PART 2

Log to Product – Planer Building

Planer – Marks Lumber operates a planer mill that manufactures specialty products. The planer runs boards or “blanks” to specific profiles. The most common profiles are: center-match tongue-and-groove for flooring; standard shiplap siding; and pattern 105 shiplap siding. Running the planer requires a maximum of three operators, and we generally run between 70 and 110 linear feet (LF) a minute.

• Waste: Planer Shavings - sold for animal bedding
• Waste: Sawdust, burned in our boiler
• Trim ends: Ground into Engineered Wood Fiber

Optimizer – computerized equipment that cuts defects such as planer defects, loose knots, pitch pockets and splits, primarily from flooring boards. The optimizer is run by one operator in line with the end-matcher. The goal is to process 1000 LF of flooring an hour.

End Matcher – puts a precision tongue and groove on the ends of flooring boards, making installation easier and faster. End-matched flooring should have less than 1% waste. Usually we include more waste for human error than for cut-outs in the flooring. The flooring product is “nested” or made into banded bundles containing 60 LF of 1x6 flooring, and 120 LF of 1x4 flooring. These bundles can then be easily pulled for customer orders.

What else goes on at Marks Lumber to keep things running smoothly? Check back for Part 3 Other Areas..........