“Wood Props” announced
We are delighted to be partner in the WoodProps project – which aims to maximise the value and use of Irish timber as their forests double production in […]
EN14081
Re-grading of timber
Can you visually grade timber rejected by a grading machine? We know that it happens – is it allowed? More importantly – does it correctly […]
Grading machines and their speeds
Edit 23.07.2023: a citable list of these machine details, correct to date can be found in https://doi.org/10.1080/20426445.2022.2050549. Edit: 02.05.2024: new machines are included in the […]
What is the density of wood?
This is one of those simple sounding questions that has a lot of possible answers. For now, let’s keep it simple and ask something more […]
Machine or visual grading? – read this!
The European Standard for machine grading (EN 14081-2) will go to second enquiry (public comment) next year. It will contain a proposal for what happens […]
When is a standard not a standard?
…or why you should not buy EN 14081-1:2016. As we have discussed before (here and here), Harmonized Standards have a special status in that they […]
Why grading isn’t about the grade
The strength grading of timber is not about the strength grade – it is about the properties of the timber. A strength grade (or, more […]
CEN voting maths (& Brexit again)
This summer, the CEN general assembly changed its voting system by adopting criteria inspired by the qualified majority voting rules under Lisbon Treaty of the European […]
Thinking beyond strength classes
This paper summarises the processes and normative requirements involved in grading of structural timber, and outlines a number of areas in which matters may be […]
Machine grading? Pay attention
Apologies for the dramatic post title – but this really does require immediate attention if you are producing machine graded timber. The key standard, which […]