Lumber recovery from young-growth red and white fir in northern California.

Abstract

Lumber recovery data from 1,106 logs from 341 young-growth white fir (Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. ex Hildebr.) and red fir (A. magnifica A. Murr) trees are presented. All logs were processed through a quad-band headsaw. Nominal 2x4's and 2x6's made up over 93 percent of the lumber volume; nearly 70 percent was No. 2 (Standard) and better. Average overrun was 54 percent of net log scale. Cubic recovery of lumber in roughgreen and surfaced-dry conditions averaged, respectively, 53 and 42 percent of gross cubic log volume. The lumber recovery factor averaged 7.5 board feet per cubic foot of gross log volume processed. Recoveries were higher for larger logs. Standards for minimum thickness and width of rough green lumber were exceeded in both the 2x4's and 2x6's. Greater tolerances(allowance for surfacing), however, were used in producing 2x4's than 2x6's. As a result, the board feet of lumber recovered from each cubic foot of lumber processed (BFL/CFL ratio) from smaller logs was reduced since these logs were sawn primarily into 2x4's. The average BFL/CFL ratio for all logs was 14.12.

Citation

Pong, W.Y. 1982. Lumber recovery from young-growth red and white fir in northern California. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-300. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 14 p