Count planks in a stack from a photo

Counting timber planks in a banded pack from the ends

Lumber yards, joiners and site carpenters count planks to check a pack against the cutting list or to decide whether the next batch needs ordering. The sawn ends of a banded pack form a grid of small rectangles, and that end grid is the one place where each board appears once. Stand square to the pack at its mid height and shoot the ends in soft light so the gaps between boards stay visible.

Air-drying stacks carry thin sticks between layers, and those sticker ends sit in the same grid; if they draw dots, mark one board end as an example and recount. Paint codes on the ends help sorting but can make one board look like two colored patches, so review dots on painted ends closely. When boards are not trimmed flush, protruding ends cast shadows over their neighbors; shooting from slightly higher reduces the shadow. Packs of mixed widths need one example per width.

Record each pack as its own tally row, with species and section in the label, then export the CSV for the materials record. Round timber in a pile or on a trailer is better handled by the log counter, and sheet materials are counted by their edges instead, as described for plywood stacks.