Grading Your Hardwood Lumber
The basic hardwood grading guidelines are very complex and often take years of study to master. A simple, short overview of these steps for grading a single piece of hard wood lumber is as follows: Choose the appropriate species. Determine the best surface measurement (SD), the bottom edge (BE), the top edge (TE) and the backside (BM).
After choosing the appropriate species, select the best surface measure (SD). The most common way to determine this measurement is by simply measuring the wood grain. The grain of the wood is generally measured from its center line, but it can also be measured from a straight edge if you're using it for framing. Once the best surface measurement has been determined, choose the top edge, the bottom edge, the top face and the backside. These measurements are all based on the same rule - the best grain will be a straight line across the wood. You can read more about the best wood grain on this page.
The best quality surface is determined by measuring the width of the face. To make sure that your selection is correct, measure it from a straight edge to ensure that the line is perfectly straight. You should also measure the width from each end of your board, as that's what the end grain should look like. A high quality board will have the same width in the middle as it does from the top and bottom. If the boards don't all have the same width from the start, the grade may be too low or too high.
Next, choose the best grain of the wood by measuring the width and length of each edge. The width of each edge should be equal to half the width of the whole board. The length of each edge should be equal to three times the length of the entire board. To ensure the grade is accurate, make sure that you are measuring from each end of the board and not the center of the board.
The backside is measured in a similar fashion, but the backside is measured from the bottom. The measurement is taken from the corner of the grain to the nearest point of the edge. This measurement should be made across from one corner to the other and then from the other corner to the next corner. Once both sides are measured, compare the measurements and choose the best quality rating. and compare it to the other two. You can learn more about how to choose the right wood quality here.
Once the grades have been determined, you should cut the pieces to the correct size with tools to meet the specific specifications. It's important that the wood is properly sanded and filed to insure that it will not break as you work on the wood. There are several ways to accomplish these steps. One option is to do it yourself. Another option is to hire a professional. Discover more info related to this topic on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood.
