2.6: Buying Hardwood Lumber

2.6 Buying Hardwood Lumber

Buying hardwood can feel confusing the first few times.

Unlike buying a standard 2 × 4 at a home center, hardwood may be sold in random widths and lengths, several thicknesses, different grades, and different surfacing conditions.

Learning the vocabulary makes the process much easier.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this section, you should be able to:

• Explain common hardwood grades.
• Define Random Widths and Lengths.
• Distinguish between rough and surfaced lumber when purchasing.
• Estimate additional material for waste and selection.
• Recognize several common hardwood species and their general properties.

Common Hardwood Grades

Three grades commonly encountered in furniture and hardwood woodworking are:

1. FAS — Firsts and Seconds
2. Selects
3. No. 1 Common

Hardwood grades are based largely on how much clear, usable material can be cut from a board.

The grade does not tell you whether the board is attractive or useful for your particular project. It describes the amount and size of clear cuttings that can be obtained from it.

FAS

FAS is a high hardwood grade intended to provide a large percentage of clear, usable material.

It is especially useful when a project requires long, wide, or relatively defect-free parts.

Because grading rules can vary somewhat by species and are periodically updated, professional buyers and graders refer to current hardwood grading standards for exact requirements.

For beginning woodworking, the important point is that FAS generally provides larger areas of clear material than the lower grades.

Selects

Selects also provides a high percentage of clear material but may include boards that are narrower or shorter than those typically found in FAS.

One face generally meets a higher grading standard while the opposite face may contain more defects.

Selects can be an excellent choice for furniture and cabinet work.

No. 1 Common

No. 1 Common contains a lower percentage of clear material than FAS or Selects.

That does not mean it is bad wood.

If your project contains smaller parts, you may be able to work around knots and other defects and obtain excellent material from No. 1 Common lumber.

A skilled woodworker buys for the parts the project requires—not simply the highest grade available.

Random Widths and Lengths

Hardwood is commonly sold in Random Widths and Lengths, abbreviated RWL.

Instead of every board being exactly the same width and length, boards are sawn to make efficient use of the tree.

Widths and lengths therefore vary.

You may find relatively narrow boards next to much wider boards within the same stack. Lengths can also vary considerably.

When you buy RWL lumber, think about how your project parts will fit within the available boards.

This is different from buying construction lumber, where pieces are usually sold in standardized dimensional sizes.

Rough or Surfaced?

Hardwood can be purchased in several conditions:

• Rough — Not surfaced after sawing at the mill.
• S1S — Surfaced one side.
• S2S — Surfaced two sides, usually both faces.
• S3S — Surfaced three sides, usually both faces and one edge.
• S4S — Surfaced four sides.
• S2S SLR1E — Surfaced two sides with one edge straight-line ripped.

Surfaced lumber can save milling time, but it gives you less control over the final dimensions and which surfaces are established as your references.

Rough lumber allows you to control the milling process from the beginning. Learning to work from rough lumber is an important professional woodworking skill because it allows you to:

• establish your own flat reference surfaces;
• control the final thickness;
• select the best faces and edges;
• work around defects;
• preserve as much usable thickness as possible; and
• prepare stock specifically for the project.

When buying surfaced hardwood, remember that the board may still be described and priced by its nominal rough thickness. For example, a surfaced 4/4 board will usually measure less than a full 1 inch thick because material has already been removed during surfacing.

The amount of finished thickness remaining depends on the original board and how much material was required to make it flat and smooth. Always verify the actual dimensions of surfaced lumber before assuming it will work for your project.

Buy More Than the Finished Cut List

If the finished parts in your project total 10 board feet, buying exactly 10 board feet of rough lumber is usually not enough.

Additional material is needed for:

• defects;
• milling loss;
• random board widths;
• grain and figure selection;
• color matching;
• part orientation; and
• mistakes or unexpected problems.

Depending on the project, you may need substantially more lumber than the finished board-foot total.

A simple project made from small parts may require relatively little extra material. A project requiring long, wide, highly figured, or carefully matched parts may require much more.

The goal is not to buy excessive material. The goal is to purchase enough usable material to complete the project successfully.

Common Hardwoods

The following species are commonly encountered in furniture and cabinet work.

Common wood species compared to their grain, characteristics, and uses

Species	General Color and Grain	General Working Characteristics	Common Uses and Notes
Alder	Light reddish brown; fine, closed grain	Medium-soft; easy to work	Cabinetry, veneers, toys; takes stain well
Ash	Light tan; open, coarse grain	Hard and strong	Tool handles, furniture, sporting goods
Birch	Light brown to tan; fine, closed grain	Hard; medium workability	Furniture and veneers
Cherry	Light reddish brown; fine, closed grain	Medium hardness; good strength	Furniture; darkens with age and exposure to light
Mahogany	Russet brown; relatively fine grain	Excellent workability	Furniture and millwork
Maple	Light tan; fine, closed grain	Hard and strong	Furniture, cabinetry, flooring
Red Oak	Light brown to reddish brown; open, coarse grain	Hard and strong	Furniture and flooring; prominent rays
White Oak	Light tan to yellow-brown; open, coarse grain	Hard, strong, and durable	Furniture and exterior work; prominent rays
Poplar	Greenish yellow to light brown; fine, closed grain	Medium-soft and easy to work	Furniture and cabinets, especially painted work
Walnut	Dark brown; generally open grain	Medium hardness; excellent workability	Furniture and architectural woodworking

You will learn more about species by working with them, machining them, sanding them, finishing them, and seeing how they behave over time.

Selecting Boards

When choosing a board, do not ask only:

“Is this good lumber?”

Instead ask:

• Is it thick enough after milling?
• Is it wide enough for my parts?
• Can I cut around the defects?
• Is the grain appropriate for the project?
• Do the color and figure work with the other boards?
• Is it straight enough to mill safely?
• Does it contain the clear lengths I need?
• Am I paying for material I cannot use?

Good material selection can save hours of work later.

It can also improve the appearance of the finished project before you make the first cut.

Check Yourself

1. What are the three common hardwood grades introduced here?
2. Does a lower grade automatically mean the lumber is unsuitable for furniture?
3. What does RWL mean?
4. Why might a woodworker prefer rough lumber?
5. Why do you need to buy more lumber than the finished parts require?
6. Name three characteristics you should consider when selecting a board.