~ Forest Service 

Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station 

I Research Paper NE-671 

Computerized Technique 

for Recording - Board 

Defect Data 

R. Bruce Anderson 

R. Edward Thomas 

Charles J. Gatchell 

Neal D. Bennett 
Abstract 

A computerized technique for recordihg board defect data has been developed that is 

faster and more accurate than manual techniques. The lumber database generated by 

this technique is necessary input to computer simulation models that estimate potential 

cutting yields from various lumber brt-dakdown sequences. The technique provides 

detailed information on the location and type of defects. 

Disclaimer Statements 

The use of trade, firm, or corporation qames in this publication is for the information and 

convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or 

approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service of any product or 

service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. 

The computer program described in this publication is available on request with the 

understanding that the US. Department of Agriculture cannot assure its accuracy, 

completeness, reliability, or suitabilityfor any other purpose than that reported. The 

recipient may not assert any proprietan rights thereto nor represent it to anyone as other 

than a Government-produced computer program. 

The Authors 

R. BRUCE ANDERSON received a B.S. degree in forest science from The Pennsylvania 

State University in 1965 and an MS. degree in wood science from the same institution in 

1970. He received a Ph.D. in forest economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 

State University in 1988. For the past 20 years he has been engaged in research on 

improved marketing and economic utilization of low-grade hardwoods in various forest 

products industries at the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station's Forestry Sciences 

iabosatory at Princeton, West Virginia. He is currently working as an economist with the 

Northeastern Station's Advanced Hardwood Processing and Technical Resource Center 

at Princeton. 

R. EDWARD THOMAS is a computer programmer with the Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station's Forestry Sciences Laboratory at Princeton, West Virginia. He 

received a B.S. in computer science and philosophy from Concord College in 1985. He 

joined the USDA Forest Service in 1988. He is currently pursuing an MS. degree in 

computer science from West Virginia University. 

CHARLES J. GATCHELL received a B.S. degree in forestry from the University of 

Massachusetts in 1955 and an MS. degree in wood-products engineering from the New 

York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University in 1961. He is currently a research 

forest products technologist engaged in research on yields of low-grade lumber from 

gang ripping and the suitability of use of these yields for solid wood furniture and 

cabinets. From 1965 to 1989. he was Proiect Leader of Princeton's utilization research 

work unit and conducted research on wobd used in highway construction and on the 

conversion of smalldiameter logs and lowgrade lumber to roughdimension furniture parts. 

NEAL D. BENNETT is a physical science technician with the Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station's Forestry Sciences Laboratory at Princeton, West Virginia. He 

received a B.S. in biology from Concord College, Athens, West Virginia, in 1983 and an 

AS. degree in mechanical engineering from Bluefield State College, Bluefield, West 

Virginia, in 1992. He joined the USDA Forest Service in 1988. 

Manuscript received for publication 18 November 1992 

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 

5 Radnor Corporate Center 

100 Matsonford Road, Suite 200 

P.O. Box 6775 

Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087-4585 

March 1993 
Introduction 

Computer simulation of furniture rough-mill operations 

reql~ires a lumber database as input for estimating potential 

cutting yields from lumber. The database must contain 

detailed information regarding the location and type of 

defects in relation to the clear or defect-free areas of each 

board. 

The major advantage of a lumber database is that all 

manufacturing sequences can be tested with the same raw 

material. Variation that is present when working with actual 

board samples is eliminated because the same sample is 

used for multiple tests. So, the user is sure that any 

changes in the test results are due to the process and not 

the raw material. 

The major disadvantages associated with lumber databases 

are the time and expense required to develop them. A 

computerized technique for recording board defect data has 

been developed and refined so that the recording of board 

defect data is both faster and more accurate than manual 

techniques (Lucas and Catron 1973). This paper outlines 

the features inherent in this technique for recording defect 

data, illustrates the resulting board plots and digitized 

information, and presents an application of the technique 

for a specific type of digitizing equipment. 

Board lnformation Needed 

If all boards are rectangular in shape, a board's dimensions 

can be described by rectangular coordinates: lower left 

corner of the board represented on an x,y grid by the 

coordinates (0,0), and the upper right corner of the board 

represented by coordinates corresponding to the width and 

length of the board. Then the position of all defects 

occurring in a board can be described in relation to the (0,O) 

reference point at the lower left corner of the board. To 

maintain consistency with other published works on lumber 

defect databases (Gatchell et al. 1992), the y-axis is 

measured vertically and the x-axis is measured horizontally; 

so, the y-axis measures width and the x-axis measures 

length. When the data are stored on computer disks, the 

width dimension is always given as the first number in the 

pair. For example, a rectangle with lower left and upper 

right corner coordinates of (0,O) and (23,287), respectively, 

has a width of 23 units and a length of 287 units. 

Rectangular representation of boards is required by lumber 

grading programs: HaLT2 (Klinkhachorn et al. 1992a) and 

ReGS (Gatchell 1992), and processing programs: CORY 

(Brunmer et al. 1989) and GR-IST (Hoff et al. 1991). These 

programs work only with rectangular cuttings taken from 

rectangular boards. 

In practice, boards are rarely perfect rectangles. Crook, 

sidebend, or taper, singly or in combination, often occur in 

0the~ise flat boards, particularly those that have been 

dried. The problem with defective boards is representation 

of the parameters of board and defect dimensions. 

Polygonal representation of defects can be done 

(Klinkhachorn et al. 1992b) but requires extensive computer 

time to grade and process boards. Automated Lumber 

Processing System (ALPS), with laser cuttings, may be the 

beneficiary of this approach. 

Because we want to use a rectangular representation for all 

data in each board,, the dimensions of the smallest 

rectangle enclosing the board do not always coincide with 

the dimensions of the board. In fact, this requires recording 

three widths: the width of the smallest rectangle that will 

enclose the board, the narrowest width of the board, and 

the measured width of the board. For the perfectly 

rectangular board, these three widths are the same. 

However, as noted earlier, actual boards can deviate 

significantly from the ideal and, as a result, variations can 

occur in these three widths. It is important to differentiate 

between these widths and their use in subsequent analyses. 

The width of the smallest rectangle completely enclosing a 

board is called the board rectangle width. In our application 

illustrated in Appendix 1, Figure 1, this width is recorded 

automatically as coordinates of the upper right corner of the 

board rectangle are entered. Boards with crook will have a 

larger board rectangle width than the measured width of the 

board. 

The measured board width follows the National Hardwood 

Lumber Association (NHLA) grading rules specification 

where width of tapering lumber is measured at a point onethird the length of the piece from the narrow end (NHLA 

1990). In our application, this width is recorded manually for 

all boards, regardless of the presence or absence of taper. 

This width is used to calculate board surface measure when 

grading the board. 

Finally, the narrow-end board width, often referred to as 

market width, is the width of a tapered board at its smallest 

end. In our application, this width is not used. However, it 

may be determined easily by inspecting the width 

coordinate for the taper recorded as void (code 002) at the 

board's narrow end. The width coordinate corresponds to 

the narrow-end board width. This width is also used to 

calculate board surface measure; however, this board 

surface measure is used only to calculate the volume of 

lumber when it is sold, hence the term, market width. 

Defect Information Needed 

The input of defect information to the lumber database 

consists of pairs of x,y coordinates on a grid corresponding 

to the lower left (LY,U) and upper right (UY,UX) corners of 

the smallest rectangle completely enclosing each defect. 

The grid system and a unique origin at (0,0), which is the 

same physical corner of the board regardless of the face 

being mapped, are used to map all natural defects on each 

face of each board. 

Each defect is described by a defect-type code, defect-size 

code for worm holes, coordinates of defect location on the 
board rectangle, and face on which the defect occurs. The 

defect type and size codes used by Gatchell et al. (1992) in 

developing a red oak database are shown in Table 1. Other 

wood characteristics could be included. 

Table 1 .-Defect codes and descriptions 

Code Description 

Void 

Pith 

Decay 

Shake 

Pith related split 

Wane 

Bark pocket I 

Grub hole - Iliamet' r 114 inch and over 

Shot worm hole - Jameter between Ill6 

and 114 inch 

Pin worm hole - ~iameter 1116 inch or less 

Unsound knot 

Burl with bark or chdck 

Sound knot 

Incipient decay 

Bud trace with bark Qr check 

Split 

A defect unique to the lumber database is void (code 002). 

It is the space between the edge of the board and the 

smallest rectangle enclosing the bqard. Void reflects the 

amount of any crook or taper prese,nt on a board and is 

assumed to be the same throughout the thickness of the 

board. 

Inclusion of void in the defect data is necessary for the 

correct calculation of surface measure and, therefore, the 

correct grading of lumber with computer grading programs. 

As it lies outside of the wood, it is usually recorded on only 

one face and is accounted for in grading and processing 

programs. If the processing program cannot account for this 

one-face recording, then void should be recorded on both 

faces. 

Defect definition is not always straightforward. Huber et al. 

(1990) identifies one group of defects, including holes and 

knots, as easy to recognize. Others, including stain and 

incipient decay, are less readily identified. The subjectivity 

involved in defect definition and recognition has serious 

implications when establishing value (grading) and 

converting a board to parts. 

One of the most difficult defects to judge is stain. Light stain 

is considered a sound defect. That is, it is allowed on the 

sound face of a cutting. If it is defided as decay or rot, then 

it is not allowed. National Hardwood Lumber Association 

(NHLA 1990) defines incipient decay as "The early stage of 

decay that has not proceeded far enough to soften or 

otherwise perceptibly impair the hardness of wood. It is 

usually accompanied by a slight discoloration or bleaching 

of wood." Stain is defined: "In hardwoods, the word 'stain' 

is used to describe the initial evidences of decay" (NHLA 

1 990). 

Another common problem in encoding defects is that some 

defects will fit more than one defect description because 

different defect characteristics are grouped together too 

tightly to separate with multiple rectangles. Very often an 

unsound knot (code 012) is surrounded by ingrown bark 

(code 010). In this situation, the defect is encoded based on 

the most dominant defect characteristic in the group. 

The database developer must clearly define procedures so 

that the user may make any necessary adjustments. For 

example, users evaluating sound cuttings rather than clearface cuttings may want to redefine a defect allowed in 

sound cuttings but not in clear-face cuttings. An example of 

this type of defect is incipient decay. Gatchell et al. (1992), 

for instance, defines any incipient decay (code 018) 

adjacent to rot (code 004) as rot. Any heavy stain that is 

independent of decay is defined as incipient decay and not 

allowed on the back face for a grading cutting. Any stain 

that would sand out or not be objectionable under a clear 

finish is ignored. The user is directed to convert any 

incipient decay defect (code 018) to an allowable stain 

if so desired. 

Code identificatfon of defects allows maximum manipulation 

of the database. The user may wish to allow all defects of a 

certain size or type, or both, on one face of a cutting. By 

temporarily eliminating these defects from consideration, 

yields of pieces other than those that are clear on both 

faces can be determined. 

Defects must be identified separately for each side of the 

board. The side of the board with the largest area 

containing defects or conversely, the smallest area 

containing clear cuttings, is referred to in this paper and in 

the recorded defect data for each board as the front side or 

Side 1. Depending on the grading rules used to classiTy 

defects, this may or may not be the side of the board that 

establishes the grade of the board. For example, for FAS 

and the clear-face Common grades, the grading face is that 

face with the lower grade or, when both faces grade the 

same, that face with the smaller total area in the grading 

cuttings (NHLA 1990). For Selects and the Face grades, the 

better face is used. The identification of defects on separate 

sides of the board allows the database user to decide after 

the collection of the data which side of the board will be 

considered as the side used for grading purposes. 

Although the database does not have to conform to NHLA 

standards for defect identification, some standard is 

necessary to establish what a defect is. In recording defect 

data as illustrated in the Appendices, we have chosen to 

follow the NHLA rules regarding specification of defects. In 

fact, the procedure is flexible enough to accommodate any 

existing grading rules because the user can include any 

desired defect specifications in the recorded data. 
described in Appendix 1 and illustrated in Appendix 1, 

Figure 4. 

Equipment Needed 

There is a variety of digitizing equipment available on the 

market today. All do essentially the same thing: establish a 

basic reference point and locate and record subsequent 

points on an x,y grid relative to this reference. At the 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Princeton, West Virginia, a 

transverse arm or wand is used to locate the points and 

convert that information into digitized coordinates in an x,y 

grid system. Other equipment using sonic location to 

identify points is also available. However, the end result, 

that is, digital coordinates in an x,y grid system, is the 

same. 

Second, some means of recording the digital coordinates is 

needed. As noted earlier, this requires the use of a 

computer to maximize the efficiency of recording the digital 

coordinates and to minimize the possibility of errors in 

transcribing the data. Use of micro-computers also enables 

the direct recording of the data in a format that is suitable 

for subsequent analysis by grading or yield simulation 

programs. 

Accuracy in Recording 

For an ideal situation, all distances from the origin of the x,y 

grid would be in decimals of inches that meet high degrees 

of analytical accuracy. However, if carried to an extreme, 

this would require computers of exceptional speed. 

Computer programs must, within their design limitations, 

compare a series of areas to determine a solution in 

deciding on grades or best cutup procedures. These areas 

are normally rectangular. The finer the scale of 

measurement, the greater the number of solutions. While 

greatly increasing the time to generate a solution, it can be 

shown that small changes in dimension have no important 

effect on results in general. 

Most digitizing equipment counts the number of basic units. 

The Princeton equipment works on a quarter-inch basis, for 

example. Our data recorder always rounds down. Thus, 

0.49 is recorded as 0.25 and is translated to one quarterinch unit. A defect that is 2.79 inches in length by 1.9 

inches in width is recorded as 11 by 7 quarter-inch units. 

At first glance, always rounding down may seem to 

introduce a bias. However, it is the intent of encoding to 

present a series of defects in the proper spatial relationship 

to each other and the board outline. All defects must have 

an X and Y dimension that exceeds zero. If the capacity to 

round up or down were present, a quarter-inch wide defect 

could have a zero Y dimension. In a crooked or tapered 

board, a defect could be placed in the void outside the 

board outline. Until vision systems are developed that allow 

the precise location of defects, it will be necessary for the 

human operator to manually ensure that the defect size is 

properly reflected in the data by positioning the point 

attached to the wand appropriately. One such method is 

Two computational reasons suggest that precision of 

measurement to the nearest quarter-inch is adequate. First, 

most of the software currently developed for grading lumber 

by computer or for evaluating yields of a lumber breakdown 

process uses the quarter-inch unit of measurement for 

analyses. Second, because boards are typically long and 

narrow, the width (Y direction) of a defect is much more 

critical than its length (X direction) in determining the 

location of a cutting unit. It can be shown that measuring 

the width of the rectangle enclosing the defect to the 

nearest quarter-inch will adequately capture this critical 

dimension relative to all other defects. 

For large and irregular shaped defects such as wane, splits, 

and voids, the specific procedure for marking rectangles 

around a defect is to include all areas of the defect while 

minimizing the inclusion of clear wood within the rectangle. 

This process, called stair-stepping, is accomplished by 

dividing the defect into more than one rectangle in quarterinch increments. The only accuracy lost is the potential for 

further minimizing the inclusion of clear wood by reducing 

the size of the increments to less than a quarter-inch. Here 

again, the potential for error is small when compared with 

the major increase in computational time required for 

analysis and the negligible possibility of significant changes 

in grade or yield estimation. 

If polygonal coordinates rather than rectangular coordinates 

are used to record defect location, a cutting unit may be 

found that stepped-up defects in quarter-inch increments do 

not permit. But in most situations this will be a moot point. 

Generally, what is gained is a slightly shorter or slightly 

wider cutting, or both. This has the effect, if any, of making 

another cutting slightly narrower or longer. 

It should be noted that physically marking the corners of 

each defect or increment of a stair-stepped defect allows for 

easy rechecking and helps prevent the omission of a defect 

as the data are being recorded. 

Even though the minimum size of a recorded defect is a 

quarter-inch by a quarter-inch, the defect code allows 

identification of the relative size of the defect within the 

quarter-inch rectangle. For example, the worm hole defect 

codes (codes 01 1, 1 1 1, and 21 1) shown in Table 1 allow for 

three size classes ranging from less than 1/16 inch to 

greater than 114 inch in diameter. Other small unsound 

defects could also be identified by a specific defect code 

based on size. In the application illustrated in Appendix 1, 

only worm holes are broken down by size class. 

Care must be taken when encoding back side defects to 

maintain the relationship of all recorded coordinates to the 

origin (0,O). Before digitizing defects on the back side of the 

board, the board must be flipped over. The digitizer 

coordinates are again set to zero so that the upper left 

corner of the board becomes the new origin with 

coordinates (0,O). This is, in fact, the lower left corner of the 
unflipped board and is the same (010) reference point used 

to record board rectangle length, width, and defect 

coordinates for the front side of thy board. In mathematical 

terms, the digitizer is now working In the + x,-y quadrant of 

the x,y grid. In practical terms, the digitizer converts the 

-y dimensions to + y dimensions. his procedure ensures 

that all defects occurring on the baFk side of the board are 

correctly described in relation to the front side defects. 

Data Format 

Defect data format for a sample drd is illustrated 

in Table 2. These data are stored dn a computer file 

for each board and are broken dodn into three areas: 

header information, board rectanglf coordinates, and 

defect information. 

The sample header includes the fo/lowing information: 

Grade of Board OC Bogrd Number 3067 

Total Number of Defects 15 ~easured Board Width 22 

As noted earlier, the measured board width is in quarterinch units. So, the sample board is5-112 inches wide, as 

measured at one-third of the lengtq of the board from its 

narrow end. The sample board rectangle coordinates are 

given as follows: 0- 0 and 23-287. Again, these coordinates 

are recorded in quarter-inch units df measure. The first pair 

measured. The second pair of coordinates indicates that the 

board is completely enclosed in a rectangle 5-314 inches 

wide by 71-W4 inches long. 

Table 2.-Defect data for sample board 

Each line of defect information provides the coordinates of 

the defects [(LY, U) (UY, UX)], the side of the board 

containing the defect, and the defect code. Using the first 

defect as an example, we note that it is an unsound knot 

(defect code 012) on Side 1 of the board, with a width of 314 

inch (12 minus 9) and a length of 1 inch (32 minus 28). 

The preceding information may be used to plot the board 

with its accompanying defects. A plot of sample board 

number 3067 is shown in Appendix 3. In this example, 

defects located on the back side of the board are indicated 

by dashed lines and defects located on the front side are 

indicated by solid lines. 

Summary 

A computerized technique for recording board defect data 

has been presented that is faster and more accurate than 

manual techniques. The lumber database generated by this 

technique is a necessary input to computer simulation 

models that estimate potential cutting yields for a variety of 

lumber breakdown processes, that is, rip-first or crosscutfirst processes. The technique allows collection of detailed 

information regarding the location of defects and type of 

defects in relation to the clear or defect-free areas of each 

board. 

This technique is described in detail in Appendices 1 to 4 

for equipment available at the Princeton Laboratory. 

Appendix 1 describes the equipment and software used and 

gives a stepby-step description of operating instructions 

that are necessary to identify and record board defect data. 

Appendix 2 illustrates the computer screens that appear 

as users follow the operating instructions. Appendix 3 

Column 1 

GRADE OC BOARD NUMBER 3067 

MEASURED BOARD WIDTH 22 

0- 0 23-287 

9- 28 12- 32 1 12 

8- 73 10- 90 1 24 

1 4-1 68 18-1 73 1 12 

8-1 78 11-181 1 12 

9-1 81 11-189 1 10 

15-187 16-188 1 10 

8-222 12-234 1 11 

10- 22 12- 30 2 12 

10- 0 11- 12 2 24 

0- 28 5- 38 2 10 

9-101 18-1 11 2 5 

10-169 1 3-1 72 2 12 

15162 23-1 72 2 12 

1 1-237 13-244 2 11 

10-297 12-298 2 15 

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEFECTS 15 
illustrates a plot of a sample board. And Appendix 4 

contains an explanation of possible system and defect 

collection error messages that users may encounter in 

running the computer software. 

Literature Cited 

Brunner, Charles C.; White, Marshall; Lamb, Fred; 

Shroeder, James. 1989. CORY: A computer program 

for determining dimension stock yields. Forest 

Products Journal. 39(2): 23-24. 

Gatchell, Charles; Klinkhachorn, Powsiri; Kothari, Ravi. 

1992. ReGS-a realistic grading system. Forest 

Products Journal. 42(10): 37-40. 

Gatchell, Charles J.; Wiedenbeck, Janice K.; Walker, 

Elizabeth S. 1992. 1992 data bank for red oak lumber. 

Res. Pap. NE-669. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest 

Experiment Station. 47 p. 

Hoff, Kristen G.; Adams, Edward L.; Walker, Elizabeth S. 

1991. GR-1 ST: PC program for evaluating gang-ripfirst board cut-up procedures. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

NE-150. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 

16 p. 

Huber, Henry A.; Ruddell, Steve; McMillin, Charles. 1990. 

Industry standards for recognition of marginal wood 

defects. Forest Products Journal. 40(3): 30-34. 

Klinkhachorn, Powsiri; Gatchell, Charles; McMillin, Charles; 

Kothari, Ravi; Yost, Dennis. 1992a. HaLT2-an 

enhanced lumber grading trainer. Forest Products 

Journal. 42(10): 32-36. 

Klinkhachorn, P.; Kothari, R.; Yost, D.; Araman, P. 1992b. 

Enhancement of the computer lumber grading 

program to support polygonal defects. Forest 

Products Journal. 42(10): 41-46. 

Lucas, Edwin L.; Catron, Leathern R.R. 1973. A 

comprehensive defect data bank for No. 2 Common 

oak lumber. Res. Pap. NE-262. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern 

Forest Experiment Station. 8 p. 

National Hardwood Lumber Association. 1990. Rules for 

the measurement and inspection of hardwood and 

cypress. Memphis, TN: National Hardwood Lumber 

Association. 108 p. 

Appendix 1. 

Application of Digitizing Technique Using 

Numonics Digitizer - User's Manual 

Hardware Requirements 

The equipment used to map defects includes a Numonics 

Corporation 1224 Graphics Calculator. The Numonics 

Model 1224 electronic digitizer can function by itself for 

measurement and display of directly scaled coordinates and 

output these measurements to a computer. The four major 

components of Model 1224 are: 

0 Display Console: Digital readout display and 

electronic circuits for translating and 

calculating data. 

0 Reading Head: Carriage and optical pick-up system 

for detecting carriage translation 

along the X-axis (abscissa). 

0 Transverse Arm: Arm moves in Y-axis (ordinate) and 

motion is detected in carriage in 

reading head. 

0 Keyboard: Sixteen character keys and four 

shift keys used to control operation 

of Model 1224. 

This device uses a transverse arm mounted on rails to allow 

a pointer to move along the entire face of a board. Optically 

scanned lines communicate the pointer's precise position to 

the graphics calculator. 

The following is necessary to operate the Numonics 

electronic digitizer and capture the digitized board 

information to the computer: 

An IBMIIBM-compatible computer with a minimum of 

512k bytes of system memory. 

An 80-column monochrome or color display monitor. 

Two 5-114-inch, double-sided, double-density floppy disk 

drives, or one floppy disk drive (for above disk type) and 

one hard disk drive (hard disk is preferred). 

A printer. 

PC DOS version 3.0 or higher or compatible MS-DOS. 

A diskette containing DIGITIZER-PC programs. 

Note: The PC version of DIGITIZER-PC was developed 

using Microsoft-C programming language, linked with 

assembly language routines for capturing the signals from 

the serial port of the PC (connected to the Numonics 

electronic digitizer). This program was chosen because of 

its flexibility in handling the data transmission between 

digitizer and PC. 
Description of Programs 

The DIGITIZE for PC's package consists of two programs. 

These are executable compiled Glanguage programs 

(Filename.EXE): 

DIGITIZE.EXE - Creates the defect database file from 

input received from the digitizer and from the computer 

keyboard. Data input includes: 

board number 

board width 

grade of board 

surface measure 

defect-type code 

defect location on board rectangle 

face of defect location (front or back of board) 

VERIFDAT.EXE - Allows user to verify defect data entries 

in the database file independently of the digitizing program. 

This program is included as a subroutine within the 

digitizing program to allow verification of data entries 

without exiting from the digitizing program to the DOS 

prompt. Note: This program searches only for the first 

occurrence of a board number. Hence, if board numbers 

are repeated in the database file, this program will only 

display the information recorded for the first occurrence of 

that number. 

Operating Instructions 

(Screens Are Shown in Appendix 2) 

In the following instructions, references will be made to the 

upper and lower side of the table or upper and lower corner 

of a defect. As shown in Figure 1, the upper side of the 

table or corner of defect is away from the.operator and the 

lower side or corner is nearest the operator. lnstructions 

that require operator input are highlighted by the symbol 

and digitizer keypad entries are shown as boldface 

characters. 

Turn on PC and Numonics digitizer. 

The data collection software contains a batch file to selfload when the PC boots up. Screen 1 will appear. 

Zero digitizer. 

For digitizing on Side 1 of the board, the stylus of the 

digitizing wand is placed in the lower left-hand corner of 

the digitizing table (again refer to Fig. 1). This point is 

defined as (0,O) for Side 1 of the board. Travel out the 

length of the board is in the x-positive direction and 

travel towards the digitizing unit is in the y-positive 

direction. With the stylus being steadily maintained at 

(0,0), the following sequence of buttons is pressed on 

the digitizer keypad. 

Press keys 

AcclOFST and DDP simultaneously 

Olres 

En 

Both numbers of the digitizer must read zero, if not, repeat 

process. 

For digitizing on Side 2 of the board, the stylus is placed in 

the upper left-hand corner of the digitizing table (Fig. 2). 

This point is defined as (0,O) for Side 2 of the board. Travel 

out the length of the board is in the x-positive direction and 

travel toward the operator is in the y-negative direction. The 

digitizer is zeroed with the stylus in this (0,O) position by 

pressing the same buttons on the digitizer keypad as 

>C Screer Dlgitlzer 

kcrd 

Upper side 

Dlgltking of table 

Wand Board 0~aihe tapper Y 

------ .-- L- 

- B Measuecl board ~~dth Lower side 

~ovr,erSJ of table 

and 

outline upper X 

Figure 1 .-Top view of digitizing table-front side of board. 
Lower U upper 

Digitizing 

Wand 

I - 

Defined as 0,O for Side 2 of board 

Figure 2.-Top view of digitizing table-back side of board. 

Upper side 

of table 

Lower side 

of table 

Board length and 4 outllne upper X 

Upper side 

of table 

Heoarred bard w&h BDxrd cutUre upper Y Side 1 

r Lmer slde 

oF table 

Figure 3.-Orientation of board on table. 

described above for Side 1 of the board. As noted earlier, 

the digitizer records travel in the y-negative direction as a 

positive value. Thus, in recording defect locations on Side 2 

of the board, the upper left corner of the defect corresponds 

to the (LY,LX) coordinate and the lower right corner of the 

defect corresponds to the (UY,UX) coordinate. 

The digitizer reading head in which the wand travels has a 

range of 48 inches in the x-axis. When defects have been 

entered out to 48 inches on the board, the digitizing unit 

must be moved before continuing with defect entry. To 

prevent adversely affecting the set (0,O) point, the wand 

must be locked down before moving the unit. The wand is 

locked by moving the toggle switch located on the left end 

of the reading head down to the HOLD position. Maintaining 

the wand, while locked down in any y-axis position at the 

right end of the reading head, move the digitizing unit the 

desired distance and return the toggle switch to the up 

position before releasing the wand. 

Each board is evaluated to determine the face with the most 

defects. This face is Side 1 (Grade side) of the board and is 

always digitized first. Place the board on the diagramming 

table as shown in Figure 3 with Side 1 face up and any 

sweep curving away from the operator. The sweep is 

oriented this way to stabilize the position of the board and 

allow positioning to be repeatable for digitizing and 

coordinate checks. Note: Before entering Side 2 defects, 

the board must be flipped over and moved to the upper side 

of the table as shown in Figure 2 and the stylus set to zero 

at the proper position. 

From Screen 1 

Select 1 to continue with data entry process - Screen 2 

will appear. 

Select 0 to exit to DOS 

@ From Screen 2 

Enter filename for board defect datafile. 
Filenames are limited to eight characters plus an extension. 

If new unused filename is chosen, Screen 3 will appear. If a 

filename is chosen that has been previously used, Screen 4 

will appear. 

Measure the width of the board one-third the length from 

the narrowest end of the board in quarter-inch increments. 

For example, a &inch-wide board would be measured as 24 

quarter inches. 

Measure the board outline upper y limit. This is the greatest 

point the upper edge of board lies from the lower edge of 

the table (again refer to Fig. 3). The distance measured is 

from the upper edge of the board to the lower edge of the 

table in quarter-inch increments. If the board is actually 

rectangular, the upper y measurement will be equal to the 

measured board width. If the board contains sweep or is 

tapered, the upper y measurement will be greater than the 

measured board width. 

Measure the length of the board in quarter-inch increments. 

A board 12 feet long will be measured as 576 quarter 

inches. 

Record the measured values at any convenient location on 

the board. They will be entered in the digitizing program at 

Screen 3. 

From Screen 3 

Enter board number: 4 digits are allowed. 

Enter measured board width: in quarter-inch increments 

measured at one-third of the length from narrowest end 

of board (Fig. 3). 

Enter measured board length: in quarter-inch increments. 

Enter board outline upper y: the highest point of board on 

upper y axis in quarter-inch increments. 

Enter board outline upper x: in quarter-inch 

increments. 

Is the information for this board correct? Y or N: 

Select Y and Screen 5 will appear. 

Select N and you will be able to correct values entered 

on Screen 3. 

From Screen 4 

Selections self explanatory. 

From Screen 5 

Start board defect entry with Side I? Y, N, or 0 for no 

defects. 

Select Y to start digitizing Side 1 of board. 

Screen 6 will appear. 

Select N to start digitizing Side 2 of board. 

Screen 6 will appear. 

Select 0 if board has no defects. 

Screen 9 will appear. 

Before entering board defects, it is desirable to diagram or 

outline the defects on the board. This is done to ensure that all 

defects are encoded and to facilitate locating the lower and 

upper x,y coordinates of each defect. Diagramming consists of 

penciling in rectangles around each defect. The vertical lines 

are scribed along the right-hand edge of a T-square (Fig. 4). 

The left-hand edge of the T-square has been notched in 

quarter-inch increments to facilitate drawing the horizontal 

lines. The pencil is placed in the appropriate notch and the 

T-square and pencil are moved along the diagramming 

table the desired length of the line. The specific procedure for 

penciling rectangles around a defect is to include all areas 

of the defect while minimizing the inclusion of clear wood 

within the rectangle. For irregular shaped defects, wane, 

splits, and voids, this is accomplished by dividing the defect 

into more than one rectangle. This process is called stairstepping and is usually done in quarter-inch increments. 

I I I 

Figure 4.-Pencil outlining of defects on board. 
a From Screen 6 

Screen 6 shows the starting data entry on defect 1, Side 

1, of the board and asks for the defect type code (Table 

1) of the first defect. 

Enter defect code. Screen 7 will appear. 

Note: A help screen (Screen 14) listing defect descriptions 

and applicable codes is available by pressing RETURN 

before entering the defect code. 

a From Screen 7 

Screen 7 displays the defect code entered on Screen 6 

and asks for the input of four values. Pressing the En 

button on the digitizer keypad one time will enter the 

lower x and lower y value. After the pointer is moved, 

pressing En again will enter the upper x and upper y 

values. 

To enter a defect location on Side 1 of the board, place the 

stylus at the lower left-hand corner of the defect and press 

the En button on the digtizer keypad. Move the stylus to the 

upper right-hand corner of the defect and press the En 

button again to record that location. The DIGITIZE program 

uses these two points to locate the x,y coordinates of the 

rectangle that is penciled around the defect. After all four 

values are entered, Screen 8 will appear. 

To enter a defect location on Side 2 of the board, place the 

stylus at the upper left-hand corner of the defect and press 

the En button on the digitizer keypad. Move the stylus to the 

lower right-hand corner of the defect and press the En 

button again to record that location. 

From Screen 8 

Select 1 to enter another defect on Side 1 of board. 

Select 2 when all defects on Side 1 have been entered 

and you wish to start on Side 2 defects. 

Select R if you have made a mistake in entering the 

defect code number or coordinates. You will be 

allowed to re-enter the data. 

Select E if you wish to alter coordinate values with 

keyboard entries. 

Select 0 if you have entered all defects on both sides of 

board. Screen 9 will appear only if all defects are 

located within the boundary of the board outline. 

If a defect is recorded with coordinates outside the 

board's defined boundary, Screen 12 will appear. 

From Screen 9 

Screen 9 allows corrections to be made to the header 

card information or the defect data, or both, after data 

entry has been completed. You do not have the 

capability to add or delete defects from the data, so it is 

important to record all defects while working from 

Screen 8. 

Select Y to make corrections to data. 

Screen 11 will appear. 

After desired corrections are completed, Screen 10 will 

appear. 

Select N to go to next board. Screen 10 will appear. 

Screen 9 also allows verification that the board defect 

data were written to the computer's disk storage. 

Select Y to verify board was written to data file. 

Screen 13 will appear. 

Select N to go to next board. 

Screen 10 will appear. 

From Screen 10 

Select Y to enter another board. Screen 3 will appear. 

Select N to exit to DOS. 

From Screen 11 

Enter defect number that is to be corrected. 

Select E to edit data for defect. 

Select X to EXIT. Screen 9 will appear. 

From Screen 12 

Press any key to make corrections to information on 

board outline. Screen 3 will appear. 

After corrections are made to board outline information, 

Screen 9 will appear. 

From Screen 13 

Screen 13 displays data file. 

Press any key to return to Screen 9. 

From Screen 14 

Screen 14 displays defect descriptions. 

Press any key to continue. 

Press any key to return to defect entry. 

Special Procedures for Digitizing Voids and Pith 

Voids are areas where no wood exists between the board 

outline and the actual edges of the board due to crook, side 

bend, or taper in a board. Voids cannot be penciled in, 

therefore, an alternate procedure must be used to delineate 

them. 

Diagramming Voids on the Lower Edge of Boards. (This 

procedure is described for boards with a crook of 112 inch.) 

The notched edge of the T-square is placed at the 

beginning of the sweep area on the lower edge of the 

board. The T-square is advanced slowly toward the opposite 

end of the board until the amount of sweep exceeds 114 

inch (the edge of the board will be in the first notch on the 

T-square). This point is marked and labeled 1 as shown in 

Figure 5. The T-square is advanced until the amount of 

sweep exceeds 112 inch (the edge of the board will be in the 

second notch on the T-square). This point is marked and 

labeled 2. The T-square is advanced until the amount of 

sweep is less than 112 inch (the edge of the board will start 

to fall below the second notch on the T-square). This point 

is marked and labeled 2. The T-square is advanced until the 

amount of sweep is less than 114 inch (the edge of the 

board will start to fall below the first notch on the T-square). 

This point is marked and labeled 1. 
Figure 5.- Diagramming voids on edge of board. 

Voids are entered on Screen 6 with a defect code of 002. 

The marks labeled in the diagramming step above must be 

used.: When the prompt on Screen 7 asks for the input of 

the coordinate values, the stylus is placed at the first mark 

on the left end of the board. This mark will be labeled 1. 

The stylus must be held against the edge of the table at this 

location thus forcing the lower Y value to be 0. Press En on 

the digitizer keypad to enter the first two values. Move the 

stylus toward the right end of the board to the next mark 

labeled 2. The stylus must be moved away from the edge of 

the table to force the upper Y value to be 1. Press En to 

enter the second two values. The next void is entered with 

the stylus in the same X coordinate position (the end of the 

first void is the beginning of the second void), but it is again 

held against the table to force the lower Y value to be 0. 

Press En to enter the first two values. Move the stylus to the 

next mark which is also labeled 2. Force the upper Y value 

to be 2. Press En to enter the second two values. To enter 

the final void, hold the stylus in the same X coordinate 

position and force the lower Y value to be 0. Press En to 

enter the first two values. Move the stylus to the last mark 

which is labeled 1. Force the upper Y value to be 1. Press 

En to enter the second two values. 

For a board with only a quarter-inch sweep, only one void 

on the bottom edge of the board would need to be digitized. 

Diagramming Voids on the Upper Edge of Board. The 

notched edge of the T-square is .placed at one end of the 

board and advanced slowly toward the opposite end. When 

the upper edge of the board passes across a notch on the 

T-square, that location is marked with the value that 

corresponds to that notch. This process is continued for the 

length of the board. The maximum recorded value must be 

equal to the recorded upper y value. Figure 5 illustrates a 

board with the voids properly marked. 

Start with the stylus at the left end of the board positioned 

at X equal to 0 and Y equal to the value labeled on the first 

mark. From Screen 7, press En- to enter the first two values. 

Move the stylus to the first mark. Force the upper Y value to 

be equal to the board outline upper Y. Press En to enter the 

second two values. Enter the next void by holding the stylus 

in the same X position and force the lower Y value to be 

equal to the value labeled on the second mark. Press En to 

enter the first two coordinates. Move the stylus to the next 

mark with the upper Y equal to the board outline upper Y. 

Press En again to enter the second two values. Continue 

this procedure across the length of the board remembering 

that there will be a section that will have no void. Note that 

the lower Y value of each void is always equal to the value 

labeled on the mark to the right of the stylus location and 

the upper Y value is always equal to the board outline 

upper Y. 

Voids are only entered for Side 1 of the board. It would be 

repetitive to enter them for Side 2 of the board. 

Diagramming Pith Located Within a Board. When inside the 

board, pith is the one defect that must be shown as if on the 

surface of Side 1. Pith usually is diagrammed on one side of 

a board or the other depending on the surface from which it 

is visible. The method for diagramming pith within the board 

is to start a pith defect where the visible pith disappears on 

Side 1 of the board and end it at the location where the 

visible pith reappears on Side 2 of the board. This is 

simplified by determining the coordinates of the defect on 

Side 2 of the board and reproducing them on Side 1 of the 

board. On many boards this defect will be at an angle to the 

X axis and will require stair-stepping. The widths of the 

internal pith defects are made to be the same as the visible 

pith defects. 
Appendix 2. - DIGITIZE Screens. 

Note: The boldface entries shown at the various steps are The following screens appear on the computer 

for illustration only. The output of these illustrations, defect as the defect data are collected: 

data for sample board No. 3067, is shown in Table 2. 

Screen #I: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Main ??unction Menu for Board Data Bcrnk Encoding 

1 : Enter Board Data from Digitizer 

0: EXITtoDOS 

Please enter your selection, 0 or 1 : 

Screen #2: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Enter filename for board defect datafile:. . 

Screen #3: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

- - - Board Defect Data Entry - - - 

Enter board number:. . . . . . Enter measured board width:. . Enter measured board length:. . 

Enter board outline upper Y: . . Enter board outline upper X: . . 

Is the information for this board coned? Y or N: . . 
Screen #4: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Datafile, * * * * * already exists. Would you like to: 

1 : Append new data to end of datafile 

2: Recreate datafile (destroys all data currently in file) 

3: Retry with new filename 

0: Quit and exit to main menu 

Please enter your selection, 0-3:. 

Screen #5: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Start board defect entry with Side l? Y, N, or 0 for no defects: . . 

Screen #6: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Defect 1 Coordinates, Side 1 

Enter code for defect type:. 

Press RETURN for list of defects and codes 

Screen #7: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Defect 1 Coordinates, Side I 

Enter code for defect type: 12 

Board defect lower x value: . . Board defect lower y value: . . Board defect upper x value: . . Board defect upper y value: . . 
Screen #8: 

bard Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Defect 1 Coordinates, Side 1 

Enter code for defect type: 12 

Board defect lower x value: 35 

Board defect lower y value: 8 

Board defect upper x value: 38 

Board defect upper y value: 11 

1 : Enter another defect for this side 2: Change board sides 

R: Redigitize board defect E: Edit defect with keyboard 

0: Finish this board's defect data entry 

Please select one of the above options:. . 

Screen #9: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Senrice 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Luboratory 

Would you like to check this data and correct any mistakes? Y or N: . . Verify that board was written to data file? Y or N: . . 

-- 

Screen #lo: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Enter another board? Y or N: . . 

Screen #11: 

Board Defect Digitizer Utility 

Board Defect Checking and Correction 

Board Number: 3067 Total Number of Defects: 1 

Board upper x coordinate: 387 Board upper y coordinate: 23 

Please enter your selection: . . 

U = Up Screen D = Down Screen X = EXIT E = Edit 
Screen #12: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

A defect was entered for the last board which is outside the board's defined 

boundary. This must be corrected at this time. 

Upper coordinates for the defect are: 

Upper X **** 

Upper Y **** 

Press any key to make corrections to the board header. 

Screen #13: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

GRADE OC BOARD NUMBER 3067 TOTAL NUMEER OF DEFECTS 15 

MEASURED BOARD WIDTH 22 

1: 0- 0 23-287 

2: 9- 28 12- '32 1 12 

3: 8- 73 10- 90 1 24 

4: 14-168 18-173 1 12 

5: 8-178 11-181 1 12 

6: 9-181 11-189 1 10 

7: 15-187 16-188 1 10 

8: 8-222 12-234 1 11 

9: 10- 22 12- 30 2 12 

10: 10- 0 11- 12 2 24 

11: 0- 28 5- 38 2 10 

12: 9-101 18-1 11 2 5 

13: 10-169 13-172 2 12 

14: 15-162 23- 172 2 12 

15: 11-237 13-244 2 11 

16: 10-297 12-298 2 15 

More board defects, Press any key to contiue. 

End defect list. Press any key to continue. 
Screen #14: 

Board Databank Digitizer Utility 

USDA Forest Service 

Princeton West Virginia 

Forestry Sciences Laboratory 

Defect Descriptions 

Defect Code Number 

Void - the space between the edge of the board 

and the smallest rectangle enclosing the 

board. Caused by crook, taper, or 

differential shrinkage. 

Pith 

Decay 

Shake 

Pith related tear or split 

Wane andlor scant wood thickness owing to bark 

Bark pocket 

Unsound knot 

Sound knot 

Incipient decay and objectionable stain 

Bud trace with bark 

Split 

Worm holes: 

Grub and other holes 114" and over 

Shot worrn hole; greater than 111 6" less than 114" 

Pin worrn hole; 1 1 16" or less 

More: Press any key to continue: 

Press any key to return to defect entry 

Appendix 3. 

Plot of board outline showing location of defects. 

BOARD 3067 OC LENGTH = 96.75 WIDTH = 5,75 \ 
Appendix 4. 

System and defect collection 

error messages. 

The digitizer program reports on two classes of errors, 

system and defect collection. System errors occur when 

there is a problem opening a data file, writing defect data, 

or collecting defect coordinates from the digitizer. Defect 

collection errors are reported when the coordinates read do 

not conform to a standard or make no sense; for example, a 

zero area defect. For both classes of errors, possible 

causes and solutions are listed in the order of their 

likelihood. Throughout this list "XXX" is used to represent 

the name of your datafile and "11" to represent the board 

number you are verifying. This is not a list of ail the causes 

or solutions, only the most common ones. 

SYSTEM ERRORS: 

1. ERR0R:Unable to delete old data file XXX 

Occurs when replacing an old data file. 

Causes: 

1. The read-only attribute of the old data file may 

be set. 

2. The write protect tab on your data diskette may 

be on. 

Solutions: 

1. Try resetting the read-only attribute with the 

MS-DOS command 

ATTRIB -R filename 

Where filename is the name of your data file. Be 

sure that you want to replace the old data file. 

Once a file is overwritten it is impossible to 

retrieve the old data file. 

2. Removelreset the write protect tab on your data 

diskette. 

2. ERROR: Unable to open data file XXX 

Occurs when opening a new or existing data file in 

preparation to write board defects. 

Causes: 

1. Your data disk may be full. 

2. The read-only attribute of your data file may be 

set. 

3. The write protect tab on your data diskette may 

be covered or on. 

Solutions: 

1. Check the space remaining on your data 

diskette using the DIR command. If there is very 

little or qo space remaining on the diskette, 

switch to another diskette. 

2 and 3. See solutions 1 and 2 for Error 1. 

3. ERROR: Unable to open file-Program exiting to 

main function menu. 

Occurs when opening a new data file. 

Cause: 

The data file does not exist in the system and 

the program is unable to create the new filename. 

Solutions: 

1 and 2. See solutions 1 and 2 for Error 1. 

ERROR: Unable to access file(s) in file system for 

writing defects. 

Occurs when program is writing defect data to data file. 

Causes: 

1. The data diskette has run out of space. 

2. The data diskette was accidentally swapped with 

another. 

3. The write protect tab or switch is on preventing 

write access. 

4. The data diskette has failed. 

Solutions: 

1. Check the space remaining on the data diskette. 

You may be able to delete some old files and 

continue with the same diskette. 

2. Check that you are using the same disk you 

started with. 

3. Remove or reset the write protect tab or switch. 

4. Use the MS-DOS utility CHKDSK to check the 

diskette for failure. CHKDSK will report any 

faults and can actually repair some simple disk 

faults. It is recommended that you begin using 

another data diskette. 

DEFECT COLLECTION ERRORS: 

Errors 1 through 3 occur after both coordinates of a defect 

have been entered. 

1. ERROR: Board defect has reversed coordinates. 

Cause: 

You have entered a defect coordinate which has 

a lower x or y coordinate greater than the upper 

x or y coordinate, respectively. 

Solution: 

Re-enter or edit the defect. 

2. ERROR: Board defect coordinates describe a zero 

area defect. 

Cause: 

You have entered a defect coordinate which has 

a lower x or y equal to the upper x or y 

coordinate, respectively. 

Solution: 

Re-enter or edit the defect. 

3. ERROR: Board defect coordinates describe a defect 

outside of the board. 

Cause: 

One of the coordinates of the defect lies outside 

of the board dimensions. 

Solution: 

1. Re-enter the board defect. 

2. If the coordinates for the defect are correct and 

the board dimensions are incorrect, then accept 

the error. When you are through entering defect 

data, you will be automatically placed in the 

board dimension editing screen. 
4. ERROR: DEFECTS.TXT was not found. 

Occurs when user requests to see list of defect 

descriptions. 

Cause: 

The program is unable to find DEFECTS.TXT in 

the current directory or by using the APPEND 

path. 

Solution: 

1. Place DEFECTS.TXT in the same directory as 

the other digitizer programs. 

2. Put the path to DEFECTS.TXT in the APPEND 

path. 

3. If DEFECTS.TXT was edited or copied, make 

sure that the filename is correct. 

5. ERROR: Integer overflow on keyboard input. 

Cause: 

User entered a board number, defect code, or 

coordinate that had more than 5 digits. 

Solution: 

Enter a number with 5 or fewer digits. 

6. ERROR: Invalid defect number. 

Occurs when editing board defect data. 

Cause: 

A number of a defect was entered that does not 

exist or is not included in the defects currently 

displayed on the screen. 

Solution: 

Enter a new, valid defect number. 

Errors 7 through 11 occur when verifying that the board 

data just entered was written to the data file. These errors 

are also reported by the VERIFDAT utility. If any of these 

error conditions arise, the program, DIGITIZE or VERIFDAT, 

will stop immediately. 

7. ERROR: Unable to close datafile XXX for verification. 

Causes: 

1. The data diskette was accidentally swapped with 

another. 

2. The data diskette has failed. 

Solutions: 

. 1. Check that you are using the same disk you 

started with. 

2. Use the MS-DOS utility CHKDSK to check the 

diskette for failure. CHKDSK will report any faults 

and can actually repair some simple disk faults. It 

is recommended that you begin using another 

data diskette. 

8. ERROR: Unable to re-open datafile XXX for verification. 

See the causes and solutions for Error 7. 

was not changed to reflect this. This causes the 

verify procedure to read the next board's header 

as a defect record. 

2. Some editors such as KEDIT place special end of 

file characters at the end of files. If the data file 

has been edited with one of these editors, the 

program may have a problem in detecting the 

end of file. It is also possible that any data written 

to a file with these end of file characters will be 

LOST! 

3. The data file or data disk, or both, has failed or 

been corrupted. 

Solutions: 

1. Check that the number of defects for each board 

agrees with the defect count field in the header. 

2. Locate a suitable editor who can edit the data file 

strictly in a text mode. Most editors supplied with 

programming languages are suitable. Use the 

editor to remove any blank or suspicious lines at 

the end of the data file. 

3. See solution 2 to Error 7. 

10. ERROR: Unable to find board number II in datafile. 

See the causes and solutions for Error 9. 

11. ERROR: Unable to re-open datafile for appending. 

See the causes and solutions for Error 7. 

9. ERROR: Unexpected end of file encountered during 

defect data search for board number II. 

Causes: 

1. The board data file has been edited which has 

left it in an inconsistent state. An example of this 

is where a defect has been deleted from a file 

and the defect count field in the board header 
Anderson, R. Bruce; Thomas, R. Edward; Gatchell, Charles J.; Bennett, 

Neal D. 1993. Computerized technique for recording board defect 

data. Res. Pap. NE-671. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 17 p. 

A computerized technique for recording board defect data has been 

developed that is faster and more accurate than manual techniques. The 

lumber database generated by this technique is a necessary input to 

computer simulation models that estimate potential cutting yields from 

various lumber breakdown sequences. The technique allows collection of 

detailed information regarding the location and type of defects. 

*U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 19931750-123160013 
Headquarters of the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station is in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Field laboratories are maintained at: 

Amherst, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts 

Burlington, Vermont, in cooperation with the University of Vermont 

Delaware, Ohio 

Durham, New Hampshire, in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire 

Hamden, Connecticut, in cooperation with Yale University 

Morgantown, West Virginia, in cooperation with West Virginia University 

Orono, Maine, in cooperation with the University of Maine 

Parsons, West Virginia 

Princeton, West Virginia 

Syracuse, New York, in cooperation with the State University of New York, 

College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry at Syracuse University 

University Park, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with The Pennsylvania State University 

Warren, Pennsylvania 

Persons of any race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or with any handicapping condition are welcome to use and enjoy all facilities, programs, and services of 

the USDA. Discrimination in any form is strictly against agency policy, and should be 

reported to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. 

'Caring for the Land and Serving People Through Research"