The planer has been specially designed to accept the different grain orientations. Clapboards are planed on one face and one edge. The ends are then squared and ready for grading. Grading is done by human eye. Boards are graded by two people into three categories.
Clears have no knots and a smooth appearance in the exposed section of the board.
Rustics are graded on the rough side of the board. This grade has a circular sawn texture with no knots affecting the structural integrity of the board. Clapboards are produced in four regular sizes. By the nature of the process,the size of the clapboard is determined by the size of the log. The mill run stacks have bundles of boards varying in length from 2 feet to 6 feet.