Doyle scale- a huge rip-off

Shop deals on ebay
Wesspur
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
O

Ohiowoodguy

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
304
Reaction score
31
Location
Ohio
Ok- we're talking about a real cord- 128 cubic feet tightly stacked. Several sources have stated that there's actually 90 cubic feet of solid wood (removing ALL the airspace) in that cord. So there should be 1080 board feet in a cord (90x12). But when I scale the logs on the processor before cutting and splitting, I'm averaging 200 board feet using Doyle. I realize the the scale allows for the saw kerf and waste and wane and the slab, and favors the mill; but isn't that a little extreme? Any comments?:confused:
 
Ohiowoodguy said:
Ok- we're talking about a real cord- 128 cubic feet tightly stacked. Several sources have stated that there's actually 90 cubic feet of solid wood (removing ALL the airspace) in that cord. So there should be 1080 board feet in a cord (90x12). But when I scale the logs on the processor before cutting and splitting, I'm averaging 200 board feet using Doyle. I realize the the scale allows for the saw kerf and waste and wane and the slab, and favors the mill; but isn't that a little extreme? Any comments?:confused:
Click to expand...

What is the most commonly used log scale...? I can't recall them all at the moment, but I believe there are three common ones.
 
Doyle is used around here for grade timber. International scale is used for saw logs and normal timber.

Scott
 
Log scaling is only an estimation and Doyle is the least accurate of the commonly used three log scales. Doyle underestimates small logs and overestimates large logs.

Are you scaling correctly? Scale at the small end, taking the diameter reading inside the bark.
 
Last edited:
LEES WOODC said:
What dif does it make what firewood scales anyway!!!!???
Click to expand...

None at all, just an observation; unless you're buying firewood logs and paying by boardfoot.

Yes, I'm measuring correctly.

As noted, there is a huge difference between the 3 scales, and firewood logs being generally smaller than sawlogs add up to a lot less boardfeet using Doyle- which is what all the mills around here use. (Which just reinforces my earlier point about honesty being a rarity in the wood business around here.)
 
Doyle scale underestimates stuff under about 14 inches. Its to discourage sending small logs to the mill and to make up for the extra handling time and waste in the small stuff. Its based on 1/4" saw kerf I belive. Its also hard to get a log over 24" to saw what it scales when using a circular mill.

There is a scale called 1/4" scale it seems to be most accurate based on what a log will actually saw. You can argue scales all day but you about have to use what everyone else in the area is used to selling on.

What was the average size of the logs you were scaling/processing?
 
We process logs between 5"-20" diameter. They average around 14"- small compared to most saw logs.
 
for fire wood however you utilize the whole log bark and all with no ripping just bucking cuts. mill estimate usable wood inside the bark and take into account ripping kerf .

if your only getting 1/5 the board feet id sell fire wood not mill wood.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top