NORTHWEST LOG RULES ADVISORY GROUP

2600 Willamette Drive NE, Suite B

Lacey, Washington 98516

 

MINUTES OF THE SCALING PRACTICES COMMITTEE

September 9, 2009

 

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Tom St. Laurent called the meeting to order at 10:05 AM at the Longview Timber office in Longview, Washington.

 

INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS PRESENT

 

Dave Chafin                                         Columbia River Log Scaling Bureau

Dave McFarlane                                   Columbia River Log Scaling Bureau

Jerry Ashby                                          Pacific Rim Log Scaling Bureau

Gary Baylous                                        Pacific Rim Log Scaling Bureau

Terry Pelt                                             Pacific Rim Log Scaling Bureau

Tom St. Laurent                                   Yamhill Log Scaling Bureau

Bob Guy                                              Southern Oregon Log Scaling Bureau

Dave Sabol                                          Southern Oregon Log Scaling Bureau

Jonathan Wilder                                    BLM

Greg Scheid                                         BLM

Camille Smith                                       U.S. Forest Service     

Chris Westwood                                  Washington Dept of Revenue   

Brad Toman                                         OR DOR Forest Tax

Matt Frison                                          OR DOR Forest Tax

John Calkins                                         Simpson Timber Co.

Bob Anderson                                      Green Diamond

George Nuesse                                     Hancock         

James Carossino                                   Weyerhaeuser 

Joe Swigert                                          Weyerhaeuser 

Doug Fegles                                         Weyerhaeuser 

Steve Miller                                          Weyerhaeuser 

Richard Wilfong                                    Hampton Tree Farms

Ray Naredo                                                                                                                                                     Lone Rock Timber

Larry Holmgren                                    Schmidbauer Lumber

 

REVIEW LOG ROLLOUT

Prior to this meeting there was a log rollout at the Simpson’s log yard in Longview, Washington.  A total of 53 Douglas fir logs were presented ranging in diameters from 5 to 13 inches.  The purpose was to gain a better understanding of defect in small logs related to knot clusters, spike knots, sweep, and crook.  The School Solution for the 53 logs was a gross volume of 2,740 board feet with a net of 2,400 board feet, resulting in a defect of 12.4%.  Click here to see a copy of the School Solution.  Simpson had placed 8 foot 2X4 lumber next to some of the logs to help show the lumber defect as it relates to the logs.

 

Tom St. Laurent asked how the group felt about the consistency of the results for those who scaled the logs.  The consensus of the group was there was good consistency with identifying the defect and how it was deducted.  Tom summarized by saying the main issues related to defect in small logs are spike knots, sweep, and crook.  Another term for crooks surfaced in the discussion as “speed wobble”, referencing the several changes in log direction within one log.

 

Given the overall consistency in results no change in the scaling rules were being recommended.

 

PRESENTATION OF A SIMPSON MILL STUDY FOR SMALL DIAMETER LOGS

John Calkins, from Simpson, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the results of a mill study they did at the Longview location in June and July of this year.  Click here to download.  (The file is 79 MB, so be patient.  If you don’t have Power Point or Power Point Viewer, click here to download.)  22 small diameter logs were scaled by different Bureau representatives.  All the logs were 16 feet, except one was 20 feet.  The scaling diameter was painted on both ends of the logs and then cut in the mill.  The log scale defect averaged 28.8% with a standard and better lumber recovery through the mill of 33%.  Click here to see a written summary of that mill study..  There were many helpful pictures included in the presentation but the memory size makes an attachment difficult to open

 

E-MAIL ADDRESS

The distribution of Advisory Group announcements and meeting minutes is done through the e-mail. Contact Jerry Ashby at Pacific Rim Bureau or Tom St. Laurent at Yamhill Bureau if you want your address added to the distribution list..

 

OTHER BUSINESS

 

Tom indicated the Bureaus are in the process of having more East/West Side and West Side scale books printed.  The only change made to the books will be the addition of the Copyright for the books.  Northwest Log Rules received an approved Copyright from the U.S. Copyright office in March 2007.

 

Dave Chafin, Columbia River Bureau, said he was contacted by Frank Duran, U.S. Forest Service, regarding interest in assisting with the development of a Log Scaling Safety video.  The Forest Service has a grant available to them to produce a video.  Dave routed a sign-up sheet for those who might have an interest.

 

Bob Anderson with Green Diamond, and representing the Northern California Bureau, is retiring at the end of September.  Bob has been very active with the Northwest Log Rules Advisory Group and a past Chairman.  Tom thanked him for his contribution and support during his career and the group extended their appreciation and best wishes.

 

Tom thanked Simpson for hosting the log roll-out in their Longview yard and willingness to share the results of their mill study.

 

ADJOURN

With no other business to discuss, Chairman Tom St. Laurent adjourned the meeting at 12:10 PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,            

 

 

Jerry M. Ashby

Secretary