Regardless of mill, solid hardwood flooring all goes through (relatively) the same manufacturing process.

* Dried planks are reviewed and imperfections are removed. Every mill tries their best to get the least amount of waste and the most amount of yield out of every single board.

* The precut planks get sorted by width; in this stage the boards are slightly wider than the finished product.

* Presorted blanks run through a molder, where the face/top of the floor gets plained. The underside has its relief grooves applied. Relief grooves (or "hollow backs") are cut into the underside of wood flooring to help
prevent cupping/warping, minimize tension, and stabilize planks.

* Using the side matcher, one (long) side gets its tongue and the other side its groove. This will hold the boards in place when installing it and guarantee a tight fit of the flooring.

* Afterwards, the bores run through the end-matcher milling with the same systematic tongue and groove into the boards.

* After the flooring has gone through the entire process, it will receive its final inspection and grading.

The settings and tolerances of molders, side matchers, and end matchers play  substantial role in the fit of the flooring, the ease of installation, and the amount of sanding that must be executed of the craftsman. 

Additionally, there is the standardized grading by NAFMA (North American Flooring Manufacturing Association) and then there are certain boutique mills that go beyond the standard grading rules. Muscanell Millworks is one of those mills due to our higher standards for length, precision milling, and drying process.