A new system of grading the appearance of UK-grown hardwood timber has been launched.
Forestry Commission Scotland business development adviser Derek Nelson said many hardwood sawmillers were operating their own, in-house visual grading systems, but it was recognised this could cause confusion.
“There was broad agreement across the industry that we would benefit from having a simple, agreed and commonly understood visual grading system that will allow hardwood boards to be classified into a workable number of quality grades that can be easily understood and applied by sawmillers and their immediate customers,” he added.
The new system has taken consultants and industry representatives three years to develop and an offshoot has been the publication of a booklet “Making the Grade” which gives examples of the appearance of each grade of each species of timber.
The booklet, which is free, is available by calling 0870 121 4180.
