SEASONAL, SPECIES, AND CHIPPER VARIATIONS IN SAWMILL CHIP QUALITY

Chip-quality data from three wood specimens and three chipper types obtained over four seasons at a British Columbia sawmill were subjected to an analysis of variance procedure to determine the seasonal, species, and chipper effects associated with the evaluation of nine chip-quality variables. The chip-quality variable wherein the highest proportion of total variation was explained by systematic effects was acceptable chips, with a value of 41. 2%. Meaningful chip-quality data can be obtained only by testing each supply of chips as received. Little reliance should be placed on previous mill experience. The analysis also appears to confirm that the objectively determined acceptable-chip fraction is a more meaningful parameter than the essentially arbitrarily determined accept-chip fraction.