QF1, Qf2 & QF3 grade oak

[Pond]

Hello, sorry another stupid question:

I have seen QF1, 2 and 3 grades for timber, notably oak, on some importers' websites.

Does anyone know what these mean in real terms?

I want 'rustic' oak, ie some knots and not even straight graining for my kitchen project. Will this be QF2 or 3 and am I right in presuming it will be considerably cheaper than QF1?

Thanks again

Andy

 

[Scrums]

Hi Andy

Basically the top grade is Prime, then QF1, 2, 3 and I think 'Rustic' follows that. You really don't want rustic for making anything out of - wastage would be phenomenal.

Basically the grades refer to the number and size of knots allowed in a board and even then by the time our lovely timber sellers put them up for sale I have a feeling they put their own very liberal interpretation into play.

I'm using QB1 at the moment, same as QF1 except it's waney edge - some very good boards, but still some albeit small knots and wild grain.

Hope this helps a bit - imho I'd go for at least QF2/3 if I were you. As for price - how long is a bit of string?....depends where you are ??? and how much you want, 25mm boards from £27 cube upwards inc' vat delivered, smaller quantities you're at the mercy of anybody prepared to deal with you.

Chris.

 

[Pond]

Hi,

There is a sawmill fairly near me advertising QF2/3 oak 'boards' on their website for just over £1.50 per linear metre for 75mm x 27mm. This is plus the VAT.

This seems VERY cheap, so I'm presuming 'boards' are rough sawn and will require planing and/or finishing.

If I buy sawn I will need a planer/thicknesser so need to work out the most ecomonical way of doing it!

I like to know what I'm talking about before I go to these places, otherwise they will think 'here we go' and try to charge me £20 a metre for a length of scrap with more holes in it than dutch cheese!!

 

[Scrums]

That looks like £26.32/cu ft inc' vat - got to be rough sawn at that price and a very godd price, even for grade 2/3 - though sounds like you don't have a planer/thicknesser ?

Might be a very good idea to add your location to your details....


Chris.

 

[milkman]

Can anyone tell me what system these qf codes are? North American, European, British? Just interested.
The coding of timber is a muddy area I'm slowly clearing up for myself : )

 

[wills-mill]

I've been told about the grading codes briefly by a rep from a Belgian timber firm (the firm's called Willy Carpentier http://www.carpentier.be if anyone's interested)

'Q' denotes that you're dealing with Quercus and therefore specifically Oak

Then you have either F,B or P....

B is for boule- ie a sawlog sawn 'through and through' to give waney edged boards that are then stacked in the same relationship as they grew...
P is for poutre- The French for a beam, this is not so much a structural grade but more to do with the inclusion of sapwood and other more visual issues...
F looks like it's for 'fixe'- sawn 4 sides to give a set size

 

[wills-mill]

There's not a formal visual grading system for British hardwoods, although the Forestry Commission have done a nice booklet called 'Making the Grade' which will give you a good idea of the variety of colour tones and usual issues with UK timbers...

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/MTG-WEB. ... TG-WEB.pdf


EDIT: I've just had a look through that PDF, the photos aren't very good quality which is a shame as they're the really impostant bit.... I seem to remember that FC Scotland will send you a free paper copy.
Details at the bottom of this page: http://www.woodlandheritage.org/library ... alias.html

 

[RogerS]

.....
I want 'rustic' oak, ie some knots and not even straight graining for my kitchen project. ....

Thanks again

Andy

When you say 'rustic' do you mean open knots with splits and large shakes or small knots that might have been filled in by the supplier? There is a huge range of quality and finish when it comes to oak.

 

[Pond]

Maybe rustic is the wrong word. I want old fashioned looking, not what I would consider modern oak furniture to look like, ie uniform grain, no knots. I will know what I want when i see it, but want to try and price up the timber as accurately as possible before choosing/ordering the specific wood.

I'm thinking of pricing it up as QF1 and if QF2 is what i require when the time comes, then happy days!

If prohibitively expensive I may look at a less expensive timber like ash or beech and stain it.

It is hard to explain, but my house is an old farmhouse and I want to make the kitchen with large frames, small doors with large stiles and small panels, a 'traditional' oak farmhouse kitchen. :?

 

[The_Stig]

I have some French grading rules at the office, I can scan them and e-mail them to anyone who wants a copy, simply PM me with your e-mail address and I'll get it sorted out.

 

[The_Stig]

QF2/3 is a rustic grade and is sometimes described as QF2/3x the 'x' denoting the presents of sapwood.

QF2/3 is very popular at the minute, it seems to be something that as soon as it's coming in on a lorry it's going back out the gate on an order!

 

[RogerS]

Couldn't you go down to your local timber yard and select what you like the look of?

The other thing to bear in mind, especially if you are buying it sawn or waney, is that you really have no way of knowing what stresses are going to be released in the wood when you start ripping it etc. My local Timber Center were selling something called 'joinery grade' oak at quite a low price. As soon as you started ripping it, it twisted this way and that. There were hidden shakes inside the timber. All in all it was rubbish and I vowed never to go back. There is something to be said for buying the timber PAR from somewhere like British Hardwoods et al as that way you know that you have a fighting chance that the wood you get is more stable.

 

[cassielynch]

Pond - Sorry I'm not good on how to respond on the boards properly, so I hope I got this right.

Anyway, I source my timber locally in Yorkshire and noticed one of the companies I use, British Hardwoods, have just listed some QF2, QF3 & QF4 (rustic) boards on their online shop section. I can't seem to add websites on my reply, but if you Google them, they come up at the top (I think).

They have a description on criteria for each grade, which was something that I once struggled with (being an Aussie and our grading is different).

I reckon their rustic (QF4) is a decent price per cubic foot too!

Hope this helps!

Hello, sorry another stupid question:

I have seen QF1, 2 and 3 grades for timber, notably oak, on some importers' websites.

Does anyone know what these mean in real terms?

I want 'rustic' oak, ie some knots and not even straight graining for my kitchen project. Will this be QF2 or 3 and am I right in presuming it will be considerably cheaper than QF1?

Thanks again

Andy