Forest Products Laboratory

Title: Properties of lumber products

Author: Hernandez, Roland; Green, David W.

Date: 2007

Source: Marks' standard handbook for mechanical engineers. New York ; London : McGraw-Hill, c2007: pages 6.121-6.127.

Description: 

Stress-graded structural lumber is produced under two systems: visual grading and machine grading. Visual structural grading is the oldest stress grading system. It is based on the premise that the mechanical properties of lumber differ from those of clear wood because many growth characteristics of lumber affect its properties: these characteristics can be seen and judged by eye (ASTM D 245). The principal growth feature affecting lumber properties are the size and location of knots, sloping grain, and density.

Keywords: Grading, lumber, mechanical properties, wood, wood quality, wood density, shear, wood properties, strength, visual grading, knots, bending strength, tensile strength, compression parallel to grain, mechanical grading, softwoods, shrinkage

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Citation

Hernandez, Roland; Green, David W.  2007.  Properties of lumber products.   Marks' standard handbook for mechanical engineers. New York ; London : McGraw-Hill, c2007: pages 6.121-6.127..