STANDARDIZATION OF LUMBER SIZES AND GRADES 



By David G. White; 



Forest Examiner, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis. 



Numerous and constantly changing lumber grading rules and sizes 

 and the ever increasing demands of the consumers for lumber of 

 satisfactory common standards for their requirements, stimulated the 

 first American Lumber Congress, which was held in Chicago on April 

 14 to 17, 1919, to adopt the following 'resolution : 



"Resolved, That it is the sense of this Lumber Congress that there 

 should be uniformity of sizes in all lumber and moldings manufac- 

 tured in the United States and that for the accomplishment of this 

 purpose the Secretary-Manager of the National Lumber Manufac- 

 turers' Association be requested to call a meeting of the proper repre- 

 sentatives of all associations represented in this Congress at Chicago 

 within sixty days from this date." 



In compliance with this resolution, about forty representatives of 

 lumber associations, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, architects, 

 engineers, and the trade press met in Chicago on June 30. Resolu- 

 tions were adopted at this conference calling attention to the need for 

 standard sizes, grades, forms, and nomenclature for lumber, moldings, 

 and shingles. A plan for future work was outlined which would 

 solicit the help of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, architects, 

 engineers, the Forest Products Laboratory, and others interested. 



A second conference was held in Chicago on September 28 and 29. 

 1920. This conference was widely heralded by the press and was 

 well attended by representatives of the associations and organizations 

 previously mentioned. September 28 was given over to a discussion 

 of sizes of common board and strips, dimension, finish, flooring, ceiling, 

 partition, grooved roofing, fencing, drop siding D. & M., drop siding, 

 worked shiplap and rustic, shiplap, and bevel siding. The scheme of 

 sizes recommended is as follows : 



One-inch rough 15/16-inch. 



One-inch SIS 7/8-inch. 



One-inch S2S 13/16-inch. 



One and one-half-inch and under (to 1-inch), for both width and 

 thickness, take ofif 3/16-inch SlSlE or S2S2E. 

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