When specifying lumber the terms are extremely confusing. I realize that many of the terms were written over 100 years ago. (And they sound like it!)

But must we persist in using them?

More to the point, is the National Hardwood Lumber Association’s (NHLA) archaic language leading them to obscurity?

For example, lumber buyers often specify that Maple be pulled to a color specification that enhances the amount of white sapwood in the load.

To get more white color the specifications are broken down into”#1 white”, “#2 white” and “Sap and Better.”

Here is the breakdown.

#1 White Maple: Both faces and both edges of the required cutting shall be sapwood.

#2 White Maple: One face and both edges of the required cuttings shall be sapwood, and the reverse side of the cuttings not less than 50% sapwood.

Sap and Better: Each required cutting shall have one clear sapwood face.

Actually Sap and Better is a slang term used by specifiers meaning they will pay for the 1 clear face of sapwood and anything from the #1 and #2 White that happens to be in the load. It is not an actual NHLA rule, though everyone uses and seems to understand it.

NHLA was founded in 1898 to establish and now enforce a standard uniform system for the measurement and grading of lumber.

The NHLA Rule book is the bible of grading rules for all lumber and NHLA provides a vital role in training inspectors worldwide. They created and gave us standards we all can use to understand what we lumber we are buying, sight unseen. This was extremely important in 1898.

The dilemma is that the world has grown faster than the NHLA and they need to catch up. Using the 1 & 2 White example above, we can see how an uneducated buyer can be confused.

First off, let’s make it simpler: All White, One Side White and 50% White, make more sense then the current rules. Unfortunately, the market has already adopted the confusing slang.

The key words of the rule are “of the required cutting.” Many people get caught when specifying lumber on the amount of white on a board. The amount of white is influenced by the actual grade they are cutting. The amount of white is measured only on the part of the board that meets the grade.

For example, to meet FAS, 83 1/3% of the poor side of the board must be FAS. The other 16 2/3% can be anything. So the “White” rule only applies to the 83 1/3%. (Really NHLA? 83 1/3%? Couldn’t we just change it to 80/20 or 85/15?)

As the economy has shifted, new buyers are often not trained in NHLA specifications. Many of the purchasing agents are buying thousands of items electronically and have never seen an NHLA rule book. Slang that has been adopted by lumber providers, like “uppers, sap and better," and "fall-downs” are not addressed in the NHLA guide.

Without training and clear pictures of what to expect, the NHLA terms and rules cause confusion and create problems within the buyer’s companies.

As a rookie in the lumber world, I know that I do not understand the whole picture of the industry and the history involved. I also see the industry with the different, fresh attitude that many new buyers are facing. Ideally, NHLA training will be given to all the new buyers, and the companies will understand what they are specifying, but tight economies rarely create ideal worlds.

The solution to the dilemma is for the NHLA to step up and go digital. Several lumber mills are already using cameras to show potential buyers the color, grade and lengths of their lumber. A web camera at the grading and sorting lines can show a customer every stick in their load. In a sense these digital mills do not need to use NHLA grades. Email a video or picture, if the customer likes what they see, it is sold.

NHLA should become more than a lumber graders guide. NHLA needs to establish digital standards of their lumber grades, overhaul the archaic language, adapt the terms to the common slang of the market now and stay current. Otherwise, the industry may jump ahead without them.

My goal in future columns is to help you decipher the confusing lingo, the geography, and the specialties ofi the lumber market in a way that we can all understand.