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AAR
Is a trade association based in Washington, D.C. representing the nation's Class I Railroads. The AAR represents the industry in the broad fields of Law, Public Affairs, Legislation, Economics and Finance, Research and Testing, Transportation, Safety, Engineering, Freight Claim and Prevention and Car Service. See also: Association of American Railroads
AD
Lumber which has been dried in the open air. See also: Air dried
ADF
A term used to define a condition upon which payment of an invoice may be made. See also: After deducting freight
ADI
After date of invoice See also: After date of invoice
Advanced decay
the older stage of decay in which disintegration is readily recognized. See also: ALS
After date of invoice
A term used to define a condition of sale; cash discounts are often allowed for payment within a specified period "after date of invoice." See also: ADI
After deducting freight
A term used to define a condition upon which payment of an invoice may be made. See also: ADF
Air dried
Lumber which has been dried in the open air. See also: AD
All widths and lengths
A term used indicating that all widths and lengths of a specified thickness of lumber may be included in a shipment. See also: AW&L
ALS
A term used indicating that all widths and lengths of a specified thickness of lumber may be included in a shipment. See also: Advanced decay
Association of American Railroads
Is a trade association based in Washington, D.C. representing the nation's Class I Railroads. The AAR represents the industry in the broad fields of Law, Public Affairs, Legislation, Economics and Finance, Research and Testing, Transportation, Safety, Engineering, Freight Claim and Prevention and Car Service. See also: AAR
AW&L
A term used indicating that all widths and lengths of a specified thickness of lumber may be included in a shipment. See also: All widths and lengths
B&S
Beams and stringers
B/L
Bill of Lading
Bastard grain
Annual rings on an angle at or near 45° to the wide face of a piece of lumber.
BD
Board
BD FT
Board feet
BDL
Bundle
Beams and stringers
Large pieces (nominal dimensions, 5" and thicker, width more than 2" greater than thickness, e.g. 5 by 8 inches and up) of rectangular cross section graded with respect to their strength in bending when loaded on the narrow face.
Better
A term usually used to indicate that a lumber shipment contains a percentage of pieces that are of a higher grade than the lowest grade stated. Thus, No. 2 & Btr would contain pieces of No. 2 grade and some that are of a higher grade, such as No. 1 and Select Structural.
BEV
Bevel
Bevel
Lumber cut at an angle or slant. Bevel siding: A lumber pattern with a flat face, a thin edge and a thick edge.
BH
Boxed Heart
Bill of Lading
A written document issued by a carrier serving as a receipt of goods and as a contract to deliver goods to a specified destination.
Birdseye
A small central spot with the wood fibers arranged around it in the form of an ellipse so as to give the appearance of an eye.
BL
Bill of Lading
BM
Board Measure
Board
Yard lumber, a term generally applied to lumber when the nominal size is 1 inch thick and 2 or more inches wide. However, WWPA grade rules for Common Boards state that all widths and thicknesses may be graded and shipped under Board Rules. Thick stock graded under board rules is usually intended for remanufacture.
Board foot
Unit of lumber measurement one foot long, one foot wide, and one inch thick. Board feet.
Board measure
The term used to indicate that a "board foot" is the unit of measure used.
Bow
A deviation flat wise from a straight line drawn from end to end of a piece, measured at the point of greatest distance from the straight line; it does not include short kinks.
Box lumber
Factory lumber, may be of any thickness, 4/4 and thicker and is graded for box cutting value.
Box shook
Produced by resawing standard S2S lumber; is cut to size for box manufacture but not yet assembled; may be manufactured in many sizes to meet each individual buyer's requirements.
Boxed heart
The term used when the pith falls entirely within the four faces anywhere in the length of a piece.
Brashness
A condition of wood characterized by low resistance to shock and by an abrupt failure across the grain without splintering.
Bright
A term used to indicate that lumber is free from discoloration.
Bright sapwood no defect
Means that bright sapwood is permitted in each piece of any amount.
Brown heartwood
BSND
Bright sapwood no defect
BTR
Better
Burl
A large wart like excrescence on a tree trunk; it contains the dark piths of a large number of buds which rarely develop; the formation of a burl apparently results from an injury to the tree.
C&F
Cost and freight
C/L
Carload
Cants
Large planks or timbers cut on the head saw for further sawing elsewhere.
Cants
Large planks or timbers cut on the head saw for further sawing elsewhere.
Carload
A railroad car loaded to meet railroad minimum weight requirements for carload rates. The volume in a carload may vary, depending upon the type of lumber loaded and the size of the car.
Carload
A railroad car loaded to meet railroad minimum weight requirements for carload rates. The volume in a carload may vary, depending upon the type of lumber loaded and the size of the car.
Casehardening
A condition of lumber in which it contains varying degrees of stress set at different depths below the surface, causing it to cup when resawed or worked.
Casehardening
A condition of lumber in which it contains varying degrees of stress set at different depths below the surface, causing it to cup when resawed or worked.
Casing
Usually run to pattern and is widely used for interior trim.
Caulking seam
A machined groove or depression worked in the wood. Provides a weather resistant joint when filled with caulking material and fitted with an adjoining piece.
CB
Center beaded
Ceiling
A lumber pattern featuring a center and edge V and/or bead.
Center beaded
A patterned lumber shaped to form a narrow half-circle along the center of its length.
Center match (CM)
Lumber that has been worked with a tongue exactly in the center on one edge of each piece and a groove on the opposite edge to provide a close tongue-and-groove joint by fitting two pieces together.
Center vee (CV)
Patterned lumber shaped to form an angled groove along the center of its length.
Checks
A separation of the wood normally occurring lengthwise of a piece across the rings of annual growth and usually as a result of seasoning.
Chipped grain
Consists of a part of the surface being chipped or broken out in particles below the line of cut; it should not be classed as torn grain.
CIF
Cost, insurance and freight
CIFE
Cost, insurance, freight, exchange
CL
Clear
Clear (CLR)
A term including the higher grades of lumber - sound, relatively free of blemishes.
CLF
Hundred Lineal Feet
CLG
Ceiling
CLIB
California Lumber Inspection Bureau
Close-grained
Wood with narrow and inconspicuous annual rings; the term is sometimes used to designate wood having small and closely spaced pores, but in this sense the term "fine textured" is more often used; wood with more than six rings per inch.
CLR
Clear
CM
Center Match
Coarse-grained
Wood with wide and conspicuous annual rings; that is, rings in which there is considerable difference between springwood and summerwood; the term is sometimes used to designate wood with large pores, such as oak, ash, chestnut, and walnut, but in this sense the term "coarse textured" is more often used; wood with less than four rings per inch.
Collapse
Irregular shrinkage in wood above the fiber saturation point caused by collapse of wood cells as free water is drawn out of the cell cavities without replacement with air or more water.
Colonial siding
See "bevel siding."
Column
A structural member, usually subject to longitudinal compression.
Commission man
A middleman who arranges sales for a commission but does not take title to the lumber.
Commons
A term describing the ordinary grades of knotty lumber.
Compression wood
Abnormal wood that often forms on the lower side of branches and of leaning trunks of softwood trees: compression wood is identified by its relatively wide annual rings, usually eccentric, and its relatively large amount of summerwood, usually more than 50 percent of the width of the annual rings in which it occurs: compression wood shrinks excessively lengthwise as compared with normal wood.
Concentration yard
Assembles and ships the output of a number of nearby (usually small) sawmills.
Conifers
The botanical group of trees having needles, or scale-like leaves, and cones: they are usually "evergreen."
Construction lumber
Lumber that is suitable for ordinary and light construction.
Corner
The line formed by the intersection of any two surfaces of a piece of lumber: not to be confused with "edge."
Cost and Freight (CF)
A term used in waterborne shipments to indicate that all loading charges and freight to final destinations are paid by the seller.
Cost, Insurance and Freight
In addition to paying all loading charges and freight to final destination, the seller pays insurance costs.
Crook
A deviation edgewise from a straight line drawn from end to end of a piece and measured at the point of greatest distance from the straight line: it does not include short kinks.
Cross grain
Grain not parallel with the axis of a piece; it may be either diagonal or spiral grain or a combination of the two.
Crossarms
Designed to serve as the horizontal cross member on utility poles, generally rough sawn full, sizes range from 3"x4" to 4"x6" by 8' long.
CS
Caulking seam
CSG
Casing
Cup
A curve in a piece across the grain or width of a piece; it is measured at the point of greatest distance from a straight line drawn from edge to edge of a piece.
Custom drying
Drying other people's lumber.
Custom milling
Surfacing or remanufacturing other people's lumber on order.
Custom sawing
Sawing of lumber under contract, usually to given specifications.
Cut stock
Clear pieces that have been ripped and cross cut from shop type lumber, such as stiles, rails, muntins, window sash, and many others, intended for further manufacture.
Cut-full lumber
Lumber intentionally manufactured in larger than normal thickness and width, usually to allow for shrinkage: a term sometimes confused with "full cut" lumber.
CV
Center vee
CWT
Hundredweight
D&M
Dressed and matched
D/S, DS
Drop siding
Dark grain
Grain which is darker than the rest and should not be confused with pitch streaks.
Decay
Decay is disintegration of wood due to the action of wood-destroying fungi: the words "dote" and "rot" mean the same as decay.
Decayed knot
A knot which, due to advanced decay, is not so hard as the surrounding wood.
Decking (DKG)
Lumber expressed in nominal terms as being 2" to 4" thick and 4" and wider. Decking is usually surfaced to single tongue and groove in 2" nominal thickness. In 3" and 4" nominal thickness it may be double tongue and groove and worked with rounded or V edges, straited, or grooved. Decking is widely used for roofing and flooring.
Degrade
Lowering of grade of originally higher-grade lumber because of damage.
DET
Double end trimmed
DF
Douglas Fir
DF-L
Douglas Fir-Larch
Diagonal grain
Annual rings at an angle with the axis of a piece as a result of sawing at an angle with the bark of the tree.
DIM
Dimension
Dimension
Framing lumber, a term generally applied to lumber when the nominal size is 2 inches thick and 2 or more inches wide. The National Grading Rule for Softwood Dimension Lumber defines "dimension" as lumber from 2 through 4 inches thick and 2 inches and wider.
Discoloration
Changes in the color of wood which affect only its appearance.
DKG
Decking
Dolly Varden siding
A pattern with a thick and a thin edge and lap joint.
Dote
"Dote," "doze," and "rot" are synonymous with "decay" and are any form of decay which may be evident as either a discoloration or a softening of the wood.
Double end trimmed (DET)
Both ends cut reasonably square by a saw.
Douglas Fir (DF)
Pseudotsuga menziesii, the botanical name Pseudotsuga classifies Douglas fir as "false hemlock." Botanically it is not a true fir, but a distinct species known as Pseudotsuga menziesii. It was first discovered by Dr. Archibald Menzies in 1791 on the west coast of Vancouver Island and later was rediscovered by botanist David Douglas, who classified it in 1826. Douglas fir frequently grows in pure stands, but it is often intermingled with other species.
Douglas Fir-Larch (DF-L)
Since similar performance properties make these species interchangeable in use, Douglas fir and larch are often marketed together.
Dressed
See "surfaced."
Dressed and matched (D&M)
Lumber that has been worked with a tongue off center on one edge of each piece and a groove on the opposite edge to provide a close joint by fitting two pieces together.
Drop siding (D/S, DS)
A lumber pattern with lap or tongue and groove joints.
Dry kiln
An enclosed chamber in which temperature and humidity conditions are subject to control for the purpose of drying lumber.
Dry rot
A term loosely applied to many types of decay but especially to that which, when in an advanced stage, permits the wood to be easily crushed to a dry powder: the term is actually a misnomer for any decay, since all fungi require considerable moisture for growth.
Dunnage
Generally lumber of a low grade used to separate and bind ship cargo; stakes, strips and other pieces that are needed in holding and protecting merchandise on railroad cars and truck shipments.
Durability
A general term for permanence or lastingness: frequently used to refer to the degree of resistance of a species or of an individual piece of wood to attack by wood-destroying fungi under conditions that favor such attack: in this connection the term "resistance to decay" is more specific.
E
Edge
E&CB2S
Edge & center bead two sides
E&CV1S
Edge & center vee one side
E&CV2S
Edge & center vee two sides
Eased edges (EE)
Slightly rounded surfacing on pieces of lumber to remove sharp corners. Lumber 4 inches or less in thickness is frequently shipped with eased edges unless otherwise specified.
EB1S
Edge bead one side
EB2S
Edge bead two sides
Edge
The narrow face of a rectangular-shaped piece of lumber.
Edge grain (EG)
Lumber sawed parallel with the pith of the log and approximately at right angles to the growth rings; that is, the rings form an angle of 45° or more with the wide face of the piece.
EE
Eased edges
EG
Edge (vertical) grain
EM
End matched
Empty-cell process
Any process for impregnating wood with preservatives or chemicals in which air is imprisoned in the wood under the pressure of the entering preservative and then expands, when the pressure is released, to drive out part of the injected preservative.
Encased knot
A knot whose rings of annual growth are not intergrown with those of the surrounding wood.
End check
A surface check at the end of a piece of lumber.
End-match (EM)
To tongue and groove the ends of matched lumber.
End-split
A lengthwise separation of the wood fibers at the end of a piece of lumber.
Engelmann Spruce (ES)
Picea Engelmannii, Picea is the Latin name for spruce and is derived from pix, meaning pitch, Engelmannii is in honor of the St. Louis botanist, George Engelmann, who in 1863 first described this spruce. It is believed that Lewis and Clark discovered the species while crossing the Bitterroot Mountains on the lolo trail in 1805. It grows at higher elevations from 6,000 to 12,000 feet in the Rockies and Cascade mountains. Trees may attain ages of from 500 to 600 years, and are closely related to Eastern white spruce and Sitka spruce.
ES
Englemann Spruce
EV1S
Edge vee one side
EV2S
Edge vee two sides
Export sale
Sale of lumber to be shipped to a foreign country.
Exporter
Wholesaler or broker selling to a foreign market.
Extractives
Substances in wood, not an integral part of the cellular structure, that can be dissolved out with hot or cold water, ether, benezene, or other relatively inert solvents.
Extreme fiber stress in bending (Fb)
The allowable unit stress used in the design of bending members such as beams, trusschords, joists and rafters.
Face
The wide surface of a piece of lumber; the wide surface showing the better quality or appearance from which a piece is graded.
Face-side
The wide surface used in grading showing the better quality or appearance.
Face-width
The width of the face of any piece of lumber; in tongued or lapped (rabbeted) lumber, it does not include width of tongue or lap.
Factory lumber
Lumber intended to be cut up for use in further manufacture: it is graded on the basis of the percentage of the area which will produce a limited number of cuttings of a specified, or a given minimum, size and quality.
Fall-down
Lumber not up to a particular grade.
FAS
Free along side (vessel)
Fb
Extreme fiber stress in bending (also f)
FBM
Feet board measure (also FT BM)
FCPW
Flat car paper wrapped
Feet board measure (FBM, FT BM)
A term used to indicate a board foot of measure. For complete definition refer to page 5.
Feet surface measure (FTSM)
A term used to indicate a specific unit of measure. See surface measure in the glossary or refer to page 6.
FG
Flat or slash grain
Finger-joint
Pieces of lumber machined on the ends and bonded together with glue. The joint is similar to slipping the fingers of two hands together. Also called end-joint or glue-joint.
Finish (lumber)
A term indicating the higher grades of lumber, sound, relatively free of blemishes.
Finished size
The net dimensions after surfacing.
Firm heart stain (brown or red heartwood)
A brownish or reddish discoloration, and in the grades where specified, does not affect the use of the piece to any greater extent than the other characteristics of the grade.
Flat car paper wrapped (FCPW)
Lumber loaded on an open rail car after being strapped into units and wrapped in weather resistant material. Plastic or paper are commonly used.
Flat grain (F.G.) (slash grain S.G.)
Lumber sawn approximately parallel to the annual growth rings so that all or some of the rings form an angle of less than 45 degrees with the surface of the piece.
FLG
Flooring
Flitch
A thick piece of lumber with or without wane (bark) on one or more edges suitable for remanufacturing.
Flooring (FLG)
A lumber pattern with smooth face and tongue and groove edges.
FOB
Free on board (named point)
FOHC
Free of heart center
Foot (FT)
A unit of lineal measurement usually used to indicate the length of lumber.
Framing lumber
A term generally applied to lumber when the nominal size is 2 through 4 inches thick and 2 inches and wider; lumber used to construct a building or structure.
Free along side (FAS)
Seller delivers the shipment within reach of ship's loading tackle. All dock charges and freight from point of origin to the dock have been paid by the seller. Freight charges to the final destination are billed to the buyer.
Free of heart center (FOHC)
Lumber sawn to exclude the heart center or pith of the log.
Free on board (FOB)
Refers to a named point to which the seller will deliver and load lumber on board transportation equipment at no additional charge to the buyer. Freight or other charges to final destination are for the buyers account.
Freight measure
Is "board measure" contents of lumber-when calculated from measurements of over-all dimensions; it is used only for displacement measurements for freight purposes.
FRT
Freight
FT
Foot
FT SM
Feet surface measure
Full length
Cut so the ends can be squared to exact length tallied.
Full sawn lumber
Green lumber, cut full to a specified size without variation undersize at time of original inspection.
Full-cell process
Any process for impregnating wood with preservatives or chemicals in which a vacuum is drawn to remove air from the wood before admitting the preservative.
Full-cut lumber
Lumber that in thickness and width measures fully up to specified sizes: a term sometimes confused with "cut-full" lumber, the latter meaning lumber intentionally manufactured in larger than nominal thickness and width.
Fungus stain
Lumber stain caused by fungus growth in wood: fungi can be either of the sapwood-staining or decay-producing types.
G/S
Gradestamped
Grade
The designation of the quality of wood; applied to lumber, plywood, logs, etc.
Grademarked (lumber)
Marked (usually with crayon) to indicate the grade.
Gradestamped
Grade indicated with official stamp impression.
Grading rules
A systematic and standardized method of rating the quality of wood products.
Grain
The direction, size, arrangement, appearance or quality of the fibers in wood.
Green wood
Unseasoned wood.
Gross measure
Is "board measure" contents of lumber-when calculated from measurements of named sizes: same as nominal measure.
H or M
Hit or miss
H&M
Hit and miss
Hardness
The property of wood that is indicated by a resistance to cutting, scratching, denting, pressure or wear.
HB
Hollow bark
Heart stain
A discoloration of the heartwood.
Heart, heartwood
The wood, extending from the pith to the : sapwood, the cells of which no longer participate in the life process of the tree: heartwood may be infiltrated with gums, resins, and other materials which usually make it darker and more decay-resistant then sapwood.
HEM
Hemlock
Hem-Fir
Hemlock -True Firs
Hemlock (HEM)
Tsuga heterophylla, the first part of the botanical name - tsuga - is Japanese for hemlock. Heterophylla is derived from the Greek meaning other or different leaves. Hemlock is characteristized by numerous needles of irregular length creating a lacy appearance and deep shade on the forest floor. It grows either in pure stands or in mixed stands with Douglas fir, western red cedar and Sitka spruce. Its growth range extends from Alaska and British Columbia to Western Washington and Western Oregon. Another species, mountain hemlock (tsuga mertensiana) generally grows at high elevations on less productive sites, within the range of western hemlock. It also grows in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
Hit and miss
In surfaced lumber, hit and miss is a series of skips by planer knives with surfaced areas between skips.
Hit or miss
In surfaced lumber, hit or miss means completely surfaced or partly surfaced or entirely rough.
Honeycomb
Pits or spots in wood caused by fungi. It develops in the living tree and does not develop further in wood in service.
Hundred lineal feet (CLF)
A term used to indicate unit of measurement.
Hundredweight (CWT)
A unit of weight, used by carriers as a basis to measure freight rates on lumber shipments.
IC
Incense Cedar
Idaho or Western White Pine (IWP)
Pinus monticola, its Latin name indicates that this pine is confined to the mountains where it grows at elevations of from 2,000 to 10,000 feet, although it grows down to sea level in the Puget Sound area. Botanist David Douglas first reported it in 1825 as growing on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens, in what is now Washington State. This species is found throughout the Northwestern U.S. and British Columbia. A genuine white pine, it is part of historic tradition dating from early Puritan settlers, who built their first homes of New England white pines.
Imperfect manufacture
Includes all defects or blemishes produced in manufacturing.
IN
Inch or inches
Incense Cedar (IC)
Libocedrus decurrens, Libocedrus is derived from the Greek and may be translated "the cedar tree, the wood of which was burnt for perfume or to scent ointment." It was discovered in the upper Sacramento Valley of California by General John Fremont. A very handsome tree, it is rarely found in pure stands, but generally grows intermingled with Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine, Douglas fir and White fir. This species ranges from Northern Oregon to Southern California. It is a relatively slow growing tree.
Incipient decay
The early stage of decay in which the disintegration has not proceeded far enough to soften or otherwise perceptibly change the quality of the wood.
IND
Industrial
Industrial (IND)
A term for lumber destined for remanufacture such as industrial clears, moulding stock and shop.
Intergrown knot
One partially or completely intergrown on one or two faces with the growth rings of the surrounding wood.
IWP
Idaho White Pine
J&P
see Joists and planks
Jointed (JTD)
In lumber manufacture, finger-jointing is most common although sometimes other types of joints may be used.
Joist
Pieces (nominal dimensions 2 to 4 inches in thickness by 5 inches and wider) of rectangular cross section graded with respect to strength in bending when loaded on the narrow face: used as supporting members under a floor or over a ceiling.
Joists and planks (J&P)
The national grading rules contain four grades of structural joists and planks; select structural, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Nominal sizes are 2 to 4 inches thick by 5 inches and wider. The abbreviation (J&P) is generally used to indicate a specific section in the grading rules under which the lumber was graded.
JTD
see Jointed
KD
see Kiln dried
Kiln dried (KD)
Lumber which has been dried under conditions of controlled temperatures and humidities in a dry kiln.
Knot
That portion of a branch or limb that occurs in a piece of lumber.
Knot cluster
Two or more knots grouped together as a unit with the fibers in the wood deflected around the entire unit.
L
Larch
Laminated wood
A piece of wood built up of plies or laminations that have been joined either with glue or with mechanical fastenings: the term is most frequently applied where the plies are too thick to be classified as veneer and when the grain of all plies is parallel.
Larch (L)
Western Larch, Larix occidentalis. Its botanical name translates to mean "larch of the western world." It was first discovered on the upper Clearwater River in Western Montana in 1806 and was next observed in 1827 by botanist David Douglas on the Columbia River in Northeastern Washington. However, not until 1834 did Thomas Nutall recognize larch as previously unclassified species. Not until 1849 was it named. Western larch is unique. Although it is a conifer, it is not an evergreen since it drops its needles every fall like a broadleaf hardwood tree, and develops new needles in the spring.
LBR
Lumber
LCL
Less than carload
Less than carload (LCL)
This term indicates that a railcar is not loaded full, nor does it meet minimum weight requirements as prescribed by railroad tariffs.
LF
Light Framing
LFVC
Loaded full visible capacity
LGR
Longer
LGTH
Length LIN - Lineal
Light framing (LF)
The national grading rules contains three grades of light framing: construction, standard and utility. Nominal sizes are 2 to 4 inches thick and 2 to 4 inches wide. The abbreviation (LF) is used to indicate a specific section in the grading rules under which the lumber was graded.
Light sap stain
A slight difference in color which will not materially impair the appearance of a piece if given a natural finish.
Lineal (LIN)
A term referring to length; lineal footage is the total length in feet of a piece or of all pieces of the same width in a shipment. It is used largely for specialty items such as mouldings and millwork.
LNG
Lining
Loaded to full visible capacity (LFVC)
A railroad term to accord light weight lumber shipments the same freight rate consideration as heavier species on higher carload minimum weights. If a car is loaded full, shipper obtains benefit of lowest rate even though minimum weight requirements for lowest rate hasn't been met.
Lodgepole Pine (LP)
Pinus contorta, derived from the Latin and refers to the twisted branches of the species. Lodgepole Pine is the smallest of the commercially important pines and takes its English name from the Indian use of it for pole supports for tepees. It often grows in dense, pure stands and exists in two forms - high mountain and Pacific Coast. Lewis and Clark are believed to have discovered the high mountain species in Montana in 1805, while David Douglas, a botanist, is believed to have discovered the Coastal type in 1825, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Log
A portion of a trunk (or stem) of a felled tree that has been cleared of branches and made ready for sawing into lumber.
Loose knot
A knot not held in place by growth, shape or position.
Loosened or raised grain
Consists of a small portion of the wood being loosened or raised but not displaced.
LP
Lodgepole Pine
Lumber
A manufactured product derived from a log in a sawmill, or in a sawmill and planing mill, which when rough shall have been sawed, edged and trimmed at least to the extent of showing saw marks in the wood on the four longitudinal surfaces of each piece for its overall length, and which has not been further manufactured other than by cross-cutting, ripping, resawing, joining crosswise and/or endwise in a flat plane, surfacing with or without end matching, and working.
Lumber tally
A record of lumber giving the number of boards or pieces by width, thickness, length, grade and species.
M
Thousand
Machine burn
A darkening of the wood due to overheating by the machine knives or rolls when pieces are stopped in a machine.
Machine stress-rated (MSR lumber)
Lumber that has been evaluated by mechanical stress rating equipment; each piece is nondestructively tested and marked to indicate the modulus of elasticity. MSR lumber is also required to meet certain visual requirements.
Manufacturer
The producing sawmill sawing lumber from logs.
Manufacturers agent
A sales representative for a particular sawmill or several non-competitive lumber manufacturers.
Matched
Lumber that has been worked with a tongue on one edge of each piece and a groove on the opposite edge to provide a close tongue-and-groove joint by fitting two pieces together; when end-matched, the tongue and groove are worked in the ends also.
MBF
Thousand board feet
MBM
Thousand (ft.) board measure
MC
Moisture content
Medium grain
Wood with 4 to 6 rings per inch.
MG
Mixed grain
Milling-in-transit
Surfacing, drying or remanufacturing at a stopover while the lumber is en route.
Millwork
Generally wood remanufactured in millwork plants; it includes such items as inside and outside doors, windows and door frames, blinds, porch-work, mantels, panel work, stairways, mouldings, and interior trim; it does not include flooring, ceiling, or siding.
Mismatched material
Worked material that does not fit tightly at all points of contact between adjoining pieces or in which the surfaces or adjoining pieces are not in the same plane.
Mixed car
A railroad car loaded with various kinds, sizes and/or species of lumber.
Mixed grain (MG)
Lumber may be both vertical and flat grain.
MLDG
Moulding
Modulus of elasticity (MOE)
The relationship between the amount a piece deflects and the load causing the deflection determines its stiffness. Factors affecting the MOE are
Modulus of rupture (MOR)
A measurement of the load required to break a particular size and length of lumber.
MOE
Modulus of elasticity (or "E")
Moisture content (MC)
The moisture content of wood is the weight of the water in wood expressed as a percentage of the weight of the wood from which all water has been removed (oven dry). Moisture is removed from lumber either by air drying or by use of special drying kilns.
MOR
Modulus of rupture
Moulding (MLDG)
Small shaped lengths of wood used for both interior and exterior trim.
Moulding stock
Developed in the making of other standard grades; each piece is graded on the basis of the percentage of the area suitable for ripping into strips of a given minimum size and quality.
MSR
Machine stress rated
N1E
Nose one edge
NBM
Net board measure
Net board measure (NBM)
Content of lumber when calculated from measurements of actual dimensions, including tongue or lap.
Nominal measure
Is "board measure" contents of lumber when calculated from measurements of named sizes; same as gross measure.
Occasional pieces
Means not more than 10 percent of the pieces in a parcel or shipment.
Open-grained
Common classification of painters for woods with large pores, such as oak, ash, chestnut, and walnut: also known as "coarse textured."
Oven-dry wood
Wood completely dried until it is without any moisture content.
Over-all dimensions
The measurements-of thickness, width, or length-of a piece of lumber which are used to compute the space occupied. For example, the over-all width of a piece of tongue-and-grooved lumber (such as flooring) is the width of the face plus the tongue.
P&T
Posts and timbers
PAD
Partly air dried
Paper wrapped (PW)
Lumber strapped into units and wrapped in weather resistant material prior to shipment.
PARA
Paragraph PART - Partition
Partly air dried (PAD)
Seasoned to some extent by exposure to the atmosphere, but still considered green or unseasoned.
PAT
Pattern
Pattern (PAT)
Any number of shapes or configurations to which lumber may be worked.
Peck
Pockets or areas of disintegrated wood caused by advanced stages of localized decay in the living tree: it is usually associated with cypress and incense cedar: there is no further development of peck once the tree is felled.
Pencil stock
Made from Incense Cedar, pencil stock is graded for the percentage of clear pencil squares that may be obtained from a piece by ripping and cross cutting; pencil squares are usually 2-5/8" x 2-5/8" and 8" or multiples of 8" in length.
PET
Precision end trimmed
Piling
Round timber of any required size or length, usually used with smaller end in the ground.
Pin hole
From any cause approximately 1/16" in diameter.
Pin knot
One not over 1/2" in diameter.
Pitch
An accumulation of resin.
Pitch pocket
An opening extending parallel to the annual rings of growth usually containing, or which has contained, pitch, either solid or liquid.
Pitch seam
Shake or check which is filled with pitch.
Pitch streak
A well-defined accumulation of pitch in the wood cells in a more or less regular streak.
Pith
The small soft core occurring in the structural center of a log.
Planing mill products
Surfaced or planed lumber; products worked to pattern, such as flooring, ceiling and siding.
Plank
A piece of lumber, from 2 but not including 5 inches thick, generally used with wide face horizontal: (differs from joist only that latter is used on edge).
PLIB
Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau
Plywood
A piece of wood made of three or more layers of veneer joined with glue and usually laid with the grain of adjoining plies at right angles. Almost always an odd number of plies are used to secure balanced construction.
Pocket
A pocket is a well-defined opening between the rings of annual growth, usually containing pitch or bark.
Pocket rot
Advanced decay which appears in the form of a hole, pocket or area of soft rot usually surrounded by apparently sound wood.
Pole
Round timber of any required size or length, usually used with larger end in ground.
Ponderosa Pine (PP)
Pinus ponderosa; Ponderosa was suggested as the name of this pine by botanist David Douglas because of its ponderous bulk. The tree was discovered by members of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805. Ponderosa Pine is generally recognized as the most versatile wood found in abundance in the U.S. It is extremely valuable to general industry and to home building. Because of its soft-texture it is widely used in the woodworking field for fabricating into architectural woodwork, furniture, toys and other specialty products.
Posts and timbers
Large pieces (nominal dimensions, 5" by 5" and larger, width not more than 2" greater than thickness) of square or approximately square cross section graded primarily for use as posts or columns.
PP
Ponderosa Pine
Precision end trimmed (PET)
Lumber is trimmed square and smooth on both ends to uniform length.
Preservative
Any substance that, for a reasonable length of time, will prevent the action of wood-destroying fungi, borers of various kinds, and similar destructive life when the wood has been properly coated or impregnated with it.
PT
Pressure Treated
PW
Paper wrapped
R/L, RL
Random lengths (mixture from 6' through 20')
R/S
Resawn
R/W, or RW
Random widths
Radial
Coincident with a radius from the axis of the tree or log to the circumference: in a round timber or piece of lumber, a line or surface extending outward from the heart-center: a radial surface is always edge-grain.
RC
Red Cedar
RDM
Random
REG
Regular
RGH
Rough
RIS
Redwood Inspection Service
RW/L
Random widths and random length
Rwd
Redwood
S2S1E
Surfaced two sides, one edge
S4S
Surfaced four sides
Yard lumber
Lumber of those grades, sizes and patterns generally intended for ordinary construction and general building purposes.