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★ First AI grader built on USFS rules · Updated May 2026

AI Log Grader.
From a photo.

Upload up to 3 photos of your hardwood log. Get an instant USDA Forest Service grade — veneer, F1, F2, F3, construction, or local-use — plus a $-value estimate based on current Appalachian timber prices. Free. No signup.

Built on USFS NE-1 grading rules
Defect catalog from AgH 678
Scaling via International ¼" rule

Upload photos of your log

Best results: one shot of the log lengthwise, one of the small end, one of the largest defect if any. Up to 3 photos.

📸 For the best grade, your photos should show:
  • The small end (cut face) straight-on — must be in focus. End grain tells the AI species + ring count.
  • A scale reference on the small end — tape measure, your hand, or a 2×4 against the cut. Without this the AI can’t accurately estimate diameter.
  • The full log lengthwise — shoot from far enough back to see both ends. This is how the AI detects sweep and length.
  • Good light, not blurry — outdoors in shade is ideal. No deep shadows on the cut face.

Avoid: photos taken at night, from far away, with the cut face shaded, or where the log is obscured by brush. Bad photos = low-confidence grade — the AI will tell you to retry.

Uploading photos…
Compressing and securing your images.

Free • No signup • No data shared with third parties

Grade
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⚖️ Rough estimate, not a verdict. Use this as a starting point — not a final price. When the AI isn’t sure about a defect or measurement, it grades conservatively (under-calls rather than over-calls), so a professional grader is more likely to revise up than down. For high-value logs, get a real grader to confirm before you sell.

Use-class eligibility

Why this grade — rule trail

    Defects detected

      Scaling

      Sell this log free →
      USDA Forest Service grading methodology applied:
        Was this grade helpful? Your feedback tunes the model.
        ✓ Thanks — feedback recorded.

        How the AI grader works

        1

        AI vision examines your photos

        Claude AI inspects each photo for surface defects (knots, sweep, bumps, holes, conks, cankers) and end-grain defects (ring shake, heart checks, rot, wetwood). It returns a structured defect inventory with per-defect confidence scores.

        2

        USFS rules grade the inventory

        A deterministic rule engine — not a black-box ML model — applies USDA Forest Service grading rules (NE-1 for log grades, AgH 678 for defect scoring). Every grade output includes the specific rule and figure number that produced it.

        3

        You get a grade + $-value range

        Veneer, F1, F2, F3, construction, or local-use, plus a $-value range using the International ¼" log rule and current Appalachian timber prices. Share the result with buyers, foresters, or save for your records.

        Frequently asked questions

        How accurate is the AI log grader?

        Surface defects with strong visual signatures (knots, sweep, large holes, conks) are detected reliably. Interior defects (heart rot, ring shake, wetwood) have no positive surface indicator per USFS NE-1 — they require physical inspection by a forester or buyer at the deck. Treat the grade as a pricing guide, not a substitute for a buyer's eyes on the log.

        What grading rules does the AI use?

        The deterministic rule engine implements USDA Forest Service NE-1 (Rast, Sonderman & Gammon 1973) for F1/F2/F3 factory log grades, AgH 678 (Carpenter et al. 1989) for the defect taxonomy and per-use-class scoring matrix, and the International ¼-inch log rule for board-foot scaling. Every grade output includes a reasoning trail showing which rules were applied.

        Why a hybrid AI + rule engine instead of pure machine learning?

        Grading rules are known — codified in 50+ years of Forest Service research. We don't need ML to learn them; we need ML to see the defects so the rules can score them. The hybrid approach is explainable (every grade cites its rule), auditable (the engine's logic is open code), and impossible to hallucinate (the AI vision layer is constrained to a fixed defect taxonomy).

        Can I share my grade result?

        Yes. After grading, click "Share this grade" to get a public link like jmlogmarket.io/g/ABC12345. Send it to buyers, foresters, or post on social media. Saved grades expire after 30 days. Grades are anonymous — no email or account required.

        Will the AI replace a professional log scaler?

        No. A professional scaler at the deck can identify interior defects (probe for rot, sound the log for shake) that no photo-based AI can see. The AI grader is a pricing decision-support tool: it gives you a credible starting grade before the scaler arrives, helps you price a load consistently, and gives buyers context before they drive out. Use it to inform negotiations, not replace them.

        Is the AI log grader really free?

        Yes. No signup, no payment, no data sharing. Built and paid for by JMLogMarket as a free tool for the timber community. We make money on seller subscription plans when you list logs on the marketplace — and our hope is that a useful free tool gets you to know us before you need to list.