Alder is a light tan to reddish brown, straight grained, even textured hardwood. On the softer end of the spectrum with a Janka rating of 590. High workability with hand and machine tools, but sharp tooling should be used to prevent tear out. Turns, glues, and finishes well. Used for furniture, doors, musical instruments, turnings, cabinets, and as a plywood veneer. Alder is sold in 2 different grades, premium(knotty) and clear(superior). Knotty alder will have less uniformity in color and grain, with knots throughout. Clear alder on the other hand, will have minimal to no knots, straight and even grain. Weight is just under 2.5 pounds per board foot. Rated non-durable to perishable with regards to rot resistance.
VARIATIONS AND OPTIONS
4/4 refers to lumber that was cut at 1 inch thickness
15/16ths has been skip planed (a majority of the surfacing work has been done, there may be a few spots that are still rough, but the grain of the particular piece of wood should be visible)
13/16ths is commonly called finish planed. This should be ready for sanding and finish
Ripped 1 Edge is lumber that has been run through a straight-line rip saw. This allows for easy squaring on a table saw.
Sanded refers to a select few lumber options that have been run through a belt sander and are 100% finish ready.
5/4 lumber was sawn at 1.25 inches in thickness.
6/4 lumber was sawn at 1.5 inches in thickness.
8/4 lumber was sawn at 2 inches in thickness.
10/4 lumber was sawn at 2.5 inches in thickness.
12/4 lumber was sawn at 3 inches in thickness.