Industry Terms and Definitions
Below you can find a glossary of terms related to the lumber and timber industry to help you better understand SPTP’s products and services and how they can benefit your organization.
Band Mill
A sawmill using a toothed, endless steel blade for its saw
Bark
The outermost covering of a tree
Beaded
A piece of lumber decorated with a raised half–circle bead along its length
Beam
A structural member, usually larger than five inches in width and thickness, used horizontally to support a load
Best Management Practices / BMPs
State or local regularity or non–regularity guidelines from protecting waterways as required by federal statutes including the Clean Water Act and the Water Pollution Control Act
Bevel Siding
A board that has been resawn diagonally to be used to clad the exterior of a building
Bluestain
A discoloration of wood caused by a fungus; usually occurring in the sapwood. It is particularly troublesome in Southern Yellow Pine logs during the summer months.
Board
A piece of lumber less than two inches in nominal thickness and one inch or more in width
Board Foot
The basic unit of measurement for lumber; one board foot is equal to a one–inch board, twelve inches in width and one foot in length, thus, a ten foot long, twelve inch wide, and one inch thick piece would contain ten board feet; when calculating board feet, nominal sizes are assumed
Brand
An identifying mark on the end of a log indicating the owner of a log; the brand is made on the log by hitting the end with a hammer–like device that bears the design of the brand; also, there is paint sprayed on logs to indicate to the mill deck scaler which area the logs were from
Buck
The act of cutting a log to a specified length while attempting to maximize the log value
Bucker
A person who saws felled trees into logs
Butt
The lower end of a tree, or a log from that part of the tree closest to the stump
