Dimension Yields from Factory Grade 2 and 3 Red Oak Logs

Title:	Dimension Yields from Factory Grade 2 and 3 Red Oak Logs
Author(s):	Lin, Wenjie; Kline, D. Earl; Araman, Philip A.
Date:	1995
Source:	Forest Products Journal. 44(9): 19-25.
Description:	With rising timber costs and a decreasing supply of high-grade timber resources, manufacturers of solid wood products need to adopt more efficient processing methods that better utilize existing timber resources. To address this need, this study explores the potential of converting hardwood logs directly into dimension parts. The specific objective of this study was to estimate the potential cutting yield of dimension parts and potential value recovery obtainable from Factory Grade 2 and 3 red oak sawlogs under various processing configurations and cutting bills. A combination method of sawing logs into flitches and then cutting flitches into dimension parts was used. Two log sawing patterns (live sawing and five-part sawing) combined with two cutting sequences (rip first and crosscut first) and three cutting bills were tested. The results indicated that Grade 2 logs produced higher dimension yield than Grade 3 logs. However, Grade 2 logs resulted in much less value recovery per dollar log input than Grade 3 logs because of the notably higher price of Grade 2 logs. These results suggest that direct processing systems offer a very promising method for converting low-grade timber resources into high-value solid wood products. Other results of the study show how different processing configurations and cutting orders can affect yield and value recovery.
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