Dylanwad Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Is there a website showing pictures of what passes for grade a, grade aa etc? Is it a look thing or is there more too it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 It is the aesthetic part of wood figure. Grading is different for every supplier, and is almost a personal preference. Some places call wood AAAAA and its not even that great of figure. It just depends on who is selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotYou Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I definitely agree. when i see luthiers claiming their instruments are made from AAAA grade maple, I have to sigh a little. It really means nothing. It lets them charge more for the instrument to people who think they're getting something top-of-the-line, when it's really subjective. Even if there is a solid grading system, it means nothing in terms of tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Another good example is this listing right here That is NOWHERE near 5A wood! Maybe 2 or 3, but def not 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 There are official grading guidelines out there. The problem as other's have pointed out is that it's purely subjective and dependant on the vendor. IIRC, A is supposed to me spotty & faint figure that is basically surface only. AAAAA is supposed to be deep figuring that runs edge to edge and all the way through. I've found A & AA-grade flamed maple at Home Depot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 There are official grading guidelines out there. what makes something an offical grade? to me it means officials (do officials exist for this?) set some measurable standard that would allow any of us to check a piece of wood against it and see what we have. as far as i am aware no such thing exists there are a few more conventions involved with spruce soundboards, for example i would expect master instrument grades to come from a split billet with at least 20 grain lines per inch and few defects... these are still open to interpretation of the seller and no regulating body exists to protect the buyer. but at least they are based on some sort of measure of structural integrity (however inaccurate that may be) although as far as i am aware no-one actually grades based on the tap tone or sound of a wood blank which is really what we should be interested in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 There are official grading rules for hardwoods, but the "grading" we see for figure in maple and such is above and beyond them, and is purely at the seller's discretion. These are the grading rules for hardwoods in the USA: NHLA grading rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 ... as far as i am aware no-one actually grades based on the tap tone or sound of a wood blank which is really what we should be interested in You speak-a my language I've got a book-matched pair of flamed maple. It looks quite nice but after doing a tap-and-listen test, I'm not sure its the best as far as sound is concerned, it seems to come out with a double, confused sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 These are the grading rules for hardwoods in the USA: NHLA grading rules thanks for that, i wonder if we do have something similar in the UK. is it enforced? - seems like its still open to interpretation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I don't know, but I'd wager that they're self-enforced and on the honor system, which means absolutely nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) In order for someone to state that the lumber they sell is one of the NHLA grades, it has to have been graded by a certified grader, who has taken their course. I'm sure it can be enforced pretty heavily. Big bucks are at stake. If you look at the figures there, you can see that each grade should produce a certain percentage of clear stock, and the minimum sizes of the clear portions. Furniture companies, etc. buy truckloads of lumber based on those numbers. I'm sure they have something similar in the UK/Euro since the timber industry as a whole is much more heavily regulated over there. Edited February 11, 2009 by orgmorg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I've got a book-matched pair of flamed maple. It looks quite nice but after doing a tap-and-listen test, I'm not sure its the best as far as sound is concerned, it seems to come out with a double, confused sound Maybe you glued them up out of phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I've got a book-matched pair of flamed maple. It looks quite nice but after doing a tap-and-listen test, I'm not sure its the best as far as sound is concerned, it seems to come out with a double, confused sound Maybe you glued them up out of phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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