A substantial portion of the hardwood lumber industry is devoted to the processing of lumber into secondary wood products (like furniture parts). Hardwood boards are typically remanufactured into smaller parts by a series of rip and cross cuts with no consideration of parts placement or the location of defective areas. These cuts yield pieces, in accordance with the manufacturers cutting bill, that are free of defective area. The entire process is labor intensive and results in a substantial loss of valuable lumber. With traditional gang/rip methods yields of 50% are considered to be very good. These losses increase with operator fatigue and inexperience.