Learn
At Fells Hardwood Supply we help woodworkers choose hardwood for furniture, cabinets, turning, and other projects. Here we explain how dealers measure board feet, what milling labels and NHLA grades mean, how lumber is dried, and what grain direction tells you before you buy a board.
From Tree to Table
From Tree to Table is a woodworking class that we teach at ASMBLY, a nonprofit makerspace in Austin. This series is the written companion from Fells Hardwood Supply — it follows hardwood from the log through sawing, grading, drying, pricing, and board selection so you understand what you are buying and can choose lumber that suits the project.
- Part 1 — Tree anatomy for woodworkers
- Part 2 — How hardwood logs are cut
- Part 3 — Thickness, quarters, and milling terms
- Part 4 — NHLA grades and color sorts
- Part 5 — How board feet work
- Part 6 — Kiln dried vs air dried
- Part 7 — Reading the grain
- Part 8 — Janka hardness
- Part 9 — Wood identification basics
More teaching
- How wood moves with humidity — tangential vs radial, and what tabletops need
FAQs
Our FAQ pages cover the buying questions we hear most often, including how to choose a species and thickness and how much extra lumber to allow for milling and waste.
- All woodworking FAQs
- How is hardwood lumber sold?
- Rough, S2S, S3S, S4S
- Should I buy S4S or S2S?
- Bow, cup, crook, and twist
- How much wood do I need?
- Wood movement for tabletops
- Where to buy hardwood in Austin / Hutto
Fells Hardwood Supply — Hutto, TX — serving Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, and the greater Austin metro.