European grading rules for sawn beech (French rules)

BOULES Grain Knots Red coloration Splits Other particularities
F B-A Straight-grained Not accepted Accepted if limited to 20 % of the board width   Accepted if limited to 30% of boards in a batch: intergrown sound knots, non-straight splits, bark pockets, sound dead knots. They will give rise to the usual volume reductions at the time of measurement. 70% of all boards in any batch must be free from any defects on one side.
F B-AR Definition as for FBA with no limits to red coloration, which must however be regular and not too dark.  
F B-1 Tolerance of light curve in grain Intergrown sound knots accepted in up to 50% of the boards Limited to 25% of the width of the board Non-straight splits, bark pockets and deterioration will give rise to the usual volume reductions at the time of measurement. Only one of these defects is acceptable on any one board. Accepted, as long as 50% of the boards remain clear
F B-1R Definition as for FB1 with no limits to red coloration, which must however be regular and not too dark.  
F B-2 Reasonable curve with slight presence of slope grain Intergrown sound knots accepted in up to 70% of boards Limited to 33% of the width of the board Non-straight splits, bark pockets and deterioration due to fungal and insect attack are tolerated with volume reductions unless one board does not present more than two of these defects Accepted, as long as 50% of the boards remain clear
F B-2R Definition as for FB2 with no limits to red coloration  
F B-3   Intergrown sound knots accepted with no limit on the diameter     All other defects are accepted with no limit on the diameter.
Bark pockets, rotten knots, cat's paws, stains and shakes will give rise to the usual volume reductions.
SQUARE EDGED Knots Red heart Other particularities
F F-A Not accepted Not admitted Bow tolerance 15 mm/m
F F-AR

(3-4 clear sides freshly sawn)
Definition as for FFA with no limits to red coloration. Red heart tolerated upon commercial agreement  
F F-1 On one side or edge 2 intergrown sound knots are accepted, limited to 25% of the pieces of the batch. These knots must not exceed 1/4 of the width of the piece or 20 mm Not admitted Bow tolerance 15 mm/m.
All other defects or singularities on the other 3 sides are not admitted.
F F-1R Definition as for FF1 with no limits to red coloration  
F F-2 On each side and edge 3 intergrown sound knots are tolerated unless they are bigger than 1/3 of the width of the piece or 40 mm Not admitted Other defects are permitted except bark pockets, stain, rot, fungal attack, insect attack.
Bow tolerance 15 mm/m.
F F-2R Identical to FF2 with no limits to red coloration  
Reference: European Norm EN 975-1 "Sawn timber - Appearance grading of hardwoods - Part 1 (oak and beech)" adopted by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in 1995 (improved in 1999) and applied by national organisations (see http://www.cenorm.be/)