Lumber is the boards and planks that are cut from tree logs. Lumber is used chiefly for construction. The process of taking trees from the forest and producing lumber and other wood products is called lumbering.
The first step in producing lumber is to cut down the tree. This is called logging. Trees used to be cut down with hand tools like axes and saws. In the United States today , they are mainly cut down with power saws. Large trees may then be cut into smaller logs. The logs are hauled out of the forest and taken to a sawmill , where the bark is removed and they are sawed into boards. Chips and waste pieces are turned into wood pulp and used to make paper and plastics.