishing is completed. For example, a 6/4 (six quarter) board is 1-1/2" thick as it comes from the mill (after surfacing to S2S this board will be 1-1/4" thick but it will still be described as a 6/4 board) . Now it’s a, b>6/4 board, S2S or S2S, 6/4.
The unit of measurement for hardwood lumber is the "board foot"(sometimes bd ft. or BF). A board foot is the amount of lumber in a board one foot long, one foot wide and one inch thick before milling. The formula for determining the board feet in a board is:
(Width in inches x length in feet x thickness in inches)(divided by) 12 + BF
For example, a board 12" wide, 9" long and 1" thick would contain 9 board feet.
[(12" wide x 9" long x 1" thick) (divided by) 12 + 9 board feet. )]
Prices for hardwood lumber are usually stated as the price for 1,000 board feet. Thus, a price stated as $1,355, would mean $1,355 for 1000 board feet or $1.355 per board foot.

Propriety and Other Grades In some instances grades have come into common use that has not been determined by the National Hardwood Lumber Association. Principal among these are grades used to sort Alder that have been made popular by the largest producer of Alder. "Superior" grade describes top of the line Alder boards that meet, at the least, standards for FAS, "Frame" Alder, which is sometimes called "knotty" Alder, is available in three grades; Premium, Standard and Econo. Arrow uses only Premium Frame and Character Mark Alder which is the highest quality Knotty Alder available. Frame Alder is used in upholstered furniture and furniture, cabinets and mouldings where small knots add to the character and appearance of the finished product.
The top grade of lumber produced from trees grown in the Northern tier of North American is often graded "Select and Better". This is the grade used here at Arrow Planers and Moulding, Inc.