Traditionally, sawmill inventories have been measured in units of board feet, cubic feet, or cubic meter volumes using conventional log scaling procedures such as the Doyle log rule, International 1/4 inch rule, or Scribner log rule.
Large differences between cubic foot scaling and Scribner log rule volume estimates suggest shifting towards cubic scaling practices would significantly improve W:V conversion relationships.
The mill surveys provided statewide data on the volume of timber received by sawmills in 1,000 board feet (MBF)
Scribner log rule, log size, total lumber production, mill residue volume, and disposition of residue.
Two major factors in the western United States appear to have largely influenced BF/CF ratios: changes in log diameter processed by western sawmills and the use of Westside versus Eastside variants of the Scribner Log Rule.
The Scribner Log Rule (SLR) is the most common unit of measure used for reporting timber harvest volume in the western United States; it was originally developed in 1846 (Fonseca 2005) and is now most commonly applied as the Scribner Decimal C Rule.
Because sawmills in the western United States use the
Scribner Log Rule (SLR) as the unit of log input, higher LO is not a clear indication that mills are using improved sawing technology and techniques.
