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Direct Comparison Of Processing Technology In Hardwood And Softwood Sawmills, Philip Steele, Tony El-Radi, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

This study compares the sawing accuracy of 273 machines in hardwood sawmills to 291 machines in softwood sawmills. Characteristics compared were kerf width, sawing variation (within-board, between-board, and total), machining wood loss per sawline, and oversizing/undersizing practices. While results varied between machine types by region, hardwood sawmills generally performed as well as, or sometimes better than, softwood sawmills for many of the machine characteristics studied.