Grading

 

Clear All Heart is a grade of exceptional value, without peer among softwoods for both interior and exterior uses.  This grade must be heartwood, well manufactured and of a uniformly high quality suitable for finish. Most pieces are entirely clear or have only a few minor characteristics, such as:

Stain...medium

Crook...light

Cup...light

End checks...not over 2 inches long in occasional pieces

Pieces 5 inches and narrower: Reverse side may be the best face of Clear and shall be all heartwood.

Pieces 6 inches and wider: Reverse side and one edge may be the best face of Clear and shall be all heartwood.

Clear is a high quality finish grade, of the same general quality as Clear All Heart. The principal difference between the two grades is that Clear generally contains sapwood. This grade shall be well manufactured. Most pieces are entirely free of objectionable characteristics but some pieces may contain the following:

Knots...two 3/4 inch or equivalent, sound tight in occasional pieces

Stain...medium.

Crook...light

Cup...light

End checks...not over 2 inches long in occasional pieces

Surface checks...medium.

Checked bird's eye or equivalent

Torn grain...light

Skips...very light ship on face and one edge only equal to width of piece and 6 inches in length; light skip on reverse side up to 24 inches or equivalent

Pockets...two 1/8" x l" in an occasional piece

Pieces 2 inches and thinner, 5 inches and narrower are graded from the best side and two edges. Pieces 2 inches and thinner and 6 inches and wider are graded from the best side and one edge. The other edge and reverse side of dressed (green or dry) or rough dry finish may contain defects that will not affect the usefulness of the piece. All sides of rough green, all thickness, must comply with the best face as described above.

2 Inches and Thinner

B is a quality appearance grade that may contain both heartwood and sapwood and permits larger and more numerous characteristics than Clear All Heart or Clear grades. B is intended for use where only one face and one edge are exposed. Unless otherwise specified, characteristics that do not interfere with the intended use are permitted on the reverse side and other edge. A cutout of not more than one linear foot is permitted in pieces 10' and longer for the removal of defects not otherwise permitted in the grade, provided the piece meets the requirements for Clear or better in other respects. The cutout maybe any place in the piece. Heart B is by special contract.

Knots...sound, tight and star checked and/or slightly chipped knots

Face width 3"...max. size knot is1"

Face width 4"...max. size knot is 1-1/2"

Face width 6"...max. size knot is 2"

Face width 8"...max. size knot is 2"

Face width 10"...max. size knot is 2"

Face width 12"...max. size knot is 2-1/2"

3 maximum size or equivalent smaller in 12' and shorter

5 maximum size or equivalent smaller in 14' and longer

Holes...1/8" from any cause

Stain...medium

Warp...medium in an occasional piece

Splits...short

Checks...medium

Checked bird's eye or equivalent

Shake...medium on reverse side and other edge

Wane...on the reverse side and other edge 1/2 thickness and 1/4 the width for 1/4 the length or equivalent

Torn grain...medium

Skips...light skip equal to width of the piece and 12" long on the face and one edge; hit or miss on other edge and reverse side

Pockets...two small in an occasional piece

Select Heart shall be heartwood, free from splits or from shake on the face and suitable for high quality construction without waste.

Knots...Sound, tight, average diameter:

Face width 3"...max. size knot is1"

Face width 4"...max. size knot is 1-1/2"

Face width 6"...max. size knot is 2"

Face width 8"...max. size knot is 2"

Face width 10"...max. size knot is 2 -1/2"

Face width 12"...max. size knot is 2-1/2"

Spike knots...equivalent to other knots

Unsound knots...one tight 1-1/2" or equivalent in an occasional piece

Stain...medium

Cup...medium

End and surface checks...if, in judgment of the grader, they will not develop into splits

Skips...very light skip on face equal to width of piece and 6 inches in length; light skips 24 inches long up to 1/4 length or equivalent on reverse side and one edge only

Pockets...four small

This stock shall be graded from the best face with the provision that the reverse side shall be all heartwood, and shall at least comply with the requirements for the best face of Construction Heart.

Select is a high quality grade of the same general quality as Select Heart. The principal difference is that Select permits sapwood and not more than 5% of the pieces may contain a single defect not otherwise permitted in the rules provided it is located more than four feet from each end and can be removed with waste of six inches or less. It shall be free from splits or shake on the face.

Knots...sound, tight, average diameter

Face width 3"...max. size knot 1"

Face width 4"...max. size knot 1-1/2"

Face width 6"...max. size knot 2"

Face width 8"...max. size knot 2-1/2"

Face width 10"...max. size knot 2-1/2"

Face width 12"...max. size knot 2-1/2"

Structural Grades

General provisions for structural grades:

Slope of grain is measured at the point in the length of the piece where the greatest slope shows. It shall be measured over a distance sufficiently great to define the general slope, disregarding such short local deviations as those around knots.

Close Grain (CG) ... pieces with an average ring count of not less than 8 rings per inch

Open Grain (0G) ...pieces with an unrestricted rate of growth as to rings per inch

No piece of exceptionally light weight shall be permitted in the structural grades.

Knots

Knots, sound or unsound, are permitted. Knot holes or holes from any cause are considered equivalent to allowable knots. Knots 3 or more inches wide are measured and permitted on wood displacement equivalent to the size of knots allowed in the grade under consideration. The size of a knot on a narrow face is its width between lines enclosing the knot and parallel to the edges of the piece. The only knots measured on narrow faces are those that do not show on wide faces.

In beams and stringers (pieces of rectangular cross section, 5"x 8"and larger) the size of knot on the wide face is its smallest diameter. Knots at the edges of wide faces are limited to the same sizes as on narrow faces but are measured by the smallest diameter. The size of a knot on a narrow face is its width between lines enclosing the knot and parallel to the edges of the piece, except that when a knot on a narrow face extends into the adjacent one-fourth of the width of a face, it is measured on the wide face.

In beams and stringers, the sum of the sizes of all knots within the middle half of the length of a face is limited to four times the size of the largest knot allowed on that face. In joists and planks, the sum of the sizes of all knots in any 6 inches of length of the piece shall not exceed twice the size of the largest permitted knot. In addition, two or more knots of maximum or near maximum permissible size shall not be allowed in the same 6 inches of length on a face.

No combination of knots, the sum of which is greater than the largest allowable knot, is permitted in the same cross section.

Any combination of knots that, in the judgment of the grader, will make the piece unfit for its intended use shall not be permitted in the grade under consideration.

Timbers 2" and Thicker

Clear Heart Structural

Skips...very light skip on one face and one edge equal to width of face on which it appears and 6" in length; light skip on reverse side up to 12" long or equivalent

Slope of grain...1 in 18

Surface checks...depth not to exceed 1/10 the actual thickness on the ends; checks on ends equivalent to split permitted

Splits...equal in length to 1/4 the nominal thickness

Bird's eye...allowed in any location and in any quantity but not in clusters

Crook...admitted provided it does not exceed 1/16" for each 2' of length

Boxed-Heart pieces...not permitted

Rate of growth...close grain

Knots...knots of maximum size and location are limited as follows:

4" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1/4"; Centerline wide face...1/4"

6" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3/8"; Centerline wide face...3/8"

8" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3/8"; Centerline wide face...3/8"

10" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1/2"; Centerline wide face...3/8"

12" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1/2"; Centerline wide face...5/8"

14" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1/2"; Centerline wide face...3/4"

16" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1/2"; Centerline wide face...3/4"

Timbers 5" and Thicker

Select Structural

Skips...light; medium skips up to 2 feet long in 10% of the pieces

Slope of grain...1 in 12

Shakes and checks...depth not to exceed 1/4 of the actual thickness on the ends

Splits...equal in length to the nominal thickness

Wane...not to exceed 1/8 the width of any face

Crook...admitted provided it does not exceed 1/16" for each 2' of length

Rate of growth...close grain; open grain may be specified on an optional basis

Knots...knots of maximum size and location are limited as follows:

5" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1-1/2"; Centerline wide face...1-1/2"

6" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1-7/8"; Centerline wide face...1-7/8"

8" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-1/4"; Centerline wide face...2-1/4"

10" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-5/8"; Centerline wide face...2-5/8"

12" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3"; Centerline wide face...3"

14" Narrow face and at edge of wide face 3-1/4"; Centerline wide face 3-1/4"

16" Narrow face and at edge of wide face 3-1/2"; Centerline wide face 3-1/2"

No. 1 Structural

Skips... hit and miss skips in 10% of the pieces

Slope of grain...1 in 10

Shakes and checks...depth not to exceed 1/4 of the actual thickness on the ends

Splits...equal in length to the nominal thickness

Wane...not to exceed 1/4 the width of any face

Crook...admitted provided it does not exceed 1/16 inch for each 2 feet of length

Rate of growth...close grain; open grain may be specified on an optional basis

Knots...knots of maximum size and location are limited as follows:

5" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...1-7/8"; Centerline wide face...1-7/8"

6" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-1/4"; Centerline wide face...2-1/4"

8" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-3/4"; Centerline wide face...2-3/4"

10" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3-1/4"; Centerline wide face...3-1/4"

12" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3-3/4"; Centerline wide face...2-3/4"

14" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...4"; Centerline wide face...4"

16" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...4-1/2"; Centerline wide face...4-1/2"

No 2 Structural

Skips...hit and miss - In addition, 5% of the pieces may have heavy skips not longer than 2".

Slope of grain...1 in 8.

Shakes and checks...depth not to exceed 1/4 of the actual thickness on the ends

Splits...equal in length to the nominal thickness

Wane...not to exceed 1/3 the width of any face

Crook...admitted provided it does not exceed 1/16 inch for each 2 feet of length

Unsound wood...small spots, well scattered, 1/6 the face width

Rate of growth...close grain; open grain may be specified on an optional basis

Knots...knots of maximum size and location are limited as follows:

5" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-3/8"; Centerline wide face...2-3/8"

6" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...2-7/8"; Centerline wide face...2- 7/8"

8" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...3-1/2"; Centerline wide face...3-1/2"

10" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...4-1/4"; Centerline wide face...4-1/4"

12" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...4-5/8"; Centerline wide face...4-5/8"

14" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...5"; Centerline wide face...5"

16" Narrow face and at edge of wide face...5-3/8"; Centerline wide face...5-3/8"