Marking Rough Lumber for Organization

Consider this the first stab at formalizing a system, or at least my system, for marking the ends of lumber with key information to help with organizing, identifying and selection. 

Backstory

When I had moved into my Baltimore Shop (as detailed in the A Shop of My Own article) there was a very limited amount of space. As a result, lumber had to be stored horizontally on wall racks to give clearance to the machines. This was not ideal; I realized immediately how important it was to store wood vertically, short in front, tall in back. In that arrangement one could quickly see grain, estimate length and width, and usually identify species.

With the lumber horizontal, all I could see was edges, and often only those that were at the front of the pile. There needed to be a system to mark the ends of boards so I could know all the details of the piece at a glance. By formalizing this system, I could reference this article when I inevitably forget what my own markings mean. Surprisingly, extensive google searching yielded few results for other systems to consider. What follows is a "first stab" that I hope to refine a little with feedback from other woodworkers. 

Summary

Wood to be marked on ground end with symbols indicating following information. Ideally boards will be stacked in order of flitch cut, the top of a board being the skyward side when on the mill. 

Based on the taper of the log, this is the ground end. Markings are placed on the ground end, with the milled skyward side facing up. This may be difficult to determine for purchased wood.

If rough cutting, mark before end seal if possible. Marks are in priority order, so lower priority marks can be eliminated due to lack of space. Write all marks with black permanent marker or silver paint pen depending on wood color.

1. Species
2. Tree Orientation
3. Flitch Position
4. Date Cut
5. Grain Direction
6. Face Defects
7. Thickness
8. Length

Species

Species codes assembled from those listed here and here. The code list below is canonical, adaptations to the linked lists made for common name compatibility.  Code placed on upper left corner of board.

This wood is Black Walnut. 

Code	Species
AP	Apple
AYC	Alaskan Yellow Cedar
BA	Black Ash
BB	Black Birch
BC	Black Cherry
BE	Beech
BL	Black Locust
BO	Black Oak
BS	Black Spruce
BT	Buckthorn
BU	Butternut
BSW	Basswood
BW	Black Walnut
BX	Box Elder (Ash Maple)
CC	Choke Cherry
CH	Chestnut
CO	Chestnut Oak
CT	Catalpa
CW	Cottonwood
DF	Douglas Fir
EC	Exotic Cherry
EL	American Elm
ES	Slippery Elm
FD	Flowering Dogwood
GA	Green Ash
GB	Gray Birch
GD	Gray Dogwood
HA	Hawthorn
HL	Honey Locust
HN	Hinoki
HO	Hornbeam
IW	Ironwood
LA	Largetoothed Aspen
LL	Lilac
LR	Larch
MA	Mountain Ash
MM	Mountain Maple
MR	Red Mulberry
NM	Norway Maple
NS	Norway Spruce
PC	Pin Cherry
PE	Pear
PH	Pignut Hickory
PO	Pin Oak
POC	Port Orford Cedar
PP	Pitch Pine
RA	Red Ash
RB	River Birch
RM	Red Maple
RO	Red Oak
RP	Red Pine
RS	Red Spruce
RW	Redwood
SA	Sassafras
SB	Serviceberry (Shadbush)
SG	Sugi
SH	Shagbark Hickory
SM	Sugar Maple
SO	Scarlet Oak
SP	Scotch Pine
SR	Star Magnolia
ST	Striped Maple
SV	Silver Maple
SYP	Southern Yellow Pine
TA	Trembling Aspen
TP	Tulip Popular
TS	Hemlock
WA	White Ash
WB	White Birch
WH	Witch Hazel
WI	Willow
WM	White Mulberry
WO	White Oak
WP	White Pine
WRC	Western Red Cedar
WS	White Spruce
X1	Unidentified
YB	Yellow Birch
YW	Yellow Wood
ZK	Zelkova

Tree Orientation

If known place a small stylized arrow in the top right corner of the board indicating direction of North as well as basic geography indicator, noting placement of try on major features, mountain, plain, etc.

Imagine the board standing as it existed in the tree, when rotated so that this arrow points north, that is how the tree previously stood.

The basic symbol is the same, the line tells you about the tree location. Here it is midway up a mountain or hill.

In this symbol, the tree is on flat land or near a valley. 

Flitch Position

In flitch stacks indicate position with a number within a circle, under the species mark. Number indicates position and/or order of cut. For example, a fully flat sawn log will have numbers ascending from the top of the stack to the bottom.

Date Cut

Under the flitch position list month and year cut in the format "6-17" using a dash so as not to confuse with thickness markings. If the date cut is unknown because the wood was purchased, use the marking P instead of the date. P followed by a date would indicate the wood was puchased on that date, rather than cut.

Grain Direction

A long line with major grain direction, on the left side of the board, under the position marks. Redundant in some cases but helpful for quick identification from far away.

From across the shop it will be easy to see that one board is flat-sawn, and the other rift/quarter. With roughly cut boards, the saw patterns can confuse the grain under end sealant and age. These marks make it quick.

Face Defects

Along eatch edge of the board indicate if there are any face defects with a dot, two dots for generally knotty and a short line for clear.

Somewhat open to interpretation, my rule will be if there is a short line, it is clear as a winter's morn. Any slight defect or knot gets a dot, something that might be considered a "second" gets two dots. Highly figured, or patterned wood could still get a short line assuming it is free of defects.

Thickness and Length

In center of board indicate thickness as a nominal quarter value and measured, indicate length in inches, separate with an x. For example: 4/4x120 or 8/4x96.

An example of a fully marked board. This white oak was second in the flitch, cut in June 2017, has minor defects on the faces but none on the sides. The top side of the board faced North, grew on flat ground, and this pieces is flat-sawn at six quarters and 8 feet long. We also know that this end of the board is on the ground end of the tree.