Wood Industry Training Program
Specialized training for wood industry personnel is conducted by UK Forestry extension professionals at the Wood Utilization Center in Quicksand Kentucky. These training programs are designed to assist individuals and small groups with training in a variety of skills. Examples of some of these training programs include; Profile Knife Grinding and Moulder Setup and Operations, Lumber Drying, Lumber Grading, Log Grading and Bucking for Value, Tool Design and Template making for Profile Grinding, Planer Operations and Sharpening, Conventional Gluing for Hardwood Lumber, and other custom and on demand training programs. If you have a need or are just looking for more information, please contact Chad Niman at 859-257-1360, chad.niman@uky.edu.
Register for Dry Kiln Workshop
The Dry Kiln Workshop will be held Oct. 23 - 24, 2025 at the Wood Utilization Center in Jackson, KY. The dry kiln workshop is sponsored by the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Nyle Dry Kilns, and the Ohio Valley Lumber Drying Association.
Register here...Courses
Dry Kiln Workshop
This training program will provide a background on wood moisture relationships, calculating moisture and reducing defects during the drying process.
Moulder and Knife Grinding
Grinder
- Proper machine operating procedures
- Define Axial-Constant Grinding System
- Select proper knife material
- Grind knives
- Proper Tool setup and torque procedures
- Balance Tools
- Achieve higher tooling tolerances
Moulder
- Axial and Radial spindle adjustments
- Spindle calibration
- Aligning chip breakers and pressure shoes
- Measuring cutter heads
- Qualify s4s
- Change over to run profiles
And more....
Grade Lumber
Attendees will be exposed to general wood and lumber terminology, species information, NHLA Hardwood lumber specifications and application, as well as defects and limitations. These classes are designed to be an in state resource for Kentucky wood/forest industries and assist in getting new personnel trained, keep lumber graders up to date on rules changes over the years, and help our KY industries maintain in this global economy. Due to the Kentucky Forest Industries Association’s continued support of education all KFIA members receive 20% discount on short course programs.
Sponsors:
Log Grading Courses
Participants of the log grading course will cover volume scaling techniques, industry terms related to logs and associated defects, as well as methods and specifications for assessing log grades for the purposes of merchandising and determining value.
Sawing and Edging
UK Forestry Extension is partnering with the National Hardwood Lumber Association to host a 2 day sawing and edging class. This 2-day class helps sawmill operators improve their skills in sawing and edging in order to improve yield of lumber of higher grades.
