Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd.
2019 Log Quality Handbook
Table of Contents Table of Contents...... 2 Log Length and Sort Specifications ...... 3 Acceptable Log Lengths ...... 3 Sorting ...... 3 General Log Quality Specifications ...... 5 Broken Ends (BE) ...... 5 Butt Flare (BF) ...... 5 Butt Shatter (BS) ...... 5 Butt Tear (BT) ...... 5 Cat Face/ Fire Scar (CF)...... 5 Crook (CR) ...... 6 Deformity (DE) ...... 6 Fork (FK) ...... 6 Junk/ Rat Tail (JR) ...... 6 Limbs/ Stubs (LS) ...... 6 Machine Damage (MD) ...... 7 Off-Length (OL) ...... 7 Pistol Grip (PG) ...... 7 Rotten Butt (RB)/ Rotten Top (RT) ...... 7 Sap Rot (SR) ...... 8 Saw Cut/ Plunge (SC) ...... 8 Snipe (SN) ...... 9 Sort – Species (SP) ...... 9 Small Tops (ST) ...... 9 Sweep (SW) ...... 9 Top Shatter (TS) ...... 9 Undercut (UC) ...... 9 Undesirable Log – Dry and Other (UD) ...... 9 Unacceptable Log Knots (UK) ...... 10 Undersize Trees...... 10 Utilization ...... 4
Log Length and Sort Specifications
Prime & Acceptable Log Lengths ALL LOGS MUST BE MEASURED TO LENGTH - minimum bucked log length - 12' 6" Short Logs - Prime lengths 16’6”, Acceptable lengths 12' 6", 14’6 and 18’6 and 20' 6" Avoid logs between 20' 6" and 25' (Maximum % of 20’6” to be established at time of agreement) Long Logs - Prime lengths 33’, 49’6, 51’6 and 53’6, Acceptable lengths 25',27', 29', 31', 35', 37', 39',41', then in lengths of 43’6, 45’6, 47’6, 55’6 and 57’6 Prime Lengths of 16’6” are targeted for any top size of 7” (17.5 cm) or less All deliveries to conform to Bucking Specifications provided in contract, Long Log Volume is only accepted with consent of GSFP & no Long Log from Robson Valley permitted. Length Tolerances All Prime and Acceptable Lengths to be within + / - 2” or target length tolerances. Sorting All CTL Logs must be sorted at 10”+ and 10”- and be shipped on separate bunks unless otherwise directed. Top Size Bucking Specifications Old Growth Cedar: Minimum 6” (15.0cm) Top Size Second Growth Cedar 5 ½” (13.75cm) Top Size Log Manufacturing & Processing A. All Logs must be cut square and flush on both ends; no sloped butts or snipes allowed. Buncher cuts, flare and bark seams must be removed. B. Reduce sweep to less than 2’ on long logs; on Short Logs (CTL) < 20’ 6” sweep shall not exceed a maximum of 3” as measured from horns (most extreme points). C. Cat Face butts must be sound, uniform and bucked out to eliminate cat face. D. Buck out all FORKS, CROOKS and PISTOL BUTTS. E. Buck out ROT to Rot Specifications, all Logs less than 10” must be 100% Sound (Butt and Top). F. Water Shake, Ring Rot, Target Rot and White Spec are all considered ROT and must be bucked to quality specifications. If the fibre is soft (i.e. easily penetrated when picked with a bar wrench, then it is likely ROT). Soft fibre does not form a clean look when processed and appears as torn wood, particularly when using ¾” Pitch chain. Shell Thickness Guide for Rot Specifications Log Diameter (Inches) Minimum Shell Thickness Inches 10” or less Sound – No Rot 10” – 12” 5” 12” – 18” 6” 18” – 25” 7” 25” + 8” 1Shell Thickness Specifications exclude Butt Flare. 2Splits/Fratures not permitted – must be solid shell around entire circumference of tree.
G. Sawlog Slabs are acceptable with a minimum of 10” sound wood on both ends; they must be straight, minimum 12’ 6” long, no spiral grain and 100% Knot Free. H. Cut Limbs Flush with bole, no knots over 5” in size and no rotten knots. I. No shattered or sheared log ends. Broken ends to be trimmed to 100% sound and firm wood. Mechanical damage due to handling or loading that de-values lumber potential is unacceptable and subject to penalties. J. Burned wood and/or knots are not acceptable; trees with charred bark that can be 100% debarked are acceptable suffice that no burned wood fibre is visible.
Log Loading K. No Debris (Limbs, Butts, Chunks, Rocks, etc.) to be included in loads. Remove any fence wire, staples, nails or foreign material. No ‘Penciling of Loads permitted to reduce risk of rock/dirt contamination. L. All loads are subject to Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd. Overweight Policy and must conform to CVSE and MoTI Regulations. M. Short Logs must not be loaded with Long Log loads without the written consent of a GSFP Supervisor; any short logs or slabs are to be communicated to the Scaling Staff and loader operators!
Utilization N. When trimming but log or zeroing out sawlogs cut < 10cm cookies, any larger pieces will be considered as excessive waste and may result in Waste penalties. O. When cutting out rot, avoid excessive long butting to clear up face. Only cut off enough to meet acceptable rot tolerances. P. Sweep – cut off the shortest length possible to recover a log before continuing on to preferred lengths. Q. When cutting the last two logs, assess the length and cut the best combination to target 5 ½” (13.75cm) top size. Example: 9.1 m (30’) length left, cut one 5.00m (16’6”) and one 12’6” 3.75m instead of one 20’6”. R. When cutting around defect, leave enough evidence to show why it was cut out and attempts must be made to recover wood above defect. Log Quality Calculations & Targets
S. Scaling Staff will collect log quality information using the Log Quality Guide and demerit system explained in this document and produce Log Quality reports available to all contractors. Target Log Quality %: 90% Target Log Length %: 95%
Log Volume not conforming to GSFP Specifications will not be accepted and in the case of Logs purchased subject to this Log Quality Program, Volume not conforming to specifications within will not be paid for.
General Log Quality Specifications
Broken Ends (BE) • Broken ends must be bucked clean, meet minimum top size requirements, and measured to preferred/acceptable lengths. • 1 Pt against Quality
Butt Flare (BF) • The maximum allowable flare is 7.5cm (3”) greater than the natural taper in the log; this can also be measured as greater than 25% greater log area than average log taper. • Excessive flare should be bucked off lengthwise with the log. NEED PHOTOS OF EXCESSIVE BUTT FLARE • • 2 Pts against Quality
Butt Shatter (BS) aka Ladder Checking • No amount of butt shatter is acceptable. Any shatter should be bucked back and the log measured to either a preferred or acceptable length. • 3 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Butt Tear (BT) • Butt tear is a deep slab usually caused by the feller buncher ripping the tree off before totally cutting through the stem. • No amount of butt tear is acceptable on logs ,25cm in diameter; • Allowable butt tear up to 25% of the diameter for logs .25cm in size. i.e. : 50cm dia log< 12.5 cm slab acceptable • 1 Pt against Quality
Cat Face/ Fire Scar (CF) • Fire scars and cat faces are depressions in the outer surface of a log where the tree failed to renew following an injury. • No charred wood is accepted at the mill without the prior approval of a GSFP representative. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Crook (CR) • A log is considered to have a crook if a section of the log deviates from the main stem. • To measure a crook, an imaginary straight line is traced from the midpoint of the main stem down the length of the log. If a part of the log doesn’t touch the, line then the crook must be bucked out. • 2 Pts Against Quality and Length Deduction
Deformity (DE) • A deformity is anything (i.e. a burl) the extends outside of normal stem taper. • All deformities are to be bucked out of bucked flush with the stem. • 2 Pts against Quality
Fork (FK) • All forks must be bucked off completely to remove all evidence of bark seam/split. • 2 Pts again Quality and Length Deduction
Junk/ Rat Tail (JR) • No rat tails are acceptable. • No reject logs, bucking waste, rocks, stumpage, or any other foreign material is allowed. • 3 Pts against Quality
Limbs/ Stubs (LS) • Limbs are/or stubs are to be cut flush with the stem of the tree. • Any limb or stub that would interfere with rolling the stem is considered excessive. • 2 Pts against Quality
Machine Damage (MD) • Damage can range from skidder chains spinning on the tree stems to fiber loss due to problems with limbing knives, buncher teeth, loader grapple, or forks. • Maximum depth of fibre damage allowed is 5.0cm. • 2 Pts against Quality
Off-Length (OL) • Sawlogs must be a minimum length of 12’ 6” (3.15 meters). • CTL Logs Exceeding 21’ are production killers as they do not physically fit through the mill. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Pistol Grip (PG) • Pistol grips are sharp crooks at the base of a tree. • To measure an excessive pistol grip, an imaginary straight line is drawn from the midpoint of the main stem down the length of the log. The part of the log that doesn’t touch the line must be bucked out. • 3 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Rotten Butt (RB)/ Rotten Top (RT) Excess Centre Rot:
• Logs < 25cm, must have a minimum 10 cm sound shell in all 4 quadrants • Logs > 25cm, must have a minimum 10 cm sound shell in all 4 quadrants and contain a minimum of 50% firmwood. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Pocket Rot:
• Logs < 25cm, must contain 2 adjacent quadrants of 50% firmwood. • Logs > 25cm, contain a minimum of 50% firmwood. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Rotten Top
• Logs < 10” (25cm) No rot allowed • Logs > 10” (25 cm) follow Rot Guidelines. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Sap Rot (SR) • Log butt < 30 cm in diameter is allowed 2.5cm of sap rot on each side of the log. • Log butt > 30cm in diameter is allowed 5.0cm of sap rot on each side of the log. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction Stain versus Rot
• Stain is NOT rot; however, where it is observed, watch for rot as advanced stain becomes rot. • Typically, stain is pink or salmon-colored while rot is darker to brown. • Rot will often exhibit white flecks and/or be visibly pitted on the end grain. This produces rougher end cuts (pulled fibre). Stained fibre behaves the same as sound wood.
Saw Cut/ Plunge (SC) • Saw cuts must be cut out and log bucked to a preferred/ acceptable length. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Snipe (SN) • A snipe is a fractured piece of the stem that remains after processing/bucking. • All snipes > 7.5cm must be removed. • 1 Pt against Quality
Sort – Species (SP) • All CTL Logs must be sorted at 10”+ and 10”- and be shipped on separate bunk unless otherwise directed. (Variance may be provided upon request from GSFP Supervisor for special circumstances) • 2 Pts against Quality
Small Tops (ST) • Minimum average acceptable top-size is 5 ½” (13.75cm) measured as diameter inside bark (dib) for all sawlogs. • 2 Pts against Quality and Volume Deduction
Sweep (SW) • Excessive sweep is determined by tracing an imaginary line from the front middle of the log to the end middle. If the tape leaves the log then the sweep is excessive and must be bucked out. • 2 Pts against Quality
Top Shatter (TS) • No amount of top shatter is acceptable. Any shatter should be bucked back and the log measured to either a preferred or acceptable length. • 2 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Undercut (UC) • Maximum 5.0cm hinge allowed on undercuts. • Undercuts should be cut out of the stump and not the log. • No angled cuts greater than 5.0cm. • 1 Pt against Quality
Undesirable Log – Dry and Other (UD) An undesirable (dry) log is a log that is unsuitable to be manufactured into lumber due to excessive straight or spiral checks. A dry log is acceptable if 50% of the log’s volume is available for lumber manufacturing, and meets the checking requirements stated below; Allowable Straight Check:
• Logs less than 20cm are allowed one deep-check. • Logs greater than 20cm must have a minimum of 2 deep check-free quadrants. Allowable Spiral Check:
• Dry log with a spiral check < ¼ turn in a 4.98m log length. Weathered logs:
• Weathered grey dead logs (no bark or buckskin) that contain heavy check, sap rot or < 75% firmwood go to debris pile or pulp deck if allowed to cut by GSFP supervisor. • 3 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Unacceptable Log Knots (UK) Excessive knots on a log segment that does not meet the specifications below must be bucked from the log and left in the bush:
• Knots must be bucked flush with the bole of the tree and less than 10cm in diameter inside bark. • 3 Pts against Quality and Length Deduction
Undersize Trees / Grade 6 When processing small butt diameter < 20cm avoid cutting off the end/cleaning the buncher cut or square up the butt leaving some evidence of the buncher cut as evidence of Grade 6.
Oversize Trees Any logs measuring 42” or greater must be sorted separately and delivered at the discretion of GSFP Supervisor on case by case basis.
Gilbert Smith Bucking Card