Causes

• The leading cause of wane on a piece of lumber is that the board was cut too close to the outside of the tree. Areas of wane in lumber and plywood are often identified by bark being present on the ends.
  
  

Low-Grade Uses

• Wood with wane is not approved for use in home construction, particularly in the production of trusses. However, it does have uses in other industrial applications. If you look closely at pallets or skids used to transport heavy loads, you will see areas of rounded wood at the edges where bark sometimes remains or is shaved off.
  
  

Detection In The Field

• Grading standards in the lumber industry are very strict and are what drive the cost of hardwood boards. Professional purchasers of timber stands use structured light scanning systems to take profile pictures of downed trees in an effort to estimate bark thickness and further determine the ratio of wane on the tree to the amount of high-quality wood product.
  
  

Reclaiming For Bio-Energy

• Bio-energy producers in British Columbia, Canada, are attempting to reclaim waste timber such as wane cut off in mills to produce electricity. Nexterra Energy Corporation, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is setting up a network of wood-fired electrical generators to produce power for smaller communities strapped by high electricity costs.